20 of 35: James Taylor
Seeing James Taylor in concert has been a dream of mine for a long time. I've loved his music since my dad played "Fire and Rain" on vinyl when I was in middle school. Since then, I've had a particular fondness for the singer/songwriter genre. Jim Croce, Carole King, and JJ Heller are just a few others I love in that category. And let's face it, as I get older, good ol' JT is getting older, too. And he did a LOT of "experimenting" in his younger days. All that to say, who knows how many tours he has left in him!
So I splurged. James was coming to Tulsa (about and hour and a half from where I live), and I bought tickets for myself and my husband Andrew.
When we got there, I was excited to see that our seats were to the side of the stage. Perfect view, and no heads in the way!
Besides being near the stage, we were also right next to the projection screen. Needless to say, we could see everything!
I would be lying if I said this dream were "just a concert." There's something about James Taylor's musical stories that resonates with me. Two or three songs in, I sat, mesmerized, tears of joy (what else could it be?!) streaming down my cheeks. Three years into our marriage, Andrew knows better than to ask me why I'm crying. I'm a crier, it's what I do.
The best part about concerts is getting to know an artist a little more as a person. Their stories of love and loss, their quirks, how they carry themselves, their sense of humor...and boy, did James have a sense of humor!
At one point, someone in the crowd yelled out "Sweet Baby James!" and he picked up the set list, turned it towards the audience and said, "See, now 'Sweet Baby James' is down here at number 15, and we're up here at number 6. Now, I know nothing in this life is certain, but I think the odds are pretty good we'll get to it."
Before singing "Handy Man", he made a reference to the main character in the story calling him "a gigolo...a he-whore, if you will." I'm not sure I've ever laughed so hard at a concert as I did when JT used the word "he-whore"!
Naturally, at the end...standing ovation. James Taylor is a legend. You don't let him leave the stage without one.
And then he blesses you by playing a couple more classics.
This concert reminded me that life is too short to NOT do the things you want to do. Spend a little money, have a lot of fun, make some ever-lasting memories.
