Review: James Taylor live at the O2, London
James Taylor @ O2 London – July 15th 2011
Band: James Taylor (guitar/lead vocals), Kim Taylor (vocals), ArnoldMcCuller (vocals), Kate Markowitz (vocals), Andrea Zonn (vocals/violin), Jimmy Johnson (bass), Larry Golding (keys), Michael Landau (guitar), Chad Wackerman (drums)
After a wonderfull three-day citytrip in London we finally got to go to the north Greenwich area for our O2 visit, which was the main reason for us to visit London.
We arrived early, more than an hour before the concert. After collecting our tickets we had a nice dinner in one of the many restaurants at the O2 … man what a huge dome it is! I had never seen anything like it before. After dinner we rushed to our seats, but not before we had bought a James Taylor t-shirt (green one with James Taylor and a guitar/tree on it – very nice!). We had great seat with a great view of the stage.
The concert started with "Everyday", which immediately showed the band’s perfection and the good sound quality in the O2. This was followed by some introductory talks and then "Something in the Way she Moves". James’ voice was in a remarkably good shape, better than when I saw him live in 2008,2009. Also the band and the backing vocals seemed better than ever, they truly are a legendary band.
Furthermore in the first set was a stunning performance of "Blossom" which I had always wanted to hear live and a great introduction to "Line ‘em Up" which included a mocking of Nixon’s walk (followed by the comment that he himself had a goofy walk too). However, "My Traveling Star" showed that James does have some trouble reaching the higher notes … but man … what a very good song it is! He brought out Kim (his wife) for a few songs and he introduced her with the other singers, he said he would bring her up the stage as much as possible since she’s his only one (which of course was followed by a nice rendition of "Only One").
James was not onstage during the intermission, since one could not get to the stage so there was no autograph/photo opportunity. Therefore I did nothing but wait nervously for the second set to start.
The second set started with a nice cover of Leadbelly's "When I was a Cowboy" which he sang in a duet with Arnold McCuller. This showed again the singing capacity of this fine backup singer (which was also displayed again in Arnold’s usual solo on "Shower the People". He also sang all the classics, including one of my favorites: "Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight". Also a stand-out for me (and my girlfriend who particularly liked this) was the performance of "Shed a Little Light", which very nicely build up from a acapelle song to a gospel-rock party song. Of course "Steamroller" was James’ moment of craziness, with his guitar-drill act as one of the peaks.
"How Sweet It Is" and "Shower the People" had people dancing in front of the stage. Then, within the blink of an eye the show ended with a nice rendition of "You’ve Got a Friend" - to which the whole audience of course sang along.
The highlight for me was the fact that James played some songs he does not usually perform in concert. He told us he had not played "Rock ‘n Roll is Music Now" ever live before this UK tour. It seems that he is revisiting his own (old) catalogue a lot this year with a number of old and never or rarely played songs. The rendition of "Angry Blues" (with very good duet/backing vocals of Kate) during the first set was also very very good. I would very much like him to do such songs more often. I even think I rather hear them than all the classics that I already know so well. Don’t get me wrong, I love hearing "Sweet Baby James" or "Fire and Rain", but hearing other songs I have never heard live to me is an even better experience.
It was a very good concert, I think maybe even the best I have ever seen. I hope he will come to the Netherlands soon (maybe a fall 2011 tour) and that a new album will follow, I really can’t wait!!
Setlist (I hope I do not misremember, of so please notify me):
First set: 1. Everyday 2. Something in the Way She Moves 3. Blossom 4. Your Smiling Face 5. Secret 'o Life 6. Line 'Em Up 7. Angry Blues 8. My Traveling Star 9. Only One 10. Carolina in My Mind 11. Upon the Roof 12. Country Road
Second set: 1. Intro 2. Western Plain (When I Was a Cowboy) 3. Jump Up Behind Me 4. Copperline 5. Traffic Jam 6. Rock ‘n Roll Is Music Now 7. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight 8. Steamroller 9. Sweet Baby James 10. Fire and Rain 11. Mexico 12. Shed a Little Light 13. How Sweet It Is
Encores: 1. Shower the People 2. You've Got a Friend
Band: James Taylor (guitar/lead vocals), Kim Taylor (vocals), ArnoldMcCuller (vocals), Kate Markowitz (vocals), Andrea Zonn (vocals/violin), Jimmy Johnson (bass), Larry Golding (keys), Michael Landau (guitar), Chad Wackerman (drums)
After a wonderfull three-day citytrip in London we finally got to go to the north Greenwich area for our O2 visit, which was the main reason for us to visit London.
