[fremder99]

I think I've mentioned this in another post... sorry to repeat myself, but maybe it's worth repeating... It's sorta typical of the concerts Tull put on...

The date, according to "The M of I" site was oct. 28, '72. The release of Living in the Past was only days away, and Jethro Tull came to the sports arena at LSU. The opening act was... Gentle Giant. If the Power and Glory album wasn't out yet, I think it came out soon after... They were really amazing! Not a loud band then; kinda understated, but musicianship oozing out all over the stage...

A long break before Tull. I walked around the concourse, to overlook the back of the stage. I could see the Minimoog (gearhead that I was even then...) and looked down behind the stage and saw a stack of folded gymnastics mats. On top was an gorilla suit... "Weird" I thought... musta been some "show" in here recently...

Soon enough the lights dimmed, and I could hear the acoustic guitar picking Thick As a Brick before Ian got on stage! "Holy sh*t!!" I says....

Well, quickly in the thunderous "riff" part, they stopped cold on a dime, and Ian stomped a foot switch, which caused a telephone sitting on a pedestal in the middle of the stage to ring. Ian pauses, walks over, picks it up.. "Yes.... yes... I see... I'll ask" He returns to the microphone, and says "There's a call for a Mr. K. Kong" and right back into the riff they dove, not missing a particle of a beat. While they "roared" on, a large gorilla comes gallumphing onto the stage, picks up the phone, and seems to carry on an animated converstation, and gallumphs back off statge...

The rest of "side one" carried on without interuption. It ended, cut to "tape" for the echoing end of side one, all house light went out. Only seconds later, a spot shoots down on a news desk, with a desk microphone, and a man began broadcasting news stories. They were right from the album cover. This included an interview of a 6-foot experimental "non-rabbit" and a bizarre "jam" involving each of the band members carrying a tiny cymbal on a stand and running around the stage while a strobe light (remember them??) froze their prancing in all sorts of stances and positions.

After 20 minutes (remember, side one was already 20 minutes long...) of these theatrics, the house lights blackened again, and the tape ran to introduce side two, which the band picked right up on cue. Side two was played straight through............

I, along with everyone else (~15000 seat venue) flew out of our seats for more than 10 minutes of standing O.... the band saoked it in, but there was no lull in the thunderous ovation. Finally, it began to taper off, and "quiet" was restored, as Ian approached the microphone.

"For our SECOND number..."

he announced, and was drowned out again by about 4-5 more minutes of standing O.... I barely remember much else about the show. A lot of Living in the Past was played, and This Was...

I left, a changed man!!