A JT Concert Review
Text And Photos By Mark Flitman
I’ve attended a few dozen James Taylor concerts in the past twenty years and I never go away disappointed -- or without another JT T-shirt. His voice is always perfect and his lyrics are the best in the business. Some performers wow you with their onstage energy, a light show or a volume level that stays with you for a few days after the event. But JT is one of the most consistent musicians/performers on the music scene today. The only thing in question when you go to a JT concert is what will he play and will any of his kids be with him.
I usually find out about a JT concert by seeing an ad in the paper. I never get good seats, but to hear a voice like JT’s, who cares. With the help of James Taylor Online, I knew far in advance when JT was coming to the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago. Mentally, my wife was in line for tickets weeks before they went on sale. Physically, she was there in time to get us seats in the third row on the left aisle, right next to the gate that leads backstage. This was also the home base for the security. From the minute we took our seats we knew this concert was going to be different.
At first, I was worried that I would not be able to take photos. No problem. But then something strange occurred. A security guard came up and told me that I was not allowed to use a telephoto lens. Pictures were okay, a lens to take better photos was not. Luckily, I had taken a few before they told me to take off the telephoto lens. Another unfortunate problem was a stage light that was shining directly at our eyes. This back light effect caused a majority of the photos to show James with a heavenly glow around him.
From the minute the lights went down, there was a parade of women coming up to security and pleading for the opportunity to hand JT flowers, notes, and even pizza. By the way James, the pizza fell on the floor while the young lady was talking to security. But, it’s okay, the security man picked up the slice of pizza that lay face down on the floor and wiped it on his sleeve. Moral of the story: Don’t eat pizza from strangers, even if they are fans! Some people even wanted to get an autograph during the concert! The security politely told them that James would accept flowers, etc, but would not sign autographs during the show.
Ben Taylor sang backup vocals on a number of songs and when the second half of the concert started, he came out by himself and told the crowd that he was going to sing a new song he wrote while his dad was doing his vocal exercises backstage. When he finished the song, which was a nice mellow Taylor tune, he said that he would go backstage and let James know that it was time to come out. Ben and James also sang Little Feat’s "Dixie Chicken" as one of their encores.
In the second half, when JT sang a few solo songs, the other singers left the stage, and on two separate occasions Arnold McCuller and David Lasley sat down right across the aisle from us.
As JT and the band began their encores, the security actually encouraged me to move up to the front of the stage along with a few dozen other fans. The good news was that I got to see the band up close. It was a dream come true. The bad news was that I was almost out of film.
The performance was exactly as I expected. In every JT show, you’ll see one or more of the following -- and you’ll be amused by it every time:
As always, I walked away very happy. JT picked an excellent group of songs for this tour. At his concerts, you are almost guaranteed to hear "Fire and Rain," "Sweet Baby James," "Steamroller," "You’ve Got a Friend”, “Carolina In My Mind”, “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You”, “Everyday," "Mexico," and "Your Smiling Face." You'll also hear a selection of songs from his latest album and some tunes that you haven’t heard him do in a long time. It was great to hear "I Was a Fool to Care" and "Me and My Guitar." Some songs were a little jazzier this time around and I must say I liked them better that way.
If James Taylor ever comes to your town, treat yourself to a great evening. You’ll be a fan for life!