Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull)

An ad for the Warfield theatre in San Francisco informs us of an upcoming "evening with" (very small type) "Ian Anderson" (large type in some medieval/futuristic font) "of Jethro Tull with his band" (slightly smaller, in a different but equally medieval font) in which he will be "performing new songs and some Tull favorites" (smaller than above, same font). We were going to give Ian a break, but then a picture appeared in the paper of him posing with his flute, and that sort of thing simply cannot be permitted.

The idea of a rock band fronted by a guy with a flute is kind of cute, but does not justify a career that has gone on for about 25 years now and is still distinguished mainly by "Aqualung" and "Locomotive Breath." Jethro Tull was the musical equivalent of Dungeons & Dragons, in that a fondness for them marked one instantly as the kind of geek who was probably often seen in a cape. We always sympathized with these people, because they are harmless, clueless and spat upon, and Ian is probably one of them. We wouldn't be surprised if the excessive attention to typeface in the ad was contractually stipulated by the man himself. He must be quite insecure, since he feels it necessary not only to remind his fans who he is ("of Jethro Tull") but to assure them that he'll play some songs they like ("some Tull favorites"), not just whatever crap he's come up with lately.

On to Southern rock

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