Jethro Tull – The Curiosity Tour – The Lowry, Salford – 26th April 2026

LET’S GO LIVING IN THE PAST

“It’s nineteen sixty eight!” declares Ian Anderson as he strolls on following the ‘no photos’ request reinforced by the cheeky squirrel who’s spent some time dancing around on the back projection screen.

And for a brief while it actually is. A low key warm up with the harmonica and Jack Clark’s bluesy riff and even an appearance and intro from Tull Alumnus to introduce A Song For Jeffrey (and more bluesy harmonica) and we’re off. The screens even offer a glimpse of original Tull guitarist the late Mick Abrahams and there’s even a flash of a fella playing left hand – not Ziggy but Tony Iommi in his ever so brief stint in Tull twixt Mick and Martin Barre.

Drums and keys are set at stage left and right, nudging the wings, but n the latest in maintaining eye contact arrangement. It leaves enough of a gap inbetween for what it has to be said, the star of the show, to move lithely and lightly to the lip of the stage and see the whites of the eyes of those in the front stalls. Yes he occasionally shifts in some of the trademark one legged shapes and poses which at the grand age of 78 is fair going.

BEYOND 1968…

The latest guitar foil is “from Manchester” Jack Clark (who can boast an Ian Anderson testimonial on his website). he steps forward on a handful of showcase solos, even earning spontaneous applause after he does his duty on Aqualung. The rest of the band (who all seem to be “from Bristol“) is made up of long term buddies in IA/JT incarnations – David Goodier and John O’Hara, plus Scott Hammond. The latter flitting between a stripped back drum kit and an almost Hello Kitty set when he steps forward for a rustic, and dedicated to Billy Bunter, Fat Man.

And from 1968, we barely get past the mid to late Seventies aside a trip to Budapest for a letter day (well, Eighties) Tull classic which, despite what some might mark as having as doubtful content, one Youtube fan has called “sums up 50 years of Tull in 10 mins if any arrangement ever could. All the influences; world music, rock, heavy metal, jazz, blues, folk.” Maybe a concession to the obvious imitations and stain on a voice that’s been tested over seven decades and had its share of difficulties, a handful of acoustic segments – Mother Goose, Fat Man and the bucolic parts of Thick As A Brick and Budapest – allow for a lighter touch on the voice.

They also pull out The Donkey And The Drum – a bright and breezy, under the radar instrumental that to be honest, negates any need for Bouree despite its nostalgic value. It’s akin to Anderson’s solo work on the excellent The Secret Language Of Birds, Rupi’s Dance and Divinities from the years when a departure and separation from being Jethro Tull was most welcomed.

GOING ON FOREVER

As Clark steps forward in the shadows to grind out that riff, the inevitable Aqualung gets an extended instrumental passage which shifts into ethnic areas. With music from the earlier days nostalgically dusted off, the strength of the more recent Tull material peppers the two sets. For all the Living In The Pasts and Locomotive Breaths, The Navigators shines in a selection that highlights how Jethro Tull/Ian Anderson is still a musical and lyrical force in Rock (and Prog) waters. Blessed with melodies and robust tempos, title tracks from The Zealot Gene and Curious Ruminant sit comfortably in a set where an embarrassment of musical riches from the legacy, makes for difficult demands in selecting a two hour selection.

After the dalliance with being a musical entity under his own name, Ian Anderson has found Jethro Tull a safe place to be again. With the massive run of tour dates making for small print on the back of the tourhisrt and ike the legs of the girl in Budapest – Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson seem to go on forever.

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