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TULL TICKER ARCHIVE

Tull adds strings to complement flute

Violinist adds fresh sound -- and fresh look -- to rock legends

Saturday, October 22, 2005
AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Jethro Tull's long history of defying convention continues.

For most Tull detractors -- and there are many -- it's near blasphemy that a flute player fronts a rock band. Those critics would have come unglued to see the 1988 Grammy winners for hard rock/heavy metal at the Backyard on Wednesday, now with a violin in the forefront for nearly half the show.

It probably unnerved a few diehard fans, too.

The latest surprise came in the form of Lucia Micarelli, a twentysomething, classically trained violinist who brought a burst of energy and, let's face it, a bit of visual relief to a band that has been around for nearly 40 years. During her on-again, off-again appearances, she also fit in quite well with the band, equally at home playing an excerpt from a Sibelius concerto as she was helping propel "Locomotive Breath," Tull's standard hard-charging encore.

Standing next to Ian Anderson as she played, while furiously attacking her violin and throwing her body into every note, it was almost like opening a time capsule to Jethro Tull's front man as he looked in 1968, wild hair flying as he somehow conjured up rock 'n' roll with the unlikeliest of instruments.

Micarelli also brought a sense of adventure to a band that has been almost militant in its refusal to play non-Ian Anderson songs, leading them through instrumental covers of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," "The Love Theme from The Godfather," and most successfully, Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir."

But for those who like the classic rock Tull style, there was plenty of that. The band played eight of the 11 songs from their seminal "Aqualung" album, and even dipped back to their debut album with "Beggar's Farm." In fact, "Budapest" was the only Jethro Tull song played that was written in the past 17 years.

It wasn't until the last stretch of the second set, beginning with a surprise jiglike version of the rarely played "Hymn 43," that lead guitarist Martin Barre was able to shine. Relegated to the sidelines for much of the show, Barre made up for lost time as he blazed the way down the stretch during "My God" and "Aqualung."

Perhaps a bit quieter than most Jethro Tull shows, it was still refreshing to see a band so long in the tooth still daring to be different.

By Tom Labinski

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF