Rockin' Out with the Yuppies


Blogging When I Can - Day 1 for "Schedule? What Schedule?"*
John and I went down to Bristow, VA last night to see a concert. This is a pretty big event for us - we don't generally get out to see live music a lot, as much as we like the shows themselves. The logistics are often daunting, we can't stand cigarette smoke, and big crowds really aren't our thing. But due to my thirty-odd year obsession with James Taylor (shared by most of my family - musical obsession: nature or nurture? Discuss.), we got dressed, loaded ourselves into John's new car, and headed off to the show. Driving the second family station wagon to see James Taylor? I know. If you're about to leave a hipper-than-thou comment, don't bother. I'm very comfortable in my dorky yuppitude.

We had an additional impetus to go to this particular show, not that I really need one, as JT is my desert-island disc of all time. A classmate of mine now plays keyboards in JT's band, and we were able to spend about 20 minutes with him and meet the trumpet player as well before the show started: an unusual and really nice way to spend some time before a concert.

The concert itself? Fantastic. I am amazed at the way he can take something he has played hundreds of thousands of times and make it new, together with providing small fillips of humor throughout. An example of both: since he is now touring with horns (including a former member of the Blues Brothers), the oft-requested tune "Mexico" had a Mariachi flair to it. When the horns soloed, a roadie popped up behind them and plonked sombreros onto their heads (complete with dangling price tags). The players continued along, swinging in unison from side to side to highlight the silliness. When the gag was over, the roadie popped up and removed the sombreros. Silly, goofy, underplayed, and never overshadowing the music. James to a T.


*Due to the new job, the blogging schedule has been trashed, at least for now.
Posted: Sunday - July 24, 2005 at 01:27 PM         | |

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