In a word: outstanding! In a bunch more words: it was a geezer crowd, and we fit right in. And the sound level was perfect - enough volume so you could feel it, but no ringing ears. Nice!
Joan found us parking when she bought the tickets, months ago. Less than a block from the PHX Arena and $10 less than if you were paying that night. Almost enough to pay for a soda at the venue. The short walk to the arena, no wait to get in (we were early), which gave us time to look over the merch, get a couple T-shirts, walk around a bit, get a snack, then find our seats...
Good seats (above) and the obligatory selfie-at-the-arena...
Things got started only 10 minutes late. The opening act was 3 early 20-somethings who met at music college at Boston, Tiny Habits...
They were young, innocent, and had beautiful harmony. This was their first big gig, and they were awe-struck by it all. This is the first of James Taylor's summer concerts, so their first time playing to a huge crowd. Kind of a folk-pop sound. Cute.
They did a half hour set, got a standing ovation (keep in mind that the age of this crowd and these kids reminding them of their grandchildren), and trotted off the stage, giddy. The crew went to work resetting the stage, and James Taylor came on (at 8:30), solo...
As the song progressed, the rest of the band members came onstage. And what a band - a tight, cohesive group of world class players.
James played a selection of "traveling songs" to start the set... even picking up the huge set list (it was about a foot and a half wide and 5 feet long, in large print) to the delight of the crowd. Shtick, perhaps, but the crowd got a kick out of it. A couple times, as someone in the crowd would yell out a song, he would pick up that massive set list, show it to the crowd, and say, "Yeah, that's coming up." Frankly, he has had a lot of hits, so no way to get them all in.
The music was great, well-balanced, nice staging...
They played for two hours, no breaks. Pretty impressive for a guy 77 years old. Even though this was the first of their summer concerts (the band hasn't been together since last September), it was tight. Taylor got a laugh from the crowd when he started a song, quit abruptly, sheepishly apologized, then moved his capo to a different fret - "Wrong key."
Taylor took time to acknowledge each member of the band. 4 back up vocalists, a keyboards player, sax and trumpet players, a bassist, guitar player, drummer, and percussionist. All were outstanding.
The set list was a good musical journey, starting with the traveling theme, some of his biggest hits, some punchy numbers, some mellow... nice build up, soften, then kicking. Taylor told the story of how "You've Got a Friend" came to be written by Carol King... as a response of his line in Fire & Rain "I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend." He told how he was overwhelmed by the song, put it on his album, and... "Didn't realize I'd be playing that every night for the rest of my life." Good audience reaction.
Of course, it all led to a standing ovation, band exit, then their return for an encore. Two solid hours of James Taylor music. An appreciative audience.
An evening of great music that brought back "memories of the day."
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A video of the evening...
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