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PostPosted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 3:37 pm 
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Location: Pak Kok Village
Jethro Tull in HK, 24/6/2013

Review by Nick the Bookman
(including his usual passionate commentary about Lamma events and world politics)


Well, its been nigh on 20 years since Jethro Tull last graced a Hong Kong stage and I'm still quivering with anticipatory excitement at the realisation that in less than an hour, I'll be seeing the latest incarnation of JT back in HK. The gig is at Asia Arena and the fun starts as I board the Airport Express.

This paragraph is courtesy of Abbas and Aliza, a lovely Indian gentleman and his daughter. She's surprised him with a $980 ticket to "An Evening with Ian Anderson (and band) Playing the Music of Jethro Tull". A belated Father's Day present. Aliza digs her dad's musical tastes, but tells me she's equally excited about hoping to see Rihanna, aka Ri-Ri, play in HK (or is it Macau?) later this year. We also agree that Ri-Ri's on-off-on boyfriend Chris Brown deserves gelding to curb his violent impulses. Actually, that's mostly me. Or maybe he'll get blood poisoning from his next tranche of extensive tattoo work. Another overpaid and under-talented R'n'B singer bites the dust. Dream On. Two sneakyish music references for Abbas to enjoy. (Queen and Aerosmith for the lazy thinking among you). Anyway, I hope you both enjoyed the gig as much as I'm going to. It does get a bit confusing, keeping all the tenses separate, but hey in the SpaceTimeContinuum, All Is One. So there.

Have arrived at Asia Arena for my first gig of the year and fourth overall after Japandroids, Kraftwerk in 3-D, and Cold Cave. Plenty of space in the concert arena. Beer prices have gone up though from the former $50 a pint to $65, but you can bring them in with you. See a few vaguely familiar faces. Hi, John from Lamma and your mates. (Jumping ahead this is a different John from the one mentioned later with Dave. All Is One. See.) Time to go in.

I've got a $380 ticket on the aisle about 80 yards from the stage and about 10 yards behind the mixing desk. The "walk-in music" is very quiet. but there's a very interesting version of "21st Century Schizoid Man" playing. It's not King Crimson anyway, though Mike the sound man tells me it is the Crimson song. I ask if the music can go any louder and he say's the aforementioned "walk-in music" phrase, but don't worry. I'll hear the band, no problem. It's coming up to starting time and Tim Hardin's warbling through "...how can we hang onto a dream" fades abruptly as the lights go berserk and Ian and his quartet of fine musos slam into "Living In The Past".

Basically, this is going to be a concert of two halves. Two sets, each lasting about an hour with a 15 minute piss break in which to get further pissed. We are the lucky ones in HK because we're getting a Greatest Hits selection, centred mostly around the 40th Anniversary of "Thick As A Brick" and "TAAB2: Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock". The basic show that Ian has been touring around the rest of the world. As well as the above-mentioned tunes, other hits in Set One include "Beggars Farm" (1968), and "Mother Goose".

Then comes a new tune (to me, anyway) which Ian sarcastically dedicates to Sir Fred "The Shred" Goodwin, the man who presided over the demise of the Royal Bank of Scotland, while Britain's cyclopean and useless Prime Minister, Gordon "Incapability" Brown wanked away uselessly on the sidelines. Gordon Brown almost achieved the impossible by making his predecessor, Poodle The Bliar, seem almost like a statesman instead of an unhung war criminal with a fetish for strange American friends and a megalomanic desire to steal everyone else's money. But, we're talking about Sir Fred, who was eventually stripped of his knighthood and should have been stripped of his manhood if justice prevailed. Just think of no more mini "Shreddies" for Freddie.

