The SPAC lawn is almost famous on its own. How many musicians have shouted out from the stage to “the lawn people” to see how they out there are doing? Shout outs and reassurance that “they” are important, too. Sometimes over $40 a ticket, the lawn seats are no longer considered the cheap seats. For James Taylor, it seemed like everyone in Saratoga had their lawn chair out on the ultimate lawn enjoying the original ‘JT’ sing classics like “You’ve Got a Friend” or “Fair and Rain”. The lawn chairs were lined up on the hill and clear across the back lawn. Thousands and thousands of SPAC lawn chairs filled with four generations of James Taylor fans.
It was the second solo performance of the week at SPAC that seemed to attract a lot of couples. The night was the perfect July evening in Saratoga, the temperature was just right and not a drop of rain. The sound surrounding the crowd was spot on – perhaps the best sound mix of the season, thus far. Taylor and his All Star band played for nearly 3 hours covering his almost 50 year career. Even some new songs, such as “Today, Today, Today” were added to the night’s set list. The North Carolina native now lives just across the Massachusetts board from New York in Berkshire County, after an 11-year hiatus from playing Saratoga I think it is safe to welcome him back and hope for many encores in years to come.
Set 1:
Something in the Way She Moves, “Today, Today, Today”, Lo and Behold, Copperline, Everyday (Buddy Holly cover), Country Road, Millworker, Carolina in My Mind, One More Go Round, Sweet Baby James, You’ve Got a Friend (Carole King cover)
Set 2:
Stretch of the Highway, You and I, Handy Man (Sparks of Rhythm cover), Hour That the Morning Comes, Steamroller Blues, Only One, Fire and Rain, Up on the Roof (The Drifters cover), Mexico, Your Smiling Face
Encore:
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) (Marvin Gaye cover), Shower the People
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