Finally unpacked from the convention. Impossible to put the entire experience into a few words. We drove over 8 hours each way. My band
The Shuffling Madness and our gear from Buffalo to Long Island. We arrived at the Holiday Inn in Huntington around 11pm and was immediately greeted by a singalong of
"Passion Play" coming from the bar area. Walking into the bar was almost surreal seeing all the people I have known for so long but never met face to face. Meeting Steve, Pat, and Charlie from the group was a highlight of the weekend and it felt like we had already met before. We got to chat for a bit over a couple drinks and after some wandering flute jams and more singalongs decided to get some rest for the convention day. Next morning was a beautiful fall drive through Huntington to the Elk's lodge. We arrived and began to setup for our opening set. We had guests Paul Forrest and our own "Darin Cody" sitting in for some songs. Things were running late. Doors had opened and we were not able to get a soundcheck or a run through. So we played our set under hectic conditions while the sound got ironed out.. It was alot of fun, and we luckily managed to entertain the crowd. It was great to play with Steve and hope we can do it again someday. He is a monster on the flute!
Now that our set was over I was able to relax and enjoy the rest of the convention. The next band up was
Heresy whom I've know about from past conventions and they were a treat! They performed some of Tull's biggest songs including
"No Lullaby", "Dark Ages", and
"Heavy Horses" They were very precise and really got the crowd into it. Great band! You just can't hear these songs played live anymore and they really nailed them.
Dark Ages gave me chills!
In Stone Circles continued the musical festivities and were also impressive.
"For Michael Collins, Jeffrey And Me" (with guest Paul Forrest and the guys from Warchild) was a nice surprise, as was "
Dr Bogenbroom".
There was a drawing for the Ian Anderson soundcheck/possible meet and greet which a group of conventioneers got to attend. I gave my ticket to our guest bass player as a gesture for his services filling in on short notice for Glenn Cornick whom we were to play with before learning of his passing. The ticket was a winner and he got to attend Ian's soundcheck which he enjoyed.
Next Band up was
Warchild performing the entire "Warchild" album (and
"Rainbow Blues") They were great! I give props to them for pulling off such a difficult album live and with the string section. They were the most theatrical band of the evening and there set was alot of fun.
Throughout the evening I had the chance to meet and chat with many people. It was great to meet and talk to Paul, Jeff, and Dan from The Jethro Tull board. Friends I have known for years.
Pat with Paul, and DanWe all headed to the Ian show which was about a 4 minute walk from the convention itself. The first rows were filled with the convention including us front row near center. Ian did a handful of
Homo Erraticus and seemed in good energy. His voice for most of HE was in excellent form. The rest of the show was the same set I had seen in Buffalo a few nights earlier. The extended version of
TAAB, 2 times in one week was very cool!
Back to the convention "Warchild" did another high energy set.
"Somethings on the Move" and
"Farm on the Freeway" were standouts! Around this time the convention was graced by the presence of the Ian Anderson band. They watched some songs from Warchild, and hung out with the fans for a good while. It was fun to chat with them. Ryan is especially personable as was David Goodier who say's he may want to take holiday in Buffalo sometime. (I assume in the summer) They were all very cool.
Scott Hammond from the Ian Anderson band enjoys "Warchild"The final band of the evening was the legendary
Rat Race Choir and they played a smokin' set with a vengeance! The crowd was in awe as they whipped through Thick as a Brick, Passion Play, Hunting Girl, Minstrel in the Gallery, with incredible energy and skill. Florians' jaw was on the ground as he watched! This band was an appropriate end to a great day of music.
After some much needed rest we headed down to the Holiday Inn banquet hall on Sunday and were treated to an extensive breakfast buffet. Most all the conventioneers and bands were in attendance and the merch tables were set up including one for TJTG.
King Keltic were doing a soundcheck and sounded excellent. While enjoying breakfast we were treated to an acoustic set by
Paul and Marcie Forrest ( plus Tony Garone of "Heresy") Just like the others it was a real treat as I have known of them for many years but never had the opportunity to see them. We had a long drive so we said our goodbyes before all the music ended and headed back home feeling we just left something special. Hopefully we have another get together before too many years go by. No other time can you be around so many like minded people. It was a memorable weekend to say the least and a real Tull fix! Huge Thank you to Barry, Dennis, and Mike for all they had to endure to put this all together. It was alot and they did a great job.