Description: Now in my 40's my musical tastes have come full circle. I listed to James growing up and here I am still listing to him. Though quite honestly I have never stopped listening to him. So when he pulled into Charlotte this summer, I couldn’t wait to go.
James and his band of legends were in town at the Verizion Wireless Amphitheatre under the Carolina stars for a great night of music and sing alongs. James sang a collection of his own songs as well as others. He covered everybody from the Dixie Chicks, the Temptations, Junior Walker, to a version of
Hound Dog the way Big Mama Thornton performed it, not Elvis.
During the first set he performed such covers as
Why Baby Why, Wichita Lineman and even
Oh What a Beautiful Morning from
Oklahoma . The he performed his classics such as
Mexico, You’ve Got a Friend, and Country Road . After intermission James and his band delighted fans with such songs as
Sweet Baby James, Shower the People, and Steamroller Blues. Of course this being NC, he couldn’t go without singing
Carolina on My Mind . Thankfully he started out the encore with it and had the audience singing right along. Right after that I left to make the long treck back to my car.
For more than 40 years has been proving his fans with sweet sounds. He has sold over 40 million records. He has 40 gold and platinum albums and 5 Grammy awards. Billboard Magazine awarded him their Century Award in 1998. He is in both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2006 he was the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences MUSICARES Person of the Year.
While James is often labeled as folk music or rock music, his fans seem to seem to come from all walks of life. The one thing they have in common is everyone is at the show to enjoy themselves. There are no fighting, drunks, or other misbehaving idiots. Just a bunch of talent-loving fans. James fans also run the gamut in age ranges. I saw several young children there with their parents who sang along with Jaime’s songs just like mom and dad.
James and his band of legends performed for somewhere around 2 hours. All these many years later and James’s voice is still as smooth as always. The show was terrific and thankfully no one was opening for them. Now when you go to see James Taylor, don’t expect a lavish stage show and backup dancers. It’s just James, his guitar, that wonderful voice, and his equally talented band. And that is just the way fans like it. Or at least at this show. Fans sang along with James and shouted and cheered, but no one out of control. During their 20 minute break James comes out and signed autographs for fans. Unfortunately for me the only bad thing about this concert was that there had been a water line break earlier and bathrooms were limited to about half a dozen porta-a-poties and I spend most of the intermission in the bathroom line and missing a change to shake hands with one of my favorite singers.
Despite the lack of bathrooms the night couldn’t have been more perfect. I was watching one of my favorite singers performing under this balmy Carolina night, singing to my favorite songs, and just having a terrific night out. If your looking for a great night out then makes sure that if James is in town, you go see him.
For more information go to www.jamestaylor.com.
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