The week before Thanksgiving Jeff and I went to Ian Anderson (lead vocalist and flutist for Jethro Tull). It was an interesting format show… sort of a semi-talk show semi-concert. Bob the Blade, an WRDU DJ who has been on radio stations around the Triangle for as long as I can remember, co-hosted. Here are my take-aways:

1) the guy can really play some flute
2) after a certain point, an affected singing style (as much as you might like it to start with) becomes a wee bit annoying
3) no one seems to be able to answer the question: “Is Jethro Tull a ‘guy thing'”?

On the last, Ian had asked for questions from the audience. Given my propensity for keeping my mouth shut (none), you’d figure that I’d have one.

Background:
a) Looking around the audience, it was 65-70% male
b) There were many “clumps of men” who attended the show as a group. Going to shows as a single-sex group is fairly common, I think, amongst women (at least the ones I know), but (perhaps because of the shows I tend to go see), seems to be pretty rare for guys.
c) At several times in my past (most memorably in high school) people have been surprised that I like Tull(1) . Now that could be a *me* thing, but it has alwasts seemed to be a “surprised that a girl likes them” thing. (Same thing happens with Rush).

(1) Tim (sung in response to something about having a cold or something else that was a good segue): “Snot running down her nose …”
Me: “Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes…”

At that point several people turned and goggled at me, surprised, I think that I knew a Tull song.

So my question (after having told the story above) was: “Is Jethro Tull a guy thing.” I don’t think Ian “got it” as his answer seemed mainly concerned with whether Jethro Tull was a guy *name* (duh). Bob the Blade “got it” though, and asked (after Ian had explained that Jethro Tull was a male name): “No, but really, do you think it’s a ‘guy thing’.” The answer, I admit, was unsatisfactory (something about sex and something about rock, but nothing really useful).

I, however, felt validated as several women cheered when I first asked the question (perhaps also having had the experience of people being shocked upon discovering they liked Tull too).