James Taylor

[tequila girl]

Wow Lou, that's fabulous - what an amazing memory you will have forever!! can't wai to hear the rest..

[Glennsallnighter]

Lou texted me shortly after this and she was indeed that 'gibbering wreck' referred to earlier.

All I can say is Fantastic Lou! Well done, and I'm sure James was just as impressed to have such a loyal fan as you giving HIM s bit of attention. He sounds like a wonderful guy, and I'm delighted you had such a brilliant night and experience. But all I can say is YOU deserved it!

[TimothyBFan]

How freakin' awesome is that?!?!? I'm am overjoyed for you!!! Can't wait to see the pics and the review.

BTW---had I been at his feet when he sang You've Got A Friend, I would have broken into tears. That was one of the songs my hubby had played at our wedding for me and means bunches to me.

[Troubadour]

Thank you all - I still can't believe that it actually happened. I am pretty tired today, and I think I have more than a touch of PJW, but I have a couple of hours before work, so I'll write-up what else I can remember from last night!

The night was brilliant from the very beginning. I knew I was in the sixth row, but I didn't know where. When I got there, I was amazed to find that my seat was right on the end, in the center aisle! It was literally the seat I'd dreamed of. It couldn't have been better! My seat was actually slightly further into the aisle than some of the others, so I had a clear view of the stage and James in particular. I took this photo with my phone when I first got to my seat, so you can see the view I had. (That guy on stage is not James. )



The show started about five or ten minutes after 7:30. The lights went down, the other musicians walked out, and then once they had started playing, James walked out of the door to the left of the stage. He was wearing beige jeans with a pale blue shirt, a pale tartan tie and a dark blazer. As people clapped, he smiled and accepted the applause humbly, and did a cute "old man" sort of walk over to his mic, holding on to the railing at the side of the stage. They started with "Everyday". James said afterwards "That's a Buddy Holly cover, which, coincidentally, we sing every day..."

He then sang "Something In The Way She Moves", which he introduced as the song that got him his first record contract. "I played it to some people in London, including The Beatles. They liked it. In fact, George Harrison liked it so much, he wrote it a few years later." Everyone laughed and he sang it, backed up beautifully by his singers (Andrea Zonn, Kate Markowitz and Arnold McCuller.)

Next was "Walking Man", followed by "Shower The People". He commented afterwards that the latter is: "A cheerful little number. Quite unusual for me." His voice sounded incredible. Strong, soulful and just absolutely flawless. I was listening to his Greatest Hits earlier today and all I could think was "His voice hasn't changed in all these years." It has such a rich tone, and it is a complete joy to listen to.

He then said that he was going to sing a song called "Line 'Em Up". "You might think this is a political song, but it's not. The first verse talks about Richard Nixon leaving office and how he stood there and basically said 'Goodbye, I'm not a crook' and then got into his helicopter leaving all this mess behind him... but it's not a political song." Everyone laughed, and James continued to talk about how he was watching Nixon's exit on TV at the time and how he was fascinated by the way it was all staged. How Nixon walked along the line of White House employees ("shaking their hands for probably the first time"). He talked about the fact that Nixon had a sad walk, and then said "It's okay, I have a funky walk, too. I empathise." James realised he was rambling and said "Anyway, we'll get on with it. It's not a long song... in fact, the introduction is much longer than the song. Thank you for being patient."

Next was "My Traveling Star", which was absolutely gorgeous. James said it was about "the conflict between my desire to wander and explore, and the longing to be at home." The backing singers did a great job on this one. Andrea seemed to really feel this one. He then sang "Angry Blues" with a little intro about how he remembers where he was and how he was feeling when he wrote these songs. He said that he had an awful hangover and was trying to make himself feel better. He then commented on another song and said "When I wrote that one, I was lying on a pool table. We were rackin' 'em up... Anyway..." He smiled a little and launched into the song.

"Blossom" was somewhere around here. He described it as "unashamedly flower power". It was lovely (of course, the line in my sig is from Blossom) and I kept picturing the clip of him as a very young man sitting on a stool singing this song. I couldn't believe I was seeing that guy. He still sounds as beautiful as he did back then.

He spoke for a few minutes between each song and totally charmed the audience. He told mostly funny stories, but he referenced his past quite a bit and spoke briefly of a few of the darker moments in his life. I can't remember which song he was talking about here, but he said that he was in New York and his band, The Flying Machine, had broken up. "I got up the courage to call my Dad and I said 'Dad, I'm not doing so good.' He said 'Don't move, James.' and drove up to see me. He hauled my ass out of there. Kind of like Escape From New York."

He also mentioned his tie at one stage. He said it was given to him by someone in Scotland who tried to persuade him that it was his family tartan. He said "I'm sure there's a tartan for everybody." He then said that he wanted to wear it in Dublin the other night, but he asked the promoter "Will it offend anyone if I wear this Scottish tie tonight?" The promoter looked at him, shook his head and said "I wouldn't wear it." (James did his best Louis Walsh-style Irish accent for that part, and it was pretty cute!)

