Fan Experiences - Alabama Theater
The Alabama theater is quite a place to see Jethro Tull live. When I contemplated driving 2 hours to see my favorite band perform I factored in the fact that they would be playing in an old theater built in 1929. This peaked my interest as I am a history buff and like old things (is this why I like Tull?) anyway I arrived about 2 hours early not knowing if rush hour was going to slow my trip from Atlanta to downtown Birmingham. I was fortunate there was no traffic and arrived much too early or so I thought.
Walking up to the theatre I noticed that it was obviously not open yet so
I decided to stand around a bit and listen to the other 12 people next to me talk about the "good old days of Rock and Roll" about a half hour into the wait a women who I had not spotted before decided to invite all those waiting to the Rock Radio party upstairs in the theatre itself. Now I began to have no regrets about arriving early and after walking 3 flights of stairs I found myself in a room with beer and pizza and fans eager to meet Elvo. About 40 minutes later Ian came out from a back exit, sat down and signed autographs and chatted. I happened to have a white Tull shirt on which he signed after telling me twice not to twitch. It seems I moved while he was signing it but it came out well after all .
I spotted Ian's wife Shona next to Ian and I realized that I had seen more and more of her within the last 5 years then ever before . I believe Shona has taken an active roll in Ian's affairs on the road as far as schedules go and they seemed to compliment each other nicely. After Ian
disappeared we proceeded back down to the inside of the theatre.The theatre walls had an ornate medieval feel to it that added to the
atmosphere.
On to the show! Well what can I say? Willie Porter opened up for Tull once again and got a great response from the crowd.. Then Ian opened up with Living in the Past and time seemed to fly after that. Yes Ian is now once again on one leg and the band was
energetic, and I am still amazed at Martin's guitar playing. During the concert Ian had noted that he was at a wedding recently and David Palmer had requested his presence to play Elegy which prompted him to start playing it live again .When Tull played Elegy I enjoyed it
immensely considering Stormwatch is on of my favorite albums and songs from that album are not heard of much on stage anymore.
Ian hinted about what's going on with Cardinals in the Catholic church by dedicating the song Roots to Branches to Cardinal Law. Most songs will be familiar to many fans since the line up has not changed so much from last year. The Line up was as follows:
Living in the Past, Crosseyed Mary, Roots to Branches, Jack in the Green, TAAB, Hunt by Numbers, Elegy, Song for Jeffrey, The Water Carrier, Slob, Wonder'ing Aloud, Pibroch, A New Day Yesterday, Boris Dancing, Budapest,New Jig, Agualung, Locomotive Breath, Sweet Dreams, Ballons, Cheerio.
Ian's flute playing was electric and I notice some heads shake in disbelief. I left the concert with a huge smile on my face and realized Jethro Tull is Living with the Past
nicely.
Douglas, May 1st 2002
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