Jethro Tull - Truro Review

Living in Plymouth, I often bemoan the lack activity that the South West city sees. I usually get to a handful of local shows a year, but for a city the size of Plymouth it lacks decent live music infrastructure of key sizes - which is why I often have to travel if I want to see bands live. Plymouth, however, is certainly better served than Truro - England's most westerly city, and the only city in Cornwall. Truro is a small city by most metrics, though, and only feels like a city by default - given that there are larger and livelier towns across the country. It is not a bad place for a day out, but in terms of live music it is even less served than Plymouth - partly due to the additional hour-plus journey that it takes to get from Plymouth to Truro and the lack of a range of music venues. The city's premier venue, though, the Hall for Cornwall, is certainly a decent space - but, like most theatre-like venues of its type, it rarely attracts the sort of music that excites me. Prior to last night, I had only visited the venue once - which was all the way back in 2009. That night was a very memorable one, though. It was one of the first gigs that I drove to following passing my driving test earlier that year, and the stacked bill contained some bands which are now among my favourites. DragonForce topped the bill that night, but they are the band of the four which I listen to the least these days - as Sabaton, Sylosis, and Glamour of the Kill were all in support and are all bands that I still enjoy regularly. Most of the acts to grace the Hall for Cornwall's stage, though, tend to be easy listening or pop-type bands and singers - and I cannot remember the last time that a proper rock or metal band played at the venue. As such, the venue has always seemed a bit underused in my opinion - although it should be noted that it was closed for a few years in more recent times, during which it underwent a significant renovation. I did not really have many memories of the venue itself, besides the bar area near the main entrance, but the renovation seems to have made quite a difference - with the space now looking like a smaller version of the similarly-renovated Beacon in Bristol or the Symphony Hall in Birmingham. The reason for last night's rare visit to Truro, then, and my first visit to the city since 2021, was Jethro Tull bringing their latest UK tour to the Hall for Cornwall. Jethro Tull were once regular visitors to Plymouth, with the recently re-branded Arena hosting them a few times during the 1990s, but like most other bands they have not visited the city for many years - and opted to skip it again this time, in favour of gigs in Bristol and Truro instead to represent the South West. In some ways, though, it was nice to head down to Truro and catch up with the Hall for Cornwall again - even if the band's 7:30pm prompt stage time meant a bit of a rush down from Plymouth after work which left little time for a decent dinner. Given that Wetherspoons was packed, Burger King was the only realistic option. The early start was welcome, though, given the drive home afterwards - and the city was full of people in Jethro Tull shirts. Technically, last night was my first Jethro Tull show - although I saw the same band, minus current guitarist Jack Clark, back in 2018. At that point, the band were still operating as frontman Ian Anderson's solo band, although the transition back into Jethro Tull had somewhat started I think. In truth, then, this was my second Jethro Tull show - and my first for eight years. As much as I enjoyed seeing the band last time, I remember being disappointed by Anderson's vocals for much of the show - so I had decided not to go and see them again. Giving the local option on this tour, though, and on the strength of the band's recent run of albums, I decided to was time to give them another go - and I am now very glad that I did.

The evening got off to a great start when it turned out the tickets I had were in the very front row of the theatre. I do not remember specifically choosing them, and they were not expensive at all, so I think I just got very lucky. The t-shirts were also pretty cheap, so I treated myself to one whilst waiting for the band to come on stage. 7:30pm rolled around and the lights went down in the pretty full venue - as Anderson and Clark walked onto the stage. Opening with the bluesy Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You, the show got off to a low key start. Clark backed Anderson with some chugging blues guitar, whilst the latter sang and played the harmonica. From the off, Anderson sounded better than I remembered him sounding eight years ago. Perhaps my expectations were just more appropriately set this time, or perhaps he has regained some of his old strength, but Anderson's weaker vocals did not bother me anywhere near as much this time. I think I was just prepared for it - plus the combination of a fantastic overall performance, crystal clear sound, and my seat in the front row made the show a special one. I had expected to enjoy it, but I was pretty much blown away by the band last night - and Anderson, at 78, was a big reason why. The show was split into two halves. The first part largely focused on shorter, punchier songs - with some longer moments and plentiful jamming coming in the second half. The setlist was quite different to the 2018 tour, too, with some deep cuts, such as the muscular Beggar's Farm, included. The rest of the band joined Anderson and Clark for this second number, which saw Anderson's first forays with his trademark flute of the evening, before the jaunty A Song for Jeffrey, with Anderson switching back and forth between flute and harmonica, rounded out a trio of songs from 1968's This Was. Much of the band have been playing with Anderson for years at this point, but Clark is a new face - and his performance was another big reason why I enjoyed the show so much. His playing added a bit of a heaviness to the current band line-up - and he really got to cut loose properly for the first time during an excerpt from 1972's Thick as a Brick. Clark nailed the early guitar solo in this concert arrangement of the classic concept album, although not before John O'Hara (keyboards/recorder/percussion/vocals) laid down a rumbling Hammond organ solo. Great songs came thick and fast during this first half of the show. There were laid back moments such as the up-tempo acoustic-based folk rock of Mother Goose, with Clark and O'Hara adding woodwind instruments whilst Anderson strummed away on his acoustic guitar, and there were also heavier moments courtesy of some newer cuts like The Navigators and Curious Ruminant. The latter was perhaps a surprise highlight of the first set - with plenty more big guitar soloing from Clark and some bouncy flute from Anderson. A slightly cut down version of Songs from the Wood did showcase Anderson's vocal limitations more obviously, particularly given the lack of a really tight harmony vocalist in the band, but it was still worth hearing for the classic flute-led instrumental section alone. The most stripped back moment in the set, save for the opening cut, was a version of Fat Man - with Anderson on mandolin and drummer Scott Hammond adding various percussion. The vibe kept switching up during this first set, which kept the large crowd on their toes, before it ended with the band's version of Bourée - which saw soloing from most of the band before a 15 minute break.