We arrived early, more than an hour before the concert. After collecting our tickets we had a nice dinner in one of the many restaurants at the O2 … man what a huge dome it is! I had never seen anything like it before. After dinner we rushed to our seats, but not before we had bought a James Taylor t-shirt (green one with James Taylor and a guitar/tree on it – very nice!). We had great seat with a great view of the stage.
The concert started with "Everyday", which immediately showed the band’s perfection and the good sound quality in the O2. This was followed by some introductory talks and then "Something in the Way she Moves". James’ voice was in a remarkably good shape, better than when I saw him live in 2008,2009. Also the band and the backing vocals seemed better than ever, they truly are a legendary band.
Furthermore in the first set was a stunning performance of "Blossom" which I had always wanted to hear live and a great introduction to "Line ‘em Up" which included a mocking of Nixon’s walk (followed by the comment that he himself had a goofy walk too). However, "My Traveling Star" showed that James does have some trouble reaching the higher notes … but man … what a very good song it is! He brought out Kim (his wife) for a few songs and he introduced her with the other singers, he said he would bring her up the stage as much as possible since she’s his only one (which of course was followed by a nice rendition of "Only One").
James was not onstage during the intermission, since one could not get to the stage so there was no autograph/photo opportunity. Therefore I did nothing but wait nervously for the second set to start.
The second set started with a nice cover of Leadbelly's "When I was a Cowboy" which he sang in a duet with Arnold McCuller. This showed again the singing capacity of this fine backup singer (which was also displayed again in Arnold’s usual solo on "Shower the People". He also sang all the classics, including one of my favorites: "Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight". Also a stand-out for me (and my girlfriend who particularly liked this) was the performance of "Shed a Little Light", which very nicely build up from a acapelle song to a gospel-rock party song. Of course "Steamroller" was James’ moment of craziness, with his guitar-drill act as one of the peaks.
"How Sweet It Is" and "Shower the People" had people dancing in front of the stage. Then, within the blink of an eye the show ended with a nice rendition of "You’ve Got a Friend" - to which the whole audience of course sang along.
The highlight for me was the fact that James played some songs he does not usually perform in concert. He told us he had not played "Rock ‘n Roll is Music Now" ever live before this UK tour. It seems that he is revisiting his own (old) catalogue a lot this year with a number of old and never or rarely played songs. The rendition of "Angry Blues" (with very good duet/backing vocals of Kate) during the first set was also very very good. I would very much like him to do such songs more often. I even think I rather hear them than all the classics that I already know so well. Don’t get me wrong, I love hearing "Sweet Baby James" or "Fire and Rain", but hearing other songs I have never heard live to me is an even better experience.
It was a very good concert, I think maybe even the best I have ever seen. I hope he will come to the Netherlands soon (maybe a fall 2011 tour) and that a new album will follow, I really can’t wait!!
Setlist (I hope I do not misremember, of so please notify me):
First set: 1. Everyday 2. Something in the Way She Moves 3. Blossom 4. Your Smiling Face 5. Secret 'o Life 6. Line 'Em Up 7. Angry Blues 8. My Traveling Star 9. Only One 10. Carolina in My Mind 11. Upon the Roof 12. Country Road
Second set: 1. Intro 2. Western Plain (When I Was a Cowboy) 3. Jump Up Behind Me 4. Copperline 5. Traffic Jam 6. Rock ‘n Roll Is Music Now 7. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight 8. Steamroller 9. Sweet Baby James 10. Fire and Rain 11. Mexico 12. Shed a Little Light 13. How Sweet It Is
Encores: 1. Shower the People 2. You've Got a Friend