Prior to heading out last night, I asked my gaggle of Facebook friends if anyone else as attending James Taylor's show at the KFC Yum! Center, and reaction was mixed, including a few curses from an Irish friend and some proclamations of people with "better things to do." I can't help but think had these naysayers actually attended James Taylor's show, they would feel differently.
Singer/songwriters, by nature, like to tell stories. The best draw you in, take you somewhere else, make you feel like you're part of the story itself, and often the outcome is very positive and rewarding. James Taylor is simply phenomenal at both. While the Yum! Center wasn't at capacity, (the top sections weren't open!) there was solid showing of about 12,000 people. I would be willing to wager that all felt as if they knew James Taylor afterwards.
Taylor is very casual, delivered the hits flawlessly, and cracked jokes in between. Some song were performed acoustic, some full band, but all stunning. Much like most musicians with such lengthy catalogs, for the most part, he stuck to the hits. "Carolina in my Mind", "Millworker", "Sweet Baby James","Country Road", "You've Got a Friend", etc.
After some time warming up the crowd with some of the staples, Taylor announced that they had some new song but '"they sound just like the old one." Classic. That sort of honesty doesn't seem to exist with more modern music and was quite refreshing. While Taylor is older than my father (who was, by the way, very jealous that I got to attend and he didn't) I felt like giving the living legend a high-five for keeping it down-to-earth.
Should you get a chance, I would certainly try and catch his show at least once in your lifetime. It's timeless, good-for-the-soul music,
Photo credit: Adam Creech