He then sang "Carolina In My Mind", "Up On The Roof" and "Country Road". The latter was the last song before the interval. (Little did I know then what was soon going to happen during the break!) Before "Country Road" he said "We're going to have a short intermission after this song. Or so it says here..." He held up a little chalkboard with the set list written on it. Everyone laughed as he frowned and ran his finger down it. He shrugged and said: "I don't know why we're having an intermission, to be honest... I don't have plans. I mean, you guys can feel free to do whatever you want, talk amongst yourselves... I'll probably just go through there (pointing to the backstage door) and stand the other side of that wall for twenty minutes and wait to come back on." It was SO cute! Everyone was laughing and he smiled and put the set list down. A guy yelled "Hold it up!" James realised what he said like three seconds later and said "Oh! Hold it up?" He picked the board up again and held it up to show the audience. He said "Got it? Good..." And then put it down again. He sang "Country Road" and then the lights went up for the interval. People started to make their way to the bathroom and the bar, but he sort of hung around and a few people with albums went down to the front. James went down to shake hands with them and sign a few things. A few more people went over and he sat down on the edge of the stage. I couldn't believe it! I went over, despite not having anything to sign, with my camera. I saw a few people handing him tickets to sign and so I took mine out of my bag. He had a black Sharpie that he was using for everyone (which was good, because I didn't have a pen!) A woman in front of me was telling him how her eight-year-old daughter loves his music. He smiled and said "Eight's a great age." Then he signed a few more things and shook the hands that were thrust his way. People were very quiet and respectful, but we were getting shoved a bit from behind so it was a bit squashed. A sad moment came when a guy from a few feet to the left passed James something and said "Could you write 'To Francis'?" and then explained that his brother had died last week. He said he was schizophrenic. I got the sense that it was suicide. It made me sad and I could see in James's face that he was pained by it. He obliged the guy and said "Oh man... I'm so sorry about your brother." I guess a lot of people feel like they can relate to James because of his history of depression and addiction and his openness about it in his songs. He must hear a lot of stories like that... I wonder how hard it is for him to deal with it? I mean, he was very quiet and respectful and happy to sign anything, but it must be very difficult when people tell you deeply personal, heart-wrenching stuff, and look at you as a kind of guide or mentor. He dealt with it very well, though, given the fact that there was a crowd, and I think it gave the guy a bit of comfort. I hope it did.

At every moment, I was thinking "He's going to get up and go before I get my turn..." But then, my turn came. He looked right into my face... and the rest is described in my previous post! I just can't believe it happened. I'm glad I got my ticket signed but, honestly, the memory of how tight he held my hand and the way he looked at me is more precious than anything. I will remember it forever. I have never met anybody so sincere and intense in my life! I know it sounds clichéd, but I felt like he could see right into me. I can't adequately describe how I felt. I just feel so honoured and so LUCKY that he would not just shake my hand but make me feel like the only person on earth for those few seconds.

After everything that happened in the interval, I went out to the bar. (I needed a drink!) When I returned, he was still sitting there, signing things. I was amazed. He sat there for the entire twenty minutes and nobody left disappointed. No security, no nothing. I can't think of many artists who would do that. Especially artists of his fame and calibre. He had removed his jacket and tie by this point, and he had a grey flat cap on, which looked great.

In the second half you could really feel the respect for him from the audience. A few people yelled out "Thank you, James!"

He sang a Leadbelly song, Western Plain (When I Was A Cowboy), Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, Sweet Baby James, Mexico and Shed A Little Light. Shed A Little Light is one of my current favourites, and he and his backing singers stood in a line singing. It was very gospel-y and absolutely gorgeous. James took his hat off for this one, stood up straight and held it in front of him, which I thought was very sweet. He did the usual intro to Sweet Baby James about writing a cowboy lullaby for his nephew. He also sang Copperline, which is one of my favourites. It was beautiful and so romantic, and I felt a bit teary during it!

He then said "We're going to play our most requested song." A woman yelled something which I didn't catch, but it was obviously an obscure song of his, because he laughed, turned to his backing singers who were also laughing and said "Darn it! We just took that one off the set list last night!" Steamroller was great. Funky and funny, and it was a good excuse for everyone to get a bit fired up for the finale.

Someone then called out "Fire And Rain" and he said "That's a good idea." Of course, it was beautiful, and you could tell that the audience were just wrapped up in the music and their own emotions. The band then went off briefly and returned for the encore. He invited everyone down to the front for the last two songs - I managed to get literally RIGHT at the front, just to James's right, by his feet. I was looking right up at him. I could even see a small part of the seam on the outside thigh of his jeans that was frayed. I was ridiculously close and I took it all in, knowing that I'll probably never get that near to him again! He sang "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" and "You've Got A Friend" for the encore and everyone sang along and danced. I got a bit of attention during those two songs, which was great. He was really cute, lively and soulful during How Sweet It Is, too.

The whole thing was just absolutely amazing. He was so humble, warm, humorous and appreciative of everything - I have SO much respect for him, especially after last night. I am also still in disbelief over my brief but incredible meeting with him. I remember texting GA in the lead up to the concert, saying "If I just get a glance from JT, I'll die!" Never in my wildest dreams did I think he would hold my hand like that and look right into my eyes. He has literally made my life.



Photos coming now...

[Troubadour]

James signing stuff in the interval.





As I was making my way to the front. Being tall REALLY helps sometimes! I ended up just by his right thigh when he was actually signing my ticket/holding my hand...

[Troubadour]

Kate Markowitz on the left and Andrea Zonn on the right.

[Henley Honey]

I'm so glad you had such a fabulous, memorable evening. Sometimes the anticipation of an event doesn't measure up to the actual experience, but it sounds like your night surpassed your wildest expectations by a mile!!
Gonna go play my fav JT cd right now.

[Troubadour]

When I was at the front for the encore. SIGH.





I love this one...

[Troubadour]

The backing singers.



Love this one, too.



Mike Landau in the blue shirt. GREAT guitarist.



James shaking a few hands at the very end...

[Troubadour]

What a night!