Ian Anderson’s great concert aided by slick Web work

Last weekend, I enjoyed a fantastic concert by Ian Anderson, the lead singer and flute player for Jethro Tull. I originally planned to write a review of the concert, but this is an online marketing story instead.

I’m a fan of Pandora, the online music service that streams favorite songs and others like them, and one day in early September, a favorite Jethro Tull song (“Broadsword,” I think) began playing. Pandora also displays biographical information for many of the bands, and I stopped what I was doing to read the Tull article. Because I have stream-of-consciousness tendencies, I then wondered whether Tull still performed live.

Next stop: Google. That got me to JethroTull.com, where I learned that, indeed, Tull continues to tour. Not only that, Ian Anderson was preparing a solo tour in the U.S. that would be stopping in York, Pa., — my hometown — and Homestead, Pa., near Pittsburgh. Now my cranial wheels were turning. Even though I’m not particularly a fan of aging rockers, I had a hunch that a concert by Anderson, who is 63, would be a blast.

Now, I said this would be a story about Internet marketing, so I have pause for a moment to mention that the Jethro Tull site is excellent, and it’s a nice touch that IanAnderson.com redirects to JethroTull.com. It was easy to find information about the tour, and just as easy to find discographies, bios of band members and others who occasionally tour with Anderson, and even press information. After having seen Anderson perform and listening to several interviews with him, I can tell the site reflects his personality. A brief note on the home page announces Tull’s new presence on Facebook: “Luddites we were but no more … Look out, Lady Gaga.”

I have family in York and it had been a few months since my last visit, so I began planning a road trip with Susan and invited my sister and brother, their spouses, and my father (he’s 79) to the performance at the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center. Everyone thought it was a good idea. Dad, who’s got broad tastes in music, commented, “A flute player can’t get too wild can he?”

Back to the online marketing. Tull’s site has links to all of the performance venues, and the Strand-Capitol’s site made it easy to purchase seven contiguous seats. A few days later, the tickets arrived in the mail. We were set! Because Anderson doesn’t want to miss an opportunity to sell me a ticket or some music, he made it easy for me to get from JethroTull.com to the theater’s ticket-ordering page. And the theater handled everything perfectly, and even sent a follow-up email the day after the concert to ask about my experience.

The concert was wonderful. Anderson’s powerful flute reminds all of us that rock ‘n’ roll, despite its tough exterior, can contain some sweet melodies. I’m not a hardcore Tull fan, but in my youth I owned and subsequently wore out two of their vinyl albums, “Benefit” and “Songs from the Wood.” Anderson brought to the stage some outstanding musicians, including German guitarist Florian Opahle, who wowed the packed house with some great solo work.

Anderson’s voice is not what it used to be, but he delivers his lyrics in a breezy, folksy style that makes up for high notes his voice no longer carries. The set list included Tull classics “Thick as a Brick,” “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath” as well as some new songs, including tune that was still unnamed and “A Change of Horses,” which must be new because I can’t find a recording of it anywhere.

The family had a great time, even Dad, although he had trouble understanding some lyrics. Thanks to some well-done websites, it all started with a simple, online search.