Next comes a surprise treat. Ian brings on lovely young local flautist Melody Chang (Tsang?) for a fine duet through the J.S. Bach composition "Bouree" which he describes as "loathsome cocktail jazz". It isn't and Melody is not outclassed or disgraced. It's a graceful and elegant move by Ian who has made it a habit in recent years to give upcoming local musicians a chance to unleash their inner rock beast. Melody stays on stage for a second duet called "Grimanelli's Lament" based on a luckless-in-love fellow flautist whose paramours would resolutely refuse to sample his skin flute. Or polish his oboe. Or give him head until he was dead. Or something like that. Basically, the dude didn't score. But Melody can brag that she jammed with Jethro Tull in HK and yah boo sucks to those who didn't.

Ian, who had admitted to being 66, announces the final song of the first set is "Too Old To Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die" and hopes he won't because "that will really piss off the audience at The Royal Albert Hotel this weekend" (that's 29/6/2013). He has been in fine athletic form, doing the one legged stance and bopping and hopping around the stage like a man under the influence of very fine speed. I'm not suggesting for a moment that he is on drugs, but it is interesting to note that he bears a suspicious resemblance to actor Bryan Cranston who plays drug lord Walter White in the splendid series "Breaking Bad". The reddish goatee, the aviator glasses, the bald head which is covered by a bandana. Read nothing into this. Just my mordant sense of humour.

Anyway, half time is here and as I get my beer I get talking to the lovely Jackie who asks if I'm a writer. She says she saw me scribbling away at the Japandroids gig at Grappas. Memorable chiefly for the singer/guitarist leaping back into the speakers and sending them toppling onto his head. Drunmmer Paul from DP leapt in to the save the day and the show continued without further incident. Pleasure to meet you Jackie and your husband Mark and if for any bizarre reason you didn't love tonight's gig, I hope the dedication of this paragraph to you both will be of some slight comfort and a memory to treasure in the twilight of your years.

It's the second half and in quick succession we get fantastic versions of "Cross Eyed Mary", "Songs From The Wood" and "Hunting Girl". Complete with digital state of the art whiplash sound FX provided by a paramour of Romanian guitarist Florian (O'Parlet?) just before the start of the final song. Then, Florian gets his chance to shine on a splendid, technically proficient, hard rock workout on J.S. Bach's "Tocata and Fugue". He gives it some virtuoso wellie, that recalls the sonic skills of the late Randy Rhoads or Steve Vai. At this point, I might as well get around to introducing the rest of the band, who have been playing and plying their trade with Ian for the past decade or so. From stage left (as I look) there is John O'Hara on progtastic keyboards and synthy soundsweeps. David Goodier and his exemplary back to bass-ics skills. Scott Hammond who pounds away on his four (amd more) skins and assorted percussion bits and Ian (of course) on flutes and occasional mandolin and acoustic guitar strummage. Plus Melody as lovely second flute and eye candy. Seriously though. Everyone of the six of you did sterling work. No one was disgraced and this is one of the great shows that I've been privileged to see.

Must be getting near the end of the second set by now. I wonder what's coming up. Der-der-der-der-DUNH-der! All right, it's "Aqualung". A mighty fine tune and it's bringing up an unexpected stroll down Memory Lane and thoughts of Allan, Lamma's recently demised resident mendicant. Almost all of the lyrics (co-written by Ian and his ex-wife Jenny) could be a snapshot of Allan's lamentable final days. Basically, the last 18 months of his life was a slow grim slide into the abyss of severe alcoholism, malnutrition and side trips into heroin use.

Today, June 24, would have been his 70th birthday. I think he died on May 2, 2013. His life partner, Linda, reported him missing. The police scoured the hills of Lamma and checked with the major hospitals. Nothing. Linda kept pressing and the police visited their hovel-cum-homestead on 7/5/2013 where Allan's body was found. He had suffered a stroke or a heart attack and slipped head first and down behind the sofa. He was certified dead on 7/5/2013. Linda was distraught and I agreed to identify his body on 8/5/2013. Not pleasant. Forensic groupies will probably understand the words "gravitic lividity" and well, 'nuff said.

