Taylor
A few things about the show stood out last night.
-There was no opening act. James just walked out and started playing Secret of Life.
- About half way through the first set, a woman screamed out for Fire and Rain. Taylor just smiled and said, "Yep, we'll get to that." Then the woman yelled out for Mexico. Taylor then picked up the set list in front of him, and said "yeah, that too, you see."
- He closed the first set with Fire and Rain, delighting much of the crowd. Before going to intermission, he said he really wasn't sure why they were taking one. Then wished the crowd good luck if they had eaten a corn dog.
- In the second set, Taylor dedicated Sweet Baby James to a serviceman headed to Iraq. Taylor dedicated the song, then thanked him. At that point, the crowd gave the serviceman (who was seated somewhere in the grass behind the pavillion) a standing ovation.
This was a very nice moment. Taylor, who had been part of the "Vote for Change" tour, made no political comment during the show.
-The best moment of the show for me was Taylor doing Blossom, then following it up with Never Die Young, perhaps my favorite song of his. My father, who was with me, mentioned before the show that in 1974, when he had seen James at the Blossom venue, he had performed Blossom, a song from his first album. He had hoped James would play it again, and had a big smile when the song started.
-Taylor finished with two encores, closing after about 2 1/2 hours. His voice is as good as ever, and the performance more than lived up to expectations.