Music Review
Jethro Tull packs the Kavli Theatre
By Cary Ginell Soundthink@aol.com

Ian Anderson

One of the most unique bands in the annals of rock made a local stop in Thousand Oaks last Saturday night when legendary British band Jethro Tull presented an exuberant, well-received show to a packed house at the Civic Arts Plaza's Kavli Theatre. Front man Ian Anderson has led the group since 1968 and has been responsible for all of the classic songs that made Jethro Tull a phenomenon in popular music.

Anderson is credited with introducing the flute to rock and is still an impressive musician, incorporating elements of folk, Celtic, jazz, blues and fusion into his music. Anderson credits jazz musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk with inspiring his formidable technique, which incorporates flutter tonguing, singing along with and even growling into his instrument.

At 60, the Scottish-born Anderson is still wild-eyed, but his appearance has drastically mellowed since the 1970s. Trim and vigorous, Anderson sports a Hulk Hoganesque kerchief covering his balding pate and is personable and puckishly charming on stage. His trademark mannerisms are all still intact: the darting across the stage, the wiggling of his fingers while singing and the crooking of his left leg while playing flute, making him look like a flamingo or an inverted number 4.

Never taken seriously by rock critics, Jethro Tull should be respected at least for lasting so long and retaining its everloyal fan base. Saturday's audience was mostly middleaged, but some brought their children along to witness one of the last performing icons of the first generation of British rock.

In the beginning, Jethro Tull was one of many British blues bands to arrive on the scene in the late 1960s, which included Led Zeppelin, Blind Faith and Fleetwood Mac. Anderson referenced this era with his opening number, a snippet from his composition "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You," playing harmonica, accompanied by longtime Tull member Martin Barre's bluesy guitar.

In the first half, Anderson displayed his eclectic roots, leading the fourpiece band in acousticoriented songs from the group's early career, including 1969's "Fat Man" (whose title Anderson wryly updated to "Clinically Obese Person"), "Velvet Green" (from "Songs in the Wood"), "Thick as a Brick" and "Bourée," a rock variation on J.S. Bach's famous baroque melody. Anderson sang in his halfstrangled voice and played dazzling flute, mandolin and a guitar that he had made to replicate a 19th century French parlor guitar. Martin Barre switched back and forth from electric guitar to the exotic bouzouki. The songs in the first half showed how melodic Jethro Tull's music could be, and Anderson's references to Henry VIII, Scottish folk tunes and Shakespeare reflected the group's continuing emphasis on centuriesold folk traditions from the British Isles.

The second half focused on two long jams: "My God" from "Aqualung" (1971) and "Budapest" from "Crest of a Knave," the controversial 1987 album that was initially lauded by critics but then savaged after it won a Grammy for "Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal" album, winning out over groups more known for this category.

During these two songs, Anderson and Barre soared in their respective performances- Anderson's searing flute solo and Barre's own rafter-rattling work on electric guitar. Since 1969, Barre has been Keith Richards to Anderson's strutting Mick Jagger, but there has never been a question as to who is the heart and soul of the band.

The able backup musicians included John O'Hara on keyboards, David Goodier on bass and Doane Perry on drums. Although some in the audience complained about some "necessary" Tull hits being left out, Martin Barre did contribute the six-note motif from "Aqualung" that has been named one of the most famous guitar riffs in rock history.

Through its performance, Jethro Tull showed why it has been a popular arena band for more than 40 years, and thanks to the continued efforts of Ian Anderson, its legacy as a pioneering and significant force in rock history is secure.