Uncle G’s FUN Concert Memories: Jethro Tull in NYC 1977 (2013)

Date Published: 21 Sept 2013

Uncle G’s Classic Rock Concert Memories
Topic: Jethro Tull (30 Nov 77 @ MSG in NYC, N.Y., U.S.A.)

By Gary Brown
American Correspondent for Classic Rock Radio (UK)

Up until the time Jethro Tull hit the stage, I was nothing more than a casual fan of the band. I knew their music from hanging out with people who liked them. This is how I learned about their fourth album called Aqualung. A perfect studio offering. Actually had fans playing the air flute. No real cool flute players before Ian Anderson. At least not to my then 16-year-old knowledge. I was into other bands/musicians who included wind instruments in their music. The Marshall Tucker Band and Mike Oldfield (1973’s Tubular Bells) come to mind. Ann Wilson of Heart plays a wonderful flute. Her playing within the Heart catalog is sporadic. Stands out when she does play. Check out their early material. Their debut album, Deamboat Annie, is a classic. I digress. Ian Anderson and his fellow merrymakers, calling themselves Jethro Tull, were out there way before the few examples I’m using.

Note: Doing warm-up was a gentleman named Livingston Taylor. He was booed off stage within the first few minutes of his set.

Set List — Jethro Tull (30 Nov 77 @ MSG in NYC, N.Y., U.S.A.)

1. Wond’ring Aloud
2. Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day (trading up their musical instruments with each other)
3. Jack-In-The-Green
4. Thick As A Brick
5. Songs From The Wood
6. Instrumental Intro / 07. To Cry You A Song
7. A New Day Yesterday
8. Velvet Green
9. Hunting Girl
10. Too Old To Rock N’ Roll, Too Young To Die
11. Conundrum
12. Minstrel in the Gallery
13. Cross-Eyed Mary
14. Aqualung
15. Quatrain
16. Wind-Up
17. Locomotive Breath
18. The Dambusters March
19. Back-Door Angel (reprise)

I went from casual fan to hooked, right after they played; Songs From The Wood. It could not have been any better a concert experience. I was with a tight friend at the time, and his very hot brunette sister. She was an artist. On a white sheet, she made a banner for us to hold up. This incredible Jethro Tull logo-looking sign was made on a soft cotton sheet. We held it up proudly, and very wasted at that. Marijuana smoke filled the place. You got stoned just being inside the building. So at the end of one of the first few songs played, we threw our banner on the stage. We had good seats. Stage left, if I remember correctly. The keyboardist, be it Evans or Palmer, picked the banner up from the stage floor and draped it across his keyboards to display it. Like it was meant to be there. Stayed there the whole night, and at the end of the encore, he took it with him off the stage. A little interaction with a band member. Positive results. A cool memory I can share now.

During that timeframe, the Heavy Horses Tour, their next studio album after Songs From The Wood, yielded a live offering: Bursting Out (1978). I got it when first released, on an Eight-Track. I absolutely loved it. Wore the tape out. One of the coolest drum parts ever heard; No Lullaby. I always dug that drum intro. Behind the kit, Barrie “Barriemore” Barlow. One of my favorite Jethro Tull songs.

Jethro Tull Souvenir Pin (free to concert-goers) – WPLJ 95.5 FM New York City, NY USA

Jethro Tull is…

Ian Anderson – lead vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, mandolin, cymbals, whistles; all instruments (on track 2).[19]

Martin Barre – electric guitar, lute

John Glascock – backing vocals, bass guitar

John Evan – piano, organ, synthesizers

Dee Palmer – piano, portative pipe organ, synthesizers

Barriemore Barlow – drums, percussion, marimba, glockenspiel, bells, nakers, tabor.

I saw Jethro Tull again, back in 1993. Had a few different players in the band. A birthday present from my then-girlfriend Alexandra, who is now my wife of seventeen years. We went with a friend, Connie. Lawn seats. Outdoor concert. Beautiful weather. Procol Harum opened the show. I got to see them perform live, A Lighter Shade of Pale. Outstanding!

End of Article

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