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[MUSIC REVIEW] James Taylor at the Colonial Theatre
7.23.07
COLONIAL THEATRE
James Taylor's "One Man Band" Show
July 20, 2007
review by SETH ROGOVOY, editor-in-chief and critic-at-large, BERKSHIRE LIVING
Magazine
(PITTSFIELD, Mass., July 21, 2007) -- It's fair to say that the six-hundred or so lucky souls who were at the Colonial Theatre last night -- the second night of a two-night stand
of his "One Man Band" show -- had never seen James Taylor perform in such intimate confines, and likely never will again.
Taylor, who typically sells out large theaters of 3,000 or more and summer sheds before 20,000 people or more (he'll be at Tanglewood before approximately 18,000 folks on August 24th in a show that was sold out MONTHS ago), rented out the Colonial for two nights in order to film the "One Man Band" Show he's been touring for the last year and a half for potential release on DVD.
Taylor is always a voluble performer, peppering his shows with quirky asides and poignant stories to accompany his songs. But in this show, the stories, asides, and multimedia segments (slide shows and videos) almost get equal billing to the songs, so that by the end of the evening there's no question in anyone's mind that Taylor is as he seems -- intelligent, quick, witty, even with a bit of an impish streak.
His stripped-down arrangements featured just himself on guitar and Larry Goldings on a variety of keyboards, with occasional augmentation by the pre-recorded Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the accompaniment of a Rube Goldberg-like drum machine on two numbers, including a rapped version of "Slap Leather" that Taylor spoke-sang through a megaphone. Very cool.
The nature of the program called for Taylor to emphasize the folkier, more acoustic part of his repertoire, so a few of his major pop hits, including "Your Smiling Face," "Mexico,"
and "Handyman" were missing in action.
Instead, concertgoers got a trip down memory lane with plenty of his early folk-country favorites, with complete elaborations. Taylor was humble in his appreciation for folks like Carole King and the Beatles, who played key roles in jump-starting his amazing career.
Taylor barely missed a note all note, and his guitar work never sounded more clear and commanding. And for those who ALSO have tickets for his show at Tanglewood, fear not -- you won't see the exact same show. Taylor has some BIG surprises in store for that night....
8/20/2007
I saw this show last Saturday in Manchester, it's well worth the price of admission.
8/20/2007
3/5/2009
this is a good critiqe!!!
From IP address: 64.246.196.128
4/28/2010
Perfection! I had been running around trying to do too much the day that I saw the concert. Within ten minutes I was mellowed out and mesmerized. Thanks for a wonderful musical trip JT!
From IP address: 209.115.50.162
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