Jethro Tull - Never Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll

 Jethro Tull

In the seven years I've lived in the Lehigh Valley, I'd never gone to Bethlehem's yearly Musikfest. The idea of stumbling around drunkenly listening to hippie bands in the heat & humidity of August didn't appeal to me; I guess I felt I'd done enough of that in my youth. (And believe me, I did plenty.)

When my Sister-from-another-mother & ace co-worker Mamavicki told me that Jethro Tull would close Musikfest, I decided that it was time to get off my ass & get down to Bethlehem to see them.

I was a huge Tull fan when I was growing up; Aqualung was the first album I bought (on 8-track tape!) with my own hard-earned money & I played the hell out of it. I bought all their previous records & immersed myself in them, memorizing every song, word for word & note for note. Thick As A Brick & Passion Play were brilliant examples of long-form prog rock, & I enjoyed them greatly.

As the years went on, I lost interest in most rock music & jumped into punk/new wave with both feet...though I did regret that I'd never seen Tull live. Well, now I have, thanks to Mamavicki & her hubby the Busterman, & I had a truly wonderful time. The festival brings out people from all over the area, & for a show like this, the average age of the audience members was around 50. There were many fine-looking ladies (of a certain age) at the show, lots of good food & good beer, & the best company imaginable in Mama V & the B-Man.

So - the 2017 version of "Jethro Tull by Ian Anderson" is:

Ian Anderson, Flute, vocals, acoustic guitar
Florian Opahle, guitarist
Scott Hammond, drummer
John O’Hara, piano and accordion and vocals, and
David Goodier, bass guitar and vocals

Ian has always chosen excellent players for his groups, & these guys are just outstanding, but the revelation of the evening was guitarist Florian Opahle (the youngest guy in the picture). The kid was just fantastic, playing everything we expected to hear, perfectly, but with his own signature style overlaid on every solo. He's a bright young star, & deserves all the acclaim he'll undoubtedly get. Ian's voice was a bit weak, but he gamely soldiered on & gave a very solid performance, delighting us with his inimitable flute & masterful acoustic guitar playing.

The show was great, the venue was pleasant (as was the weather), & the company of my friends was the best a guy could have. It was a wonderful, memorable day & night.

Maybe I'll go to Musikfest again next year...depending, of course, on who's playing, & if Mamavicki & Buster are available. I avoid hippie bands, of any age, but Tull were never really hippies. They worked too hard to be hippies, & they still work hard & do a hell of a job. God bless you & the boys, Ian.

And big thanks to my friends Mamavicki & Buster for making it all possible.