Jethro Tull, written and performed by Ian Anderson

Jethro Tull the band may be on hiatus, or may be kaput, but Ian Anderson is keeping the name going strong. Anderson is back with his Thick as a Brick 2/Homo Eroticus band, but this time presenting the show as a rock opera of sorts.

Jethro Tull: Written and Performed by Ian Anderson breathes new life into the band’s namesake, agriculturist and inventor Jethro Tull (1674–1741), by bringing him to modern-day farming amid social strife, climate change, and food shortages via video clips and song.

Interacting with performers on the screen using pre-recorded tracks, Anderson and crew play and sing live and on point. The progressive style of music Jethro Tull (the band) has built its catalog on pair quite well the theatrics of Ian Anderson. His trademark flute in hand, Anderson opened the show with “Heavy Horses” and “Wind Up” slowly bringing the audience into the fold, then getting them to their feet with a very heavy “Aqualung,” featuring guitarist Florian Opahle on Gibson Les Paul and a younger, shaggier Ian Anderson via video clips.

With the show clocking at just over two hours (two sets plus intermission), Ian Anderson showed that he is still a master performer and musician, keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats with an appropriate mix of old Tull hits and a few new songs written for this show.

• Concert: Jethro Tull
• Date: October 17
• Venue: Balboa Theatre
• Setlist: Heavy Horses/Wind Up/Aqualung/With You There to Help Me/Back to the Family/Farm on the Freeway/Prosperous Pasture/Fruits of Frankenfield/Songs From the Wood/And the World Feeds Me/Living in the Past/Jack-in-the Green/The Witch’s Promise/Weathercock/Stick, Twist, Burn/Cheap Day Return/A New Day Yesterday/The Turnstile Gate/Locomotive Breath/[Encore] Requiem and Fugue