When Martin Barre was originally set to play the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois, it was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Jethro Tull’s groundbreaking fourth studio album, Aqualung. Of course, that 50th anniversary came and went with only a handful of European dates played, due to the COVID pandemic royally screwing things up. But as the old saying goes, good things come to those who wait. Last Thursday, Barre and his band finally took the Arcada stage to celebrate not only Aqualung, but Barre’s legendary career with Jethro Tull, which spanned from 1968 to 2011. Making the occasion even more special was the inclusion of classic era Tull drummer Clive Bunker. Technically, there was more Jethro Tull onstage than what Ian Anderson currently labels as Jethro Tull, but I digress.
The evening began with an hour long set of fan favorites, deep tracks, and selections from Barre’s solo catalog. My favorite moments of this first half were “Hunting Girl” and “Heavy Horses”, both staples of Tull’s late 70s output. Judging from the crowd’s enthusiastic reaction, the collective highlight was when they dusted off “Paparazzi”: an album cut off Tull’s critically maligned 1984 album, Under Wraps. Only with a legion of diehards would this get such an ovation. The closest thing I can compare it to was a few years back when I saw Gene Simmons of KISS play a solo show and he performed two songs off the infamous Music from the Elder (1981).
After a brief intermission, the band returned to the stage, kicking off the second set with “Nothing is Easy” and “A Song for Jeffrey”, before going head first into the main event: Aqualung. This is an album I’ve heard several times over the years, thanks to my dad and uncles, to the point where it’s practically ingrained in my being. I wondered how it would translate live. Many bands who embark on such an endeavor will make an effort to replicate the album in a live setting exactly the way it was recorded (i.e. Rush performing Moving Pictures on the Time Machine tour). Barre, on the other hand, took a different route.
The biggest difference between the original recording and Barre’s performance was the absence of flute. I know what your thinking: Jethro Tull without a flute? How? Well, Barre supplemented this throughout the night using a twin guitar approach. This at times made the arrangements sound more in line with Wishbone Ash or Iron Maiden than say Jethro Tull, the latter especially proving to be the case on “Cross Eyed Mary”. In other words, it gave the band a heavier, more metallic edge than on record. There was also the inclusion of two young women singing background vocals, whose harmonious stylings elevated the folksy “Slipstream”, “Wond’ring Around”, and “Cheap Day Return”, which were put together as a trilogy.
This wasn’t the only moment of the night where the album’s original track listing was tweaked. “My God”, “Hymn 43”, and “Wind Up” were also played in sequence, forming a trilogy of atheistic hard rockers that perhaps might’ve hit even harder on the album if they were sequenced in this order. In particular, “My God” sounded most different from its original arrangement. This new arrangement sees Barre playing Anderson’s legendary classically tinged flute solo on the guitar, making it sound Opeth circa Blackwater Park (i.e. “Bleak”).
Taking all these differences into consideration, did it work? For the most part, yes. Once you got used to the absence of the flute, it became clear that this was a band determined to play this music with the same intensity and vigor that went into its recording all those decades ago. Despite his age, Barre can still solo like a madman, shredding with energy and ease. Bunker remains a consummate professional as well. Hitting just as hard as he did then, he deserves to be mentioned alongside the likes of Carmine Appice and Mitch Mitchell as one of the all time great power drummers. Whether you’re a Jethro Tull fanatic, or a mere casual who wants to take a deeper dive into their catalog, Martin Barre’s current tour offers something for everyone. For this iconic axeslinger, there’s “No way to slow down.”
Setlist
Set 1
- “Hunting Girl” (Jethro Tull song)
- “A New Day Yesterday” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Back to Steel”
- “Love Story” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Lone Wolf”
- “Paparazzi” (Jethro Tull song)
- “1000 Mothers” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Heavy Horses” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Fat Man” (Jethro Tull song)
Intermission
Set 2
- “Nothing is Easy” (Jethro Tull song)
- “A Song for Jeffrey” (Jethro Tull song)
Aqualung
- “Aqualung” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Cross-Eyed Mary” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Slipstream” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Wond’ring Around” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Cheap Day Return” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Mother Goose” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Up to Me” (Jethro Tull song)
- “My God” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Hymn 43” (Jethro Tull song)
- “Wind-Up” (Jethro Tull song)
Encore
- “Teacher” (Jethro Tull song)
