Last night I had the pleasure of experiencing Jethro Tull live in concert for the second time in my life.  The first time I saw the most famous progressive rock band fronted by a flautist was in 1997 when they played at the Sandstone Amphitheater (now the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater).  At that time, they were opened by Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP) another of my favorite bands in the genre.  Jethro Tull, and more specifically, front-man Ian Anderson have been playing for a long time.  Ian Anderson’s first band, the Blades, was formed in 1963 - nearly 45 years ago.  However, the set they played in ‘97 was fantastic and despite the jokes Ian Anderson made about getting old and his graying and disappearing hairline, musically he showed no signs of aging.

Despite the incredible set played in ‘97, I was initially a bit apprehensive about the concert last night.  It had been ten more years since the first time I saw them live, and after seeing Dylan’s disappointing concert a few months ago, I was not expecting the amazing concert that was presented last night.  This time there was no opening band — instead, Jethro Tull played two long sets separated by a 20 minute intermission. 

Ian Anderson took full charge of the stage for both sets and played with fantastic energy and enthusiasm for his music.  He livened up the music on many of his classic songs, changing the tone, tempo or melody enough to make each a unique and exciting experience. Aqualung, perhaps the band’s most famous song (but no where near the best) was changed to the point that it was barely recognizable melodically, but the spirit of the song remained in such a way that the audience fully bought into the changes and responded with some of the loudest and most enthusiastic applause I have heard at a concert.

The band did not spend the whole concert reminiscing with their classic songs, much of the time was spent introducing new music. There has been a steady genesis in the musical style of Jethro Tull over the years, and it is not hard to identify when a song was written in the band’s long history just by listening to a few bars.  However, the soul of the music has always remained steady and the unique sound of the group has made any song they create instantly identifiable as Tull.  The newest music presented at last night’s concert was no exception.  Every song was graced with a newness and fresh sound that did not borrow too heavily on past works, yet any one of them heard for the first time could not have been mistaken as originating from any group but Tull.

Overall the concert was easily among the best I have seen, and I hope Ian Anderson and his band continue to play for years to come.

This weekend, I will be attending the Kansas City Renaissance Festival held in Bonner Springs, KS.  I have attended the faire almost every year of my life that I have lived in Kansas City, since my parents started taking me along when I was very young.  From good food to great entertainment and interesting shopping, there is always more to do at the renaissance festival than I have time for in a single day.  I have been to renaissance fairs held in other cities, but so far Kansas City’s is better.  Not only is it huge, spanning 16 Acres of private land, but the land they have is used exclusively for the renaissance festival and related events.  This means that they are able to have a huge number of permanent structures, rides, and attractions that would not be possible at fairs that must be torn down after each festival. 

Each of the seven weekends the festival is open, they have a different theme.  This weekend’s theme is “Celtic Crimes of Fashion - Featuring the Scottish Heavy Athletics Wargames!” I am particularly interested in trying some haggis, the horrible sounding Scottish “delicacy” involving sheep organs cooked with oatmeal in a stomach lining.  Yum!

Bob Dylan is getting old.  His voice, never the most pleasing or melodious to begin with, is now very raspy and hard to understand.  It is obvious too, that he no longer has the energy he once had.  However, Dylan, one of the greatest poets and songwriters of our time is not giving up yet.

I saw Dylan live last night at Starlight theatre here in Kansas City.  A long time fan of his work and enormous contributions to twentieth century music, I was very excited to see him perform — but I was not without my reservations.  I saw Dylan singing on TV a few years ago, and between his failing voice and his lack of energy, I was afraid he could no longer put on a show worth seeing.

However, Dylan surprised me.  Rather than doing what I thought I wanted, and what most of the crowd expected, Dylan did not spend his time on stage reciting all his old classics and pandering to his past.  Instead, he focused on his newer works, songs that much of the audience had not heard, and he put everything he had into them.  While at first I was disappointed, I was soon drawn in and bought the performance entirely.  I think Dylan put it best last night when he sang “Spirit on the Water” from his 2006 Album “Modern Times”:

You think I'm over the hill
You think I'm past my prime
Let me see what you got
We can have a whopping good time

Last night I saw Rasputina in concert at the Record bar in the Westport area of Kansas City. A favorite band of mine, Rasputina has a very unique sound produced by a pair of electric Cellos and one drummer. The music has a classic rock/progressive feel, and in fact the band does a few excellent covers of Led Zeppelin and Heart. Though I love their music even off the stage, their live show is incredible. The two cellists dress in vintage clothing, sport very somber expressions throughout the performance, quip with snarky or eccentric commentary between songs, and play their instruments with a vigor and energy I have not seen in many performers. If you have not heard any music by this group, I highly recommend them.

Though Rasputina was the headliner, they were preceded by Alacartoona (and one other girl singer/songwriter which was not worth a mention) who describe themselves as a modern cabaret group. They put on a very energetic show and though I am not a big enough fan of the music to purchase their album, I would gladly attend any concert they are at for the quality of their live show.

One of the main events at the 2007 Conquest Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention was the Conquest Idol Competition.  This was the first year for this event at Conquest, but its popularity will ensure that it will continue next year. 

The effect of listening to a bunch of dedicated nerds get up on stage and try to sing was both painful and hilarious.  The best acts, unsurprisingly, were those that embraced their bad singing and used it along with intentionally horrible song choices for maximum comedic effect. 

Though the singing was almost universally bad, the event was a blast and I hope to see what next year’s entrants can do.

Click “Read More” for additional photos of the event.

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“Piano Squall” is the stage name of a pianist who specializes in video game and anime music. I attended his concert Anime St. Louis last week and was very impressed with his performance.

Read more and see additional photos after the jump. (more…)