Jethro Tull (December 2007)

Date of Performance: November 29, 2007
Venue: Palace Theater, Albany NY, US

Ian Anderson may want to take back the title of Jethro Tull's 1976 album Too Old To Rock 'N' Roll, or at least define old. Thursday night's performance at Albany's Palace Theater (11/29/07) to a sold out crowd showed that both the fans and band agree that they have yet to reach the "Too Old" stage.

Jethro Tull will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary in 2008, and one would never know it while watching Ian Anderson perform. Anderson and guitarist Martin Barre (both in their 60s) fittingly opened the show together with a bluesy guitar/harmonica performance of "Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You." The duo have proudly carried Tull this far, and appear to show no signs of stopping.

Longtime drummer Doane Perry was along, and two new members; keyboardist John O'Hara and bassist David Goodier. Anderson was full of humor, lightening up the show with jokes about everything from bottled water to a tribute to Keith Emerson. In Anderson's tribute, he made a point to say although Emerson is not dead, he is not feeling all that well. The band then tore into a version of Keith Emerson's Nice-era arrangement of "America." Probably the bands most famous song was introduced as, "here's one from 1971, Stairway to Aqualung." Unfortunately the arrangement of this Tull classic was about the only downside of the whole show, as it was practically unrecognizable in most parts.

The show was outstanding. Anderson also brought along the Calliandra String Quartet who accompanied the band on a number of songs. Their shining moment came during an arrangement of "Songs From The Wood" and "Heavy Horses" which blew me away. Tull played many popular tracks such as "Thick As A Brick," "Living In The Past" and "Locomotive Breath." The band also featured some new songs, ones that Anderson joked would be on the next album, due sometime in 2012. The show was split, with the first half featuring more acoustic based tracks, and the second half getting heavier.

It was great to see a full house for the band, and they certainly played their hearts out. The show lasted about 2 hours and 30 minutes, with a short intermission. I have seen Tull a number of times over the years, and as with all the other shows, they have never failed to put on a great show.