Jethro Tull Newcastle City Hall 2004 and 2006
I saw Jethro Tull at the City Hall in 2004 and 2006. Tull were involved in quite a number of projects during these years. In 2003 they released The Jethro Tull Christmas Album, which consisted of a collection of traditional Christmas songs, along with some Christmas songs written by Jethro Tull. The album was a big success and their best selling release since the 1987 Crest of a Knave.
The set for the 2004 concert included quite a few Christmas songs as a result, as well as some great old favourites like Beggars Farm and Nothing Is Easy, taking us right back to the very early days of the band. The setlist for the 2004 Newcastle concert (I got the list from a bootleg which was recorded at this gig): Aqua-Intro; Living In The Past; Nothing Is Easy; Beggar’s Farm; Eurology; A Christmas Song; Farm on the Freeway; Pavane; Weathercock; A Week of Moments; Mother Goose; Misére; Songs From The Wood; Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young To Die; Heavy Horses; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Flying Dutchman; My God; Holly Herald; Aqualung; Wind Up; Locomotive Breath; Protect and Survive; Cheerio. 
Both shows were great Tull fun. I went along with Norm and Will and we all enjoyed seeing the old guys again.
In 2005 Ian Anderson released a live double album and DVD called Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull. In addition, a DVD recorded live at the Isle of Wight 1970 and a live album called Aqualung Live (recorded in 2004) were both released in 2005. There were also further line-up changes in 2006 with bassist Jon Noyce leaving to be replaced by David Goodier, and keyboardist Giddings leaving to be replaced by John O’Hara. The 2006 tour was billed as the Aqualung tour, and Tull played that lp in its entirety. Setlist: Life Is A Long Song, Skating Away…, Living In The Past, Slipstream, Up To Me, Griminelli’s Lament¹, Aurora³, Wond’ring Aloud, Mo’z Art, Cheap Day Return/Mother Goose, She Is Like The Swallow, Bourée. Interval. Nocturne/Bohemian Rhapsody, Kashmir (incl. Whole Lotta Love), Cross-Eyed Mary, Hymn 43, Morris Minus, Flying Dutchman (intro)/My God, Budapest, Aqualung, Wind-Up, Locomotive Breath, Protect And Survive, Cheerio. Tull were accompanied by electric violinist Lucia Micarelli for this tour, and she also fronted the band herself for a couple of songs notably covers of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Zeppelin’s Kashmir. Electric violinists featured alongside Ian on a couple of Tull tours around this period. The 2006 concert was a sell out, proving that the band retained their popularity, and that they still have a loyal fan base.
31 Jul
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