Allan could be a bit reeky at times. Rather like a petting zoo at hot high noon which has been drenched in a sewage deluge. But he was Mr. 4-7-11, 24-7, compared to the putrid miasmatic stench of corruption and hypocrisy emanating from Uncle Tom Obama's White House in the aftermath of Wikileaks, the possible torture of Bradley Manning and the persecution of Edward Snowden. Jesus, how the mighty do fall. Ozymandias Obama ("look upon my works... and despair") is just a fucking shrill shill for what I'll call Global Megacorp, the USA sub-branch. Protecting the corporocracy, the wanker bankers and high-level sleazy politicos who are Too Big To Fail and are running/ruining The Big Blue Marble In Space that we all call home.

Snowden, who has now applied for asylum in Russia (run by, lest we forget, Mad Vlad The Bad Cad) gave Obama a break in his selective leaks while holed up in Hong Kong. He said the intrusive cyber-spying was started by the previous Administration. That would be Bush Reich and its high ranking cabal of traitors, sots and religious bigots for whom all crimes are tolerable in the pursuit of Profits. All aided by a gutless, emasculated Fourth Estate, exemplified by Rupert Murdoch's global manure, sorry media, empire. I don't know about you, but I see no difference between Wikileaks et al and the late Mark Feldt, aka Deep Throat, or Daniel Ellsberg who released The Pentagon Papers.

Whew! Sorry about that. Kind of went off on one there. Anyway let's close with the contemplative image of Obama in Nelson Mandela's old jail cell on Robben Island. He was only there for about an hour. It should have been at least two decades. Fuck him. Back to the concert.

The dude who shouted out earlier for "Locomotive Breath" is about to get his request. I'm getting tired of sitting in the cheap bleachers and think I'll try my luck at sneaking forward. No problem at all. See John and Dave up front who tell me that ""kicking off the stage rush was one of our top moments". I agree. I got about 6 feet away from Ian at (my) stage right. The band is pulling out all the stops. Melody has come back on to share in this triumphant and horripilatory encore. Ian, the four band mates and Melody all link arms and take a well-deserved bow. The Show Is Over.

Just time enough to say hi and 'bye to Mike, the very competent sound man and Mark, the equally competent lighting maestro. Gentlemen, it was a pleasure to meet you both and enjoy a pleasurable stroll into the past. I asked Mark if he would be able to pass on my compliments and appreciation to Ian for another spectacular night. I told him how I'd seen Jethro Tull's previous gig at the Ko Shan Theatre on 23/2/1994. It was Ian on flute, Dave Pegg on bass, Doane Perry on drums, Andy Giddings on keyboards and the second longest lasting Tull member, Martin Barre on guitar.

I nicknamed that 25th Anniversary show The Rags-to-Riches Tour because of the washing line containing Jethro Tull t-shirts on (my) stage left. On stage right was a rattan sofa and small coffee table where Ian entertained some handpicked members of the crowd to tea while the band rocked out ferociously around them. I remember the white boiler suits and miners helmets. Ian threw me a t-shirt at one point and Martin got my Jethro Tull live CD signed by everyone, except Ian.

I told Mark how Ian saved my sanity. My future wife Marilena had just been booted out of HK for overstaying. Meant to be gone for six months which turned out to be 15 months. I was a week away from being kicked out of my flat. I had no job and no prospects and it was a case of suicide or go and see Jethro Tull. (Just joking about the suicide, obviously). JT saved my sanity and within 6 months I'd turned my life around. Especially big thanks to Keith Hassett who gave me a place to stay. With my dogs as well. Marilena got back into HK Christmas Day 1994. We got married 21/3/1995 and are still happily together. And that's a good penultimate sentence with which to end this story.

Except it's not. Last, but most especially not least, I'd like to extend huge thanks to Volodymyr, the Artistic Director of E.A.E., for bringing this show to Hong Kong. It's their debut show. I wish there had been more fans present to enjoy the gig. I hope to be present at many more of your forthcoming shows and close this story by saying welcome to the new players on the local scene. Here's to next time.

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