Father's Day 2018 with Ian Anderson & Jethro Tull at Ste. Michelle Winery.

    I won't be celebrating Father's Day with my daughters today. But not because they dislike me as much as some of the people on the Vancouver is Falling Facebook Group. We celebrated Father's Day last Sunday with a trip to the Jethro Tull 50th Anniversary concert at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery outside of Seattle.
     This trip also included an overnight stay at a most interesting hotel in Bothell called McMenamins Anderson School. I'll write about it later.
     My first introduction to Jethro Tull was in 1968 when I moved to Manchester England after 3 years of architecture school. I was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, where my mother's family moved during WW2 thinking it would be less likely bombed than Hull or other industrialized places.
     Those who have visited Blackpool often think that it's a pity it wasn't bombed!
    In subsequent years, Jethro Tull, and in particular, Ian Anderson, its zany flute-playing creator became my favourite musicians, along with the Beatles and Moody Blues. (What I didn't realize until last week was that Ian Anderson also lived in Blackpool for many years.)
     Jethro Tull's 50th Anniversary Tour has an astounding international schedule http://jethrotull.com/tour-dates/ but does include stops in Toronto Ottawa and Montreal in early July. My daughters arranged tickets for the Seattle area stop since it was closest to Vancouver.
    The Ste. Michelle Winery holds regular concerts throughout the summer, https://woodinville.boxoffice-tickets.com/Venues/Chateau-Ste-Michelle-Winery?gclid=CjwKCAjwjZjZBRAZEiwAPeLSKwQuhoW8CT0UM1bYoYcu7EevZzkW-LDtDxKprct0jB-hagZ4LfJOthoCZ8kQAvD_BwE
but you wouldn't know this from last Sunday's experience. Many patrons, (ourselves included) were left standing in the rain trying to get in until well after the concert started.
     We subsequently learned this was due to new and heightened security arrangements. But what was unforgivable is that no one from the venue came down the line to explain what was happening, nor apologize. Moreover, we subsequently learned there was a second entrance that was barely used.
    Once inside, this can be an attractive experience. You can go into the winery and buy a bottle of wine and enjoy it at the concert. The sound was good and the stage and seating arrangements are ok.
    To the management of Ste. Michelle Winery I say you really need to give your head a shake and do a better job in future, especially when it's raining.
     So here are a few images of the 70 year old Ian Anderson (like me, he's lost most of his hair) and the group. If you are in Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal, while Anderson's voice is not what it used to be, I highly recommend the show.
     Thanks Georgia and Claire for a most memorable Father's Day present and experience.
   

The show includes video messages from former members of the group

ps, The show ends with a performance of Aqualung, the group's most memorable song. It's about a homeless man, and seems as relevant today as it was almost fifty years ago when it was written. For those of you who don't know all the lyrics....

Sitting on a park bench
Eying little girls with bad intent
Snots running down his nose
Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes, hey, Aqualung

Drying in the cold sun
Watching as the frilly panties run, hey, Aqualung
Feeling like a dead duck
Spitting out pieces of his broken luck, oh, Aqualung

Sun streaking cold, an old man wandering lonely
Taking time, the only way he knows
Leg hurting bad as he bends to pick a dog end
He goes down to a bog and warms his feet

Feeling alone, the army's up the road
Salvation a la mode and a cup of tea
Aqualung, my friend, don't you start away uneasy
You poor old sod, you see it's only me

Do you still remember
December's foggy freeze
When the ice that clings on to your beard
It was screaming agony

Hey and…

Sun streaking cold, an old man wandering lonely
Taking time, the only way he knows
Leg hurting bad as he bends to pick a dog end
He goes down to a bog and warms his feet

Feeling alone, the army's up the road
Salvation a la mode and a cup of tea
Aqualung my friend don't you start away uneasy
You poor old sod, you see it's only me

Oh Aqualung

Songwriters: Ian Anderson

Aqualung lyrics © BMG Rights Management US, LLC