IAN Anderson celebrates the life and times of the English agricultural inventor Jethro Tull with a series of concert tours across the UK.

The show tells the story of Tull's life, reimagined as if in the near future and conveyed through the progressive rock music of Anderson's band, named after the same man.

Anderson has lost none of his musical prowess or enthusiasm. Every song from the old catalogue – Aqualung, Locomotive Breath, Songs From The Woods – found its mark with the ecstatic crowd, drawing huge amounts of cheering and applause. However, the presentation left something to be desired.

The show’s use of a pre-recording audio and video backdrop proved more of a distraction than an enhancement, populated as it was by dull, wooden performers and baffling, ill-fitting visuals

The decision to transpose Tull’s life story, already vaguely represented at best, into the near future somewhat undercuts any intended celebration of his accomplishments. The connective segments were also similarly weak, lacking much clear direction.

Overall, I personally would have preferred a straight Jethro Tull concert, rather than the overcomplicated and slightly jumbled affair presented. The music was absolutely stellar, but most of the Rock Opera trappings served as little more than distractions from the main event. The show would have benefited from a little more focus, but it was still quite enjoyable.