Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull
Mohegan Sun Arena
October 29, 2023
After fair warning that cellphones and cameras needed to be stowed for the performance, Jethro Tull stepped out onto the stage and launched into “Nothing is Easy” then on to play “Stand Up.” They then went on to the song “We Used To Know.”
Accompanying Ian Anderson were Joe Parrish on guitar, Scott Hammond on drums and percussion, John O’Hara on piano and keyboards, David Goodier on bass.
Jethro Tull with Ian Anderson as the frontman has been at it for decades and this year Anderson was introducing the audience to tracks off his newly released “RökFlöte“ which is his 23 studio album and was released this year. “RökFlöte“ is Nordic for “Rock Flute”. If anyone in the music industry is known for the rock flute that would be Ian Anderson.
To be honest it would have been a better and more enjoyable night if Anderson had just let the people use cell phones than watch the staff scurry around through the crowd asking people to shut down their phones. There was a constant buzz and distraction of staff leaning over people and asking for phones to be shut down that distracted many from enjoying the concert itself.
Some in the audience enjoyed the deeper cuts and new songs. I think some were looking more for a concert heavy on his classic songs that Jethro Tull is well known for. I watched from my seat a set of seven in the audience stand up and leave while uttering complaints that he didn’t perform songs they knew and expected to hear. I also noticed others stand up and leave and never return to their seats.
I have been to many concerts and most had cellphones taking some pics and video and none were more bothersome than this one that tried to ban them all together. He made such a huge deal over it that it distracted from the reason the audience came, the music and concert experience as a whole. There was even a photo at the beginning on the tron stating when you could and could not use cell and camera.
You can’t always please everyone and it’s Jethro Tull’s right to play whatever they feel they want to on any given night, especially after perfoming many of the same songs night after night for decades. Anderson this night wanted to showcase his newest album and some tracks from it. I also understand not wanting a new song from an album to show up on YouTube. But Youtube and other video sites flag inappropriate songs that infringe on copywrite immediately and pay the copyright owner to the song. I do not see the reasoning for making such a spectacle of having phones in the audience.
There was an intermission and during it the same photo showing no cell phones or cameras allowed was displayed on the tron again before the second half of the show began.
Jethro Tull then made a big deal of the fact that during and “Locomotive Breath” phones were allowed and A ok to use. I have never seen an act do this and hope I don’t in the future. It is not what the audience came for. We are all adults and know when it’s appropriate to use and not use a phone. All of this can be done discretely and not make it the such a large part of the concert experience.
Jethro Tull saved the most anticipated songs for last. He ended the concert with Aqualung and did an encore “Locomotive Breath.” Meaning if you hung for the entire concert, you did experience the songs usually included early in the night, but you did need to stay for the entire night to hear them.
All and all it was a good and entertaining evening. Not quite as expected by most but still a good performance by Ian Anderson and the band.
Review by Donna Erichsen
Photo by George Bekris
Setlist:
Set 1:
Nothing Is Easy
We Used to Know
Heavy Horses
Sweet Dreams
Hunt by Numbers
Holly Herald
Wolf Unchained
Mine Is the Mountain
Bourree in E minor
Set 2:
Farm on the Freeway
The Navigators
Pavane in F-Sharp Minor
The Zealot Gene
Dark Ages
Aqualung
Encore:
Locomotive Breath