Filed under: concert, featuredarticle, music
Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson Brings His Magic Flute to DC
Tickets go on sale at noon today for an evening with Jethro Tull’s front man, Ian Anderson, at The Birchmere in Alexandria in November.
As Jethro Tull’s singer and flutist, he helped propel the innovative rock band into huge popularity in the 1970s and 80s, by developing a new sound and style to the music scene, that included using a flute as a lead instrument.
The band will have recently finished yet another world tour (over 2,500 concerts to date) and Anderson will then start an East Coast solo tour, including a night to entertain fans in Washington DC.
Since 1968, Jethro Tull has released over 30 albums, and a few solo CDs by Anderson, mostly focusing on the acoustic side.
The concert is being billed as a night with Anderson singing and playing many tunes from the Tull catalogue, and featuring numerous acoustic tracks from some of the early Tull albums, such as This Was, Stand Up with the hit “Living In The Past,” and the classic 1971 album, Aqualung. Also expect some new solo material especially written for the show.
Anderson’s highly distinctive stage presence and aggressive style of playing the flute is personalized and identifiable by fans by his habit of standing on one leg while playing the flute, a la minstrel style. His signature flutter tonguing, humming, heavy audible breathing, singing and miked snorting while playing gives his flute a unique and aggressive sound.
According to the sleeve notes on “This Was,” the band’s first album, Anderson had recently switched from playing the guitar to the flute and had been playing only a few months when the bend entered the recording studio.
He is considered the musician who introduced the flute to rock music, and Jethro Tull is just about the only band to use it as the lead instrument.
As one of rock and roll’s pioneers, a quote about pop music he stated years ago is still relevant today “A lot of pop music is about stealing pocket money from children.” So true.
Joining Ian will be recording session guitarist Florian Opahle, drummer Scott Hammond, and Tull band mates John O’Hara playing the accordion and piano, and David Goodier on bass guitar.
Ian Anderson – The Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia (map)
Date & Time – Monday, November 15, 2010, 7:30 pm
Tickets – $79.50 and are available online or by calling 703-573-SEAT.
Nearest Metro Subway Station - Pentagon City – Blue and Yellow lines, then a 5-mile cab ride.
Parking - Limited free lot parking and street parking is available.
