Posted on 07/22/2006 11:39:55 AM PDT by pissant
I saw them in 1975 (November I think, maybe October), what I consider the classic lineup (Jeffrey, John, Barriemore, Martin, Ian); I saw them, hmm, in the 1990s I guess, and only Ian and Martin remained. The drummer was a very goofy blonde hippie young guy; Dave Pegg was on bass. The audience was a bunch of aging fans, plus their adult or teen children.
It's painful enough to watch aging NFL players hang around collecting a paycheck. At least the team can usually sweet-talk them into retiring before being embarrassingly cut from the team. Since Geldof is his own boss and doesn't have the sense to know when the show's over and retire, he has to find out this way. Obviously, his manager and handlers didn't have the guts to give him the bad news. They let him wander out on stage, look at the 50 people who showed up, and figure it out for himself. Sad.
Ian Anderson's glory days are far behind him. But I'd still rather see Tull than about 99.5% of other Rock & Rollers. I can count on my fingers how many bands I'd walk across the street to see for free, much less pay $50 for the deal.
But yes, from their inception until the end of the 1970s, the band was excellent.
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