Post by Tulltapes on Dec 17, 2015 20:21:30 GMT
Just wanted to stick in my brief review of the Martin shows I was lucky to have attended this week. Such a rare opportunity to see Martin and just an amazing tight band in both Cleveland. and Rochester. The Martin Barre Band are on absolute fire! I have not seen a tighter band in a very long time. The YouTube clips you see are not the same as seeing it live. The energy they brought was undeniable to everyone! I am still buzzing from it. Martin is charged up like I haven't seen before and playing his most fluid guitar ever. He has also become an entertaining/hilarious front man. 2 nights in a row with that much energy really left an impression. Very enthusiastic crowds from wall to wall. Different setlists, different banter from Martin! It was great to run into and chat with all the Jethro Tull Group members this week including Don Bauer, Bob Barber , and Dave Reynolds. I attended the Rochester show with bandmate Greg Fox from "Shuffling Madness" and couldn't get there until close to showtime, so luckily Dave (from Toronto) saved seats right up front for us. The setlists were varied and I loved everything he played. There was a handful of Tull songs played but... They are arranged different and it really brings new life to them. And it was my first Tull related show with NO AQUALUNG!! The guitar harmonies by Martin, and Dan Crisp are brilliant! It adds another dimension to the music but this was the kind of show where the setlist didn't matter as the band is so tight and having so much fun that it was just a joy to watch and experience all of it. I was able to give Martin some of the Steven Wilson Remixes as we heard he did not receive them. I think Charlie will be delivering him with more this week. He was so thrilled to finally get them and to get something he didn't have to sign lol. Martin and the band were very appreciative of the fans, very friendly, and very sincere. I am very happy that he was able to pull this off on his own and it should allow him to continue to take this band to new heights and come back for even bigger shows next time. Oh.. I couldn't even imagine Martin playing with Ian right now. It would be weird to see Martin as a sideman! I did alot of photography in Cleveland and will post more photos at some point.
