In a children's fable, the Pied Piper led a town's children away. In the E Center last night, Jethro Tull led the children back two decades with the band's pipes, joining them with the flower children of a whole different generation.
With Ian Anderson leading the way with his flute, two generations of Tull fans were united for a fine performance from one of popular music's more unique bands.From the beginning, it was obvious that Tull was going to deliver something a little different from a typical rock concert. After the first number brought the diverse crowd to its feet, Anderson thanked everybody for the warm response and then gave the okay for his fans to relax.
"You can sit down if you want," said the Englishman. "You have nice comfortable seats. You paid a lot for those seats."
Anderson introduced the second number by mentioning that his touring bassist, Jonathan Noyce, was only 6-months-old when "Thick As a Brick" was written in 1972, and then launched into the ever-popular tune.
With his microphone securely mounted on his head like a telemarketer's, Anderson had both hands free to play his flute and to gesture to the crowd.
Anderson seemed to cast a spell on the audience, using his hands, arms and body to conjure sounds from his fellow musicians, looking like a musical magician.
The extended and complex version of "Brick" bridged right into the next song before the quintet stopped to change pace a bit. In the show's finest moments, Tull went in a completely different direction.
"This next song hit number one on the charts," Anderson laughed while introducing "Divinity." "It was number one on Billboard's classical crossover charts, whatever that is. But a number one is a number one."
The song's full orchestral sounds came from keyboardist Andrew Gidding's synth, but Anderson's flute acrobatics provided an accent, which combined for a wonderful, rich sound that carried a pleasant emotional spice.
Most of the fans however, were in the E Center to rock and responded better to old favorites such as "Agualung," "Song From the Woods" and "Locomotive Breath," a crowd favorite.
The sound in the E Center, while not perfect, was solid. Anderson's vocals were muddy but the cymbal-percussion and flute came through well.
West Valley City continues to make parking a nightmare, charging money at all lots close to the venue, leaving fans no option to shelling out extra money to see the show they already paid for.