James Taylor Turns Hard Rock Live In Hollywood, Florida Into a Gathering of Old Friends
By Lisa Caplan
If you're anything like me, one of the first things you do when you go to a show with a musician from the olden days is you check your phone to see how old they are. James Taylor, 78 years old, performed his last show of this tour on Saturday night at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. On stage with him was his "All-Star Band" consisting of 4 backup singers (Kate Markowitz, Dorian Holley, Carmella Ramsay and his son Henry Taylor "he was a rescue"), drummer Steve Gadd, Jimmy Johnson on bass, Walt Fowler & Lou Marini on horns, Luis Conte on percussion...guitarist and keyboard player shall remain nameless to protect their identity (actually it's because I didn't catch their names).
James Taylor's first album was released in 1968, and although we've heard these songs countless times on the radio and in our living rooms, listening to him tell the backstory, even if it's not the first time you've heard it, is part of the magic of a James Taylor concert. He speaks openly and without shame about his battle with addiction and path to recovery, From the love song to his dealer (Whenever You're Ready) to the inspiration to turn things around in his own life, the death of John Belushi (That's Why I'm Here) Taylor joked that we'd reached the end of the educational portion of the program. He then brought us to the political portion of the program and without saying anything too controversial, introduced Line Em Up by telling how the song was inspired by Nixon's departure from the white house and, as if we were all in on the joke, said he misses Nixon. In helping us to visualize where that took place, he painted a picture with words, the way James Taylor does best, and said that the place where Nixon walked is where the boxing matches are held now. It was nice being in a room where that line got a lot of applause.
Taylor tells the story behind the song Millworker by talking about the play he wrote a song for that had a too short run for anyone to really know much about. A collaboration with Stephen Schwartz who wrote Godspell, Pippin & Wicked, The set list also included the songs the majority of people were there to here, Mexico, Handyman, Country Road, and of course You've Got a Friend by Carole King, that was inspired by Fire & Rain.
During Never Die Young, Henry Taylor had a solo and the pride in James Taylors face as he watched his son receive the full attention of the room was a lovely moment to observe and as beautiful in its silence as any song written by James Taylor.
Although most of Taylor's chatting with the audience was well rehearsed (including when people would shout out a request or a proclamation of love)
hearing his stories and corny jokes about being old were well received and although I've heard most of them before, the way he engages a room of close to 7000 people to make us all feel like we're sitting around after dinner, listening to an old friend, is one of the many reasons that make it so I will be in that room the next time he tours, and the time after that, etc, etc, etc. When the show wrapped and the band seemed to have a last minute idea to play just one more song, Sweet Baby James, but there was a video all queued up and ready to go that highlighted a book being sold at the merch table, I couldn't even be mad. Just going to shower the people I love with love.
All images by Larry Marano:
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