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July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | I just got back from an absolutely fantastic 4th of July weekend at Tanglewood. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate much during and after my wife and I set-up camp. But in between the three days we were there, the clouds and rain gave way to sunshine and pleasant weather - just in time for James Taylor’s concert. Normally, my wife and I visit Tanglewood (at least) once a year to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but I've been told that seeing James Taylor there was well worth the trip. Indeed, we got a special treat this past weekend.
It’s his so-called “Band of Legends” tour, and as per the concert notes, he was planning on releasing a new album featuring his band, which will compose of cover songs from the 50s, 60s and 70s. He performed a good number of them, including Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog,” (which Elvis also popularized), The Temptation’s “It’s Growing,” Wilson Pickett’s “In The Midnight Hour” among others. James Taylor’s band of legends, composed of:
Louis Conte – percussion; Walt Fowler and Lou Marini – horns; Steve Gadd – drums; Larry Goldings – keyboards; Jimmy Johnson – bass; Michael Landau – electric guitar; vocalists: David Lasley, Kate Markowitz and Arnold McCuller; and Andrea Zorn on vocals and fiddle.
Besides the cover tunes, he also played a good number of his original and classic songs, including “Country Road,” “Shower The People,” and “Steamroller.” He kept on switching between his Olson acoustic guitars and an electric guitar that resembled that of a Fender Telecaster. I couldn’t tell from the distance where I was at during the concert, and the big screen wasn’t much help either. He also played harmonica on one of the tunes he performed on stage. It was a SOLD OUT show, and I’ve never seen so many people in the many years that I’ve been visiting Tanglewood. I was told that there were about 20,000 people in attendance last Friday night!
The biggest surprises of all took place during the third hour of his set. While performing The Dixie Chicks’ “Some Days You Gotta Dance,” John Travolta jumped onto the stage, and greeted James with a belated 60th birthday. His wife, Kelly Preston also followed shortly after. With the microphone in John’s hand, he started to announce more surprise guests, which included:
a videotaped greeting from Paul McCartney wishing him a happy birthday “coming from one person who cleaned up his act to another” … and added that he should “behave himself” now that he’s 60.
a videotaped greeting from Homer Simpson who said “I love you even though I’ve never met you.” Homer’s video also showed clips from The Simpsons’ episode where James made an appearance, with Homer taking a trip to the moon and the chaos that followed after it.
cellist Yo-Yo Ma made a surprise appearance where he and James performed “Sweet Baby James.” The first time I saw both of them perform this song – although brief – was at the Grammy Awards on television many years ago. This night’s performance, they played the song in its entirety and that’s what made it very special. The crowd cheered wildly as he sang through the passage about a snowy December, and “so was the Turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston” and the Berkshires being “dreamlike on account of that frosting.”
Shortly after Yo-Yo Ma exited, John introduced Carole King onto the stage where she was greeted by an overwhelming standing ovation as she addressed the crowd with, “Welcome to the sixties!” She sang “(you make me feel like a) Natural Woman” solo, and then she got onto the piano where she and James performed “Up On The Roof” – a song she wrote and recorded by The Drifters before Taylor did his version of it. Then Carole sat on a stool, and with James on acoustic guitar, they both sang “You’ve Got A Friend.” James recalled having/had the opportunity to record the songs that Carole wrote many years ago, to which he jokingly exclaimed, “Little did I know I'd be singing it every night for the rest of my life.”
And then James’ twin boys brought a 5 or 6-layer cake onto the stage and sang “Happy Birthday.” The crowd cheered as he blew them candles out. As soon as the boys left the stage, James, along with his band, Carole and John performed “How Sweet It Is (to be loved by you)” as an encore performance. Fireworks followed shortly after the concert. What a wonderful night it was, and what made the event memorable was knowing that James donated all the proceeds from the concert to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and to help keep Tanglewood beautiful, as well as, the continuity of its music education programs. |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Sounds like GreatShow! |
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October 2006
Posts: 5576
Location: big island | very nice recap, gil. i almost feel as if i were there. thank you. |
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May 2008
Posts: 1565
Location: Indiana | How cool is that!
Thanks Gil. James is a treasure. |
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December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Super recap! |
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December 2004
Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | Sounds like it was a great concert. |
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October 2007
Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | You've showed me what I been missing. I don't live to far from Tanglewood and have never been there :o After hearring your "story" I gotta go!!
Glad you and your wife had a great time!!! |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Nice review.
Is it just me or does it seem like doing covers has become more & more popular?
Then again, JT was never one to shy away from them in the past. |
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Joined:
June 2003
Posts: 1792
Location: Rego Park, NY, | Pearl and I saw James Taylor almost 20 years ago at the Jones Beach Theater. It is also an outdoor venue. It rained for most of the concert. The stage has a tent so he was covered for the most part. We had seats that were in the last 3 rows of the theater. There was an overhang that kept us dry. It was also a great show. Gil, I'm glad you had a great time. |
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March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Back in the 70's I saw James in Los Angeles. He had special guests at that one too. Carol King did several songs with him, then David Crosby and Graham Nash came out and did several songs with him. But the best part was when Carly Simon came dancing out on to the stage and they did a rollicking version of Mockingbird. I hear that they have no contact with each other whatsoever now. It's a shame for their and their kids sakes, but even more for the music's sake. |
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OT - James Taylor and Tanglewood @4th of July
