Thick as A Brick
Nov. 2nd, 2012 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevins_concertsCindy and I went to Chicago, where we met Lynda and Mike for dinner. Then we all went up the street to the Chicago Theatre to see Ian Anderson's Thick as A Brick tour. Back in 1972, Jethro Tull released a prog rock concept album of that name. It was intended as a send-up of the bombastic and pretentious progressive rock traditions of bands like Yes and ELP. It did very well with fans of such music, and has remained a fan favorite. Earlier this year Anderson put out a solo album, Thick as A Brick 2. The original song was supposedly written by an eight year old boy, while the new album was an examination of where his life may have gone. I think it's a fitting successor to the original, though I'd prefer he didn't rip off the original riffs quite so closely.
The Chicago Theatre is quite beautiful. I highly recommend seeing it. Its only drawback is the lack of restrooms. The audience was... quite old. I often make jokes about the "old people" at classic rock concerts, and the joke is that I'm one of them. This time, being in my mid forties, I was definitely on the younger side of the bell curve. I didn't see a single person that was definitely under 30.
Around the time the show was to start, some "stage crew" came out on stage. They placed some instruments, and wandered around stage, some with brooms. Some video of a warehouse inexplicably came up on the back curtain, which was angrily switched off by remote, by one of the crew. As it turned out, these men were the bandmembers. They took up their instruments and started the show.
Anderson on flute (of course) and guitar. Other members were John O'Hara on keyboards, Florian Opahle (from Bavaria) on electric guitar, David Goodier on bass and Scott Hammond on drums. A sixth person, Ryan O'Donnel alternated vocals with Anderson, and generally added a bit of theatrics to the proceedings. This was the band for the studio recoding of the album. They were all pretty solid, and O'Hara in particular, seemed to fit right in with the old flamboyant Tull style.
They started out with the original Thick as a Brick There were many parts where I couldn't really tell it apart from the original recording, except for Anderson's guitar and vocal parts. In fact, I occasionally wondered if it really was the original record. My one complaint about the show was the sound. It was very flat. Anderson's parts all stood out in the mix, but everything else didn't. The levels were mixed well in relation to each other, but the sound was flat - like it was in mono. Anderson was always front and center in the mix, whether it was flute, vocals or guitar. His chiming acoustic guitar was a little too up-front, maybe. Percussive, metallic, not tuneful. Clipped, like a glockenspiel.
So TaaB1 was great. TaaB2 was... better than I expected. Like I said, a worthy successor. Similar in tone, but updated. Their encore was a somewhat extended version of "Locomotive Breath."
There were the usual inexplicable interludes of "humor." The intermission concluded with an earnest urging by Anderson for all men of a certain age (which included most of the men in the audience) to have their prostates checked, combined with a somewhat crude prostate exam joke.
The Chicago Theatre is quite beautiful. I highly recommend seeing it. Its only drawback is the lack of restrooms. The audience was... quite old. I often make jokes about the "old people" at classic rock concerts, and the joke is that I'm one of them. This time, being in my mid forties, I was definitely on the younger side of the bell curve. I didn't see a single person that was definitely under 30.
Around the time the show was to start, some "stage crew" came out on stage. They placed some instruments, and wandered around stage, some with brooms. Some video of a warehouse inexplicably came up on the back curtain, which was angrily switched off by remote, by one of the crew. As it turned out, these men were the bandmembers. They took up their instruments and started the show.
Anderson on flute (of course) and guitar. Other members were John O'Hara on keyboards, Florian Opahle (from Bavaria) on electric guitar, David Goodier on bass and Scott Hammond on drums. A sixth person, Ryan O'Donnel alternated vocals with Anderson, and generally added a bit of theatrics to the proceedings. This was the band for the studio recoding of the album. They were all pretty solid, and O'Hara in particular, seemed to fit right in with the old flamboyant Tull style.
They started out with the original Thick as a Brick There were many parts where I couldn't really tell it apart from the original recording, except for Anderson's guitar and vocal parts. In fact, I occasionally wondered if it really was the original record. My one complaint about the show was the sound. It was very flat. Anderson's parts all stood out in the mix, but everything else didn't. The levels were mixed well in relation to each other, but the sound was flat - like it was in mono. Anderson was always front and center in the mix, whether it was flute, vocals or guitar. His chiming acoustic guitar was a little too up-front, maybe. Percussive, metallic, not tuneful. Clipped, like a glockenspiel.
So TaaB1 was great. TaaB2 was... better than I expected. Like I said, a worthy successor. Similar in tone, but updated. Their encore was a somewhat extended version of "Locomotive Breath."
There were the usual inexplicable interludes of "humor." The intermission concluded with an earnest urging by Anderson for all men of a certain age (which included most of the men in the audience) to have their prostates checked, combined with a somewhat crude prostate exam joke.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-12 05:40 pm (UTC)I saw Blondie at a festival a few years ago. The crowd started of with a mix of ages. All the over-40s were singing along. The younger people gradually drifted away.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-13 05:50 am (UTC)Personally or musically? Personally, for me.
I can see that with Blondie. They were appealing, in a broad sort of way. Enjoyable and somewhat superficial. I'd be thinking, "this is fun. Now what?"