Ian Anderson TAAB Tour

Just saw Ian Anderson performing TAAB and TAAB2 live at the Smith Center in Las Vegas last night.   TAAB was performed in its entirety, then an intermission, followed by TAAB2.    The first half of the show featuring TAAB was excellent as expected.  Had someone sitting near me who had seen the original TAAB in 1972 who told me they were copying the show as exactly as possible down to the strange outfits they were wearing as they walked around the stage before the show started.    This was definitely more theatrical than any Tull concert I had seen the past, but of course technically it wasn't really a Tull concert as this was Ian Anderson's project and his band.  Be as that may, he was trying to copy the original show as much as possible and his younger bandmates did an excellent job in every respect.    I was a little worried about what to expect after the intermission, since I never listened to TAAB2 before last night and thought the show might take a drastic downturn.  However, it was quite the opposite, as I actually found myself enjoying the second half of the performance even more than the first.   TAAB2 is the best work Ian Anderson has done since the mid 70's, and in many ways the sound and instrumentation was better than TAAB.   It could also be the fact that it was new and as a result quite a bit more interesting to listent to than TAAB.   However, my wife who was not at all familiar with the music of Ian Anderson or Tull actually thought TAAB2 was much better.    There was a nice encor at the end after the band took several bows and came back out to performm Locomotive Breath which was a great way to finish the show followed by a standing ovation.     As I drove home, I wondered how can Ian Anderson create another masterpiece in TAAB2 so many years later, and without the rest of Tull..   It made me wonder where did all the creativity go for the past three decades?

Didn't see Tull until '76 so missed the original TAAB, but boots I've heard from that tour are outrageous!  It's like they were 1/2 prog band, 1/2 Monty Python.  Can't say enough good stuff about TAAB2, I was floored when I picked it up a few months ago.  Ian's voice hasn't sounded this good since 'Crest of a Knave'...only bummer is he had a falling out with Martin Barre but the guitar player he got to replace him does a fantastic job.  Give TAAB2 a chance and I think you'll be surprised.

By--Tor wrote: Yes the Monty Python analogy is pretty accurate. I'm pretty sure Ian Anderson doesn't take himself or his music very seriously, but it makes it all that more impressive that he is so good without seeming to care or try all that hard. He actually makes fun of progressive music as he jokes we are not aloud to call it pop music. Also, he does show an amazing amount of energy, hoping around the stage and standing on one leg while pointing his other leg in the air as plays the flute. Seems like he has more endurance than most performers a third his age. His new quitar player was very good, but I kind of had the feeling he could do so much more if he had the opportunity to really let loose.

How could it be an excellent show when Anderson literally cannot sing anymore? Sure, he can still play flute, but he has another guy do all the vocals! Ian just sings an easy line here and there.

It's sad and pathetic. I'd retire if my voice was that shot. I've never heard anyone in the history of rock who had his voice go as bad as Anderson's. Such a shame.


Edited by humor4u1959 - July 13 2013 at 01:01

They played Locomotive Breath on both the concerts I've attended with IA & Co. (both last year). I really can't understand why that one's a fan favourite, or why Ian insist on finishing every (well, as I said, he did at both I attended) concert with it.

They started playing Aqualung at one of the concerts though, but didn't finish it, 'cause some w**ker jumped up on stage right in the middle of it , causing Ian to breake it off, and give the security guards his famous stare.