Submitted by admin on Fri, 2005-10-21 08:00. ::
One of the oddest and most interesting of all rock bands, Jethro Tull make an unlikely appearance at Grand Casino's Grand Tunica Event Center Saturday at 8 p.m.
Founder and leader Ian Anderson had drifted through a series of blues-based British bands when he formed Jethro Tull in 1967. Named for an 18th Century agriculturist and inventor, their first single was mistakenly attributed to Jethro Toe. Over the course of their first three albums, Tull honed their completely unique, eccentric blend of hard rock and English folk, but nothing had prepared listeners for the band's fourth record.
Released in 1971, Aqualung was an ambitious and surprisingly profound rock masterpiece, full of complex, multipart arrangements and lyrics that cut to the bone of existence. Released the same year Andrew Lloyd Webber's inoffensive musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" debuted, Aqualung was an extended meditation on the relationship between God and man that was notably hostile to the role of the church as intermediary. This was heady stuff in the early '70s, and many credit the album with forcing them to question matters of faith for the first time.
The equally ambitious and influential Thick as a Brick followed in 1972, an album that is essentially one long song. Though Jethro Tull has released 18 more studio albums since then, the band has never again reached the artistic heights of their two early '70s masterpieces. The band may know this, since their latest album is Aqualung Live, a concert recording of their most famous work, a free copy of which will be given to every attendee of Saturday's concert.
Tickets are $34.95 and $39.95 and are available at the Grand Casino box office (open Wednesday-Saturday, noon to 8 p.m.), by phone at (800) 946-4946, and through all Ticketmaster outlets, including online at Ticketmaster.com.
Tonight at 8 country superstar Travis Tritt returns to Sam's Town's River Palace Entertainment Center for a show that's being billed as a warmup to Saturday's Sam's Town 250 race at Memphis Motorsports Park. His latest album, released last year, is the star-studded rocker My Honky Tonk History. Tickets are $49 and are available at the Sam's Town box office, by phone at (800) 456-0711, and through all Ticketmaster outlets.
Also Friday at 9 p.m., the Doobie Brothers light on the stage of Horseshoe Casino's Bluesville. Over its 35-year history, the Doobie's lineup has been fluid, with more than a dozen players passing through the ranks. Most fans remain divided between those who favor the funky late-'70s version fronted by Michael McDonald ("Takin' It to the Streets," "What a Fool Believes"), representing the group's commercial peak, and those who prefer the rawer boogie sound of early Doobie Brothers ("China Grove," "Listen to the Music"). Advocates for the latter can rejoice. The current roster includes original members Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons and longtime drummer Michael Hossack. Though their last studio album was 2000's well-reviewed but little heard Sibling Rivalry, last year the group released a live CD and DVD, Live at Wolf Trap. Tickets are $40 and are available at the Horseshoe Casino box office (open Tuesday-Saturday, noon to 8 p.m.), by phone at (800) 303-7463, and through all Ticketmaster outlets.
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