The first time that Marilyn and I saw James Taylor perform was at the Blossom Music Center in Ohio. That was in 1975 or '76. That was FORTY-SIX YEARS AGO, folks. Since then we have seen him at Star Lake Amphitheater, Heinz Hall (with the Pittsburgh Symphony), twice at PPG Paints Arena, and one or two other times that at places I can't remember. There is no other performer that we have seen live more often than James Taylor. He has never disappointed, and that honey-smooth JT voice remains as pure as ever. You know exactly what you are going to get from a James Taylor concert, and, as I said, you are never disappointed, and you can't wait to see him again.
Last night's concert with Jackson Browne as the opening act (not too shabby!) was originally scheduled for June of 2020. It was postponed twice for reasons that we all know, but when it all came to pass last night...what a delight!
Jackson Browne, as I said, was the opening act. Much of his one hour set consisted of new material. Honestly, given the demographics of the artists and the audience, nobody wants to hear these guys sing new material. He looked good (he is now a look-alike for Jeff Bridges) and sounded great, and he did give us Doctor My Eyes, Running On Empty, and in a duet with Taylor, The Pretender during his 60 minute set. Personally, I was bummed that he didn't do Somebody's Baby and Stay, but you can't have everything.
Taylor's set lasted an hour and fifty minutes, and as alluded to above, he gave the fans everything that they wanted. How many times do you think that James Taylor has sung Fire and Rain over the course of the last fifty years? It has to be tens of thousands of time. You would think that he would get tired of it and either skip it or just plain phone it in some nights. Nope. Pours everything into it every single time.
Can't say enough about the musicians and back up singers that accompanied each performer. One of James' back-ups was his son Henry. Funny story. Taylor introduced each musician and singer throughout the course of his set. One of then, Arnold McCullers, Taylor mentioned was from Cleveland, Ohio, which elicited the prerequisite boos from the crowd in Pittsburgh. McCullers gave an expected good natured "what the heck", and Taylor reacted by saying "But he left Cleveland in disgust." When the crowd cheered that comment, Taylor then said "I know how to pander to an audience." Good stuff.
His encore set included a duet with Browne on Take It Easy that was terrific, and the show concluded with You've Got A Friend. How appropriate.
So tell me, when will James Taylor be coming back to Pittsburgh again?
No comments:
Post a Comment