The night was billed as “Ian Anderson Plays the Acoustic Jethro Tull,” and that’s pretty much what the audience at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles got, plus much more.

Creative revisions of those end-of-show Tull warhorses — “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath” — were just part of the night’s surprises, which included b-side/rarities and new material as well. The odd bits — such as “March the Mad Scientist,” which originally appeared on the Ring Out of Solstice Bells EP some 33 years ago around this very time, or “Just Trying To Be,” dating back to the Living in the Past album from 1972 — for most were the kind of longtime or true hardcore fan delights that made the show unpredictable.

Strumming and picking at his tiny acoustic guitar, as well as blowing flute subtle and boisterous and also pulling out a mandolin, Anderson was ever the pro yet self-effacing and witty with quips and comments between numbers, from historical perspectives on the songs to social commentary and bits of banter.  His band included current Tull keyboardist John O’Hare — who can swing pretty well in a jazz way for a classically trained fellow — and nimble-fingered bassist David Goodier.  Playing acoustic guitar, at times with flamenco flourish, there was Florian Opahle from Germany; jazz drummer Mark Mondesir delivered some deft touches on his kit; while the alluring Meena Bhasin on viola brought a fine duet voice on her instrument to Anderson’s flute, as well as a needed female presence to make it more than a “boy’s club.”

Highlights included Tull’s “Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day,” a global warming ditty written long before it was a political football issue; musical exchanges in “Rocks on the Road,” which closed out the first half of the night; the baroque whimsy of “Mother Goose”; Bach-goes-jazz (”bad cocktail jazz for a cruise ship,” Anderson said) in “Bouree”; and the playful “Serenade to a Cuckoo,” a cover of American jazz legend Rahsaan Roland Kirk that appeared on Tull’s first album back in 1968, This Was.

Opahle and Bhasin took the spotlight for their own compositions, “Andantino” and “Driving Skies,” and Anderson introduced new songs in the form of “Tea with the Princess,” a collaboration in India last year with Ravi Shankar’s daughter, sitarist Anoushka Shankar and the spry “A Change of Horses” mashing up, sort of, Indian music styling with Celtic coloring.

At 62, Anderson is still quite animated and, at times, he stalked the front of the stage with flute, mugging with eyes bugged a bit, though he and the band often sat on stools, especially for the gentlest performances.  No “Thick as a Brick” needed this time out, nor “Budapest,” which are both more the stuff of Tull show mini-epics anyway.

In all, it was a musically rich evening, one that seemed quite appreciated by an audience whose core was, yes, 50s and 60-ish, but one could also spot some college-age types and even parents with teen or pre-teen children — those kids taking it all in and realizing, perhaps, that there’s music well beyond “rock,” and it can take you to unexpected places for a night of enchantment and mirth. And yeah, a bit of cutting loose too, in that Anderson/Tullish way.

Surely we’ll see Tull proper back on the road again — Martin Barre unleashing electric riffs and such with Doane Perry (who turned up as a special guest to play bongos and things, since he lives in L.A.) pounding drums when appropriate. However, the acoustic approach, which has played a great part in Tull shows over the last few years as is — such as the group’s superb 2005 appearance at the Kodak in Hollywood with violinist Lucia Micarelli or South American tour of 2007 with Anne Marie Calhoun (search out the Buenos Aires date — it’s out there) — should be explored further, either by the band or Anderson in another outing, such as the Wiltern concert.  So, in a presumptuous fan-as-critic move, here’s a little wish-list of songs that would be so-fine getting an acoustic or semi-acoustic treatment, with album sources listed:

“Alive and Well and Living In” (Living in the Best, Benefit remaster)
“Summerday Sands” (20 Years of Tull Box Set, Minstrel in the Gallery remaster)
“Cup of Wonder” and “Beltane” (20 Years of Tull, Songs From the Wood remaster)
“Rover” and “Broadford Bazaar” (Heavy Horses remaster)
“Slow Marching Band” (Broadsword and the Beast)
“Dogs of Midwinter” (Crest of a Knave)
“Gift of Roses” (.com)

And Ian, all just requests, ya know? But I had to ask.