The second half of the show certainly felt more progressive overall. Bourée had perhaps set the tone for what was to follow, and the second set certainly included more soloing and elongated arrangements. Anderson and O'Hara took to the stage alone to open the second half - with rumbling piano and delicate flute soon giving way to the intro of My God. The song proceeded with just Anderson and O'Hara for a brief period - but the rest of the band soon joined in, and the muscular prog rocker got the next part of the show off to a fine start. It came to a close with Anderson doing some very breathy, aggressive flute trills across the front of the stage - before the band transitioned into The Zealot Gene. The song was one of four played which were culled from the band's recent trilogy of new albums. It has been great seeing Jethro Tull so creative in recent years - and I have enjoyed all of the albums for different reasons. New material by older bands does not always go down well live, so including four newer songs was quite brave - but there seemed to be plenty of people familiar with the new albums, and the atmosphere never really dropped as it sometimes can when new material gets trotted out. There was another surprise thrown in in the form of the non-album instrumental piece The Donkey and the Drum. Whilst a lot of favourites were included in the setlist, this was not just a show for a casuals with their greatest hits collections. There were plenty of treats for the long-time fan, then, and The Donkey and the Drum was one such piece - which seems to have only featured prominently on one tour previously. It was a song that harked back to the band's late 1970s folk rock sound in a big way - and it was another song that allowed for some soloing from the band. The last newer cut came in the form of Over Jerusalem, a more sombre and slow-moving piece from the latest album which changed up the overall tone somewhat. Much of the material played was upbeat, with that classic Jethro Tull jaunty and tongue-in-cheek feeling - but Over Jerusalem showed that the band can also be more serious when they need to. There were only two songs left in the main set by this point, with an overall set-highlight in Budapest coming next. The song has always been a real favourite, so getting to hear it live was a real treat. It was a slightly shortened version overall, at least in terms of the lyrics and original arrangement, but there was also room for soloing towards the end. It was a track that brought the best out of Clark thanks to the ever-present lead guitar throughout - whilst Anderson sounded much more like his old self during the piece. It was, of course, left to the riffy Aqualung to round out the main set - and from Clark's opening riff the atmosphere in the room lifted further. Anderson sounded strong, armed with his acoustic guitar for much of it - whilst a shredded solo from Clark and more band jamming towards the end made the track a real instrumental feast for those gathered. The band then briefly stepped off the stage, but they were not gone for long before O'Hara returned and started up the distinct piano intro of Locomotive Breath. It was always going to be how the show ended, with the hard rocker bringing the curtain down on an excellent evening of live music with more flute excellence and muscular guitar playing. The setlist was:

Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You

Beggar's Farm

A Song for Jeffrey

Thick as a Brick

Mother Goose

Songs from the Wood

The Navigators

Fat Man

Curious Ruminant

Living in the Past

Bourée [Johann Sebastian Bach cover]

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My God

The Zealot Gene

The Donkey and the Drum

Over Jerusalem

Budapest

Aqualung

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Locomotive Breath

Cheerio

Given that I had enjoyed the 2018 show but had come away disappointed with Anderson's diminished vocal power, I did not expect to enjoy last night as much as I did. I had likely set my expectations appropriately this time, so the band ended up exceeding them with a really spirited performance and a great setlist. In reality, it is just great that Anderson is still able to perform at 78 - and he was full of energy throughout the whole night. It is great to now have a much more positive memory of him and Jethro Tull live - and I hope the band's current creative streak continues.