And Then There's the Music...

This is likely to be my final post in a series of reflections on my trip to the Berkshires and Tanglewood. I realized with some nudging from my friend, Helen, I needed to review the concert. The music. After all, at the heart of Tanglewood and my trip there, is the music. More specifically, it was the music of James Taylor.

I have to say, I have seen James Taylor live a time or two. Okay, maybe it's more like a time or ten. And I'm no casual JT fan. I'm talking most of my favorite songs aren't on the Greatest Hits album, and many of them don't even get airplay. I know every nuance of the live albums, down to the on-stage banter caught on the recording between the tunes. Put it to you this way, this girls might not even be disappointed if he left You've Got a Friend and Fire and Rain off the set list (though we know that will never happen).  In fact this is my one and only complaint about this concert, and really any of his others I have attended. When an artist has been recording as long as James Taylor, and he reminded us of his break in 1968- so that's 49 years, and he has such a vast library, a true fan will never hear all her favorites. The same happens when I go to Billy Joel concerts. There are just so many great songs, and he can't play them all.

I started by writing the set list in my journal during the show, but quickly got caught up in the music and by intermission forget all about jotting the second half. But here's a basic run down, not in the order they were played, but rather in groupings I can remember:

He opened up with Something in the Way She Moves, a strange choice I thought. Nonetheless, it's one of those Greatest Hits and it is recognizable to almost any sort of fan. Also from GH, was Sweet Baby James, a song JT has lovingly referred to as a Cowboy Lullaby over the years as he wrote it for his first nephew, his namesake. Of course he played Fire and Rain, Carolina in My Mind, and You've Got a Friend.  He prefaced the latter by telling us Carol King wrote it for him, but of course the true blues already knew that.

As I reflect, I realize he actually played every tune on the GH album, except Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, probably because it can feel a bit like a downer. As always, renditions of Steamroller and Shower the People were terrific. When he sings Steamroller live, the lights go blue and he channels his inner bluesy funk. He always has a lot of fun with it. One of my personal favorites is Shower the People. JT allows, Arnold McCuller, a back-up singer who has been with the band for years, to steal the show. And it never disappoints. Before he played Country Road, he bantered with the crowd a bit about what he called country nature hippie bullshit. There were extra laughs when he reminded the crowd how perfect a location the Berkshires was for said bullshit. If I'm to be honest, with that lead in, I thought for a moment and should have known better, that we were going to hear Gaia, from the Hourglass album. No such luck. We didn't get a single song from Hourglass or Never Die Young.

The only song we got from October Road was On the 4th of July, fitting as it was Independence Day weekend. From Flag we got Up on the Roof, one of my favorite JT songs ever, and it was especially beautiful sitting under the stars.  We got an old favorite with Everyday and several songs of New Moon Shine, possibly my favorite James Taylor album of all time. He played, I've Got to Stop Thinking 'Bout That, a song he said was about obsession, and Copperline which is a nod to his other home, North Carolina. The rendition of arguably one of his best songs ever, Frozen Man was introduced with a story about how he wrote the song. I had heard it before at a show, but he told it little bit differently this time. It was based on a story he saw in a National Geographic Magazine. The song began with tingly chimes and blue lights, perfect lead in for Frozen Man.

From the new album, Before this World to no surprise, we got Today, Today, Today and a wonderful version of Angels of Fenway. In Massachusetts, JT couldn't seem to help playing to the crowd of Red Sox fans, and funny enough plenty of Yankee fans who also seemed to appreciate the nod to the Curse of the Bambino. The very last song of the show, even after the encore was You Can Close Your Eyes, from the Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. This was an absolutely beautiful goodnight serenade by James and his back-up singers which included his wife Kim, and a late-in-the-show addition to the band, his son Henry.

Overall, JT's voice was as smoothly and richly caramel as always. He admittedly felt right at home and happy to be in Tanglewood for the weekend. This gave his show a more relaxed feel than some of the previous ones I attended. The tour boasts James taylor and His All Star Band, and they did not disappoint. Arnold McCuller and Kate Markowitz were fantastic as always on vocals, as were Andrea Zonn and David Lasley. I'm not sure if Kim and Henry joined him for the night because they were home, or if they are touring with the band, but they were a nice addition as well. The band was phenomenal, especially Luis Conte on percussion and Zonn on the fiddle. There were new arrangements for songs I have been listening to for years, and it made the music more exciting. I had never heard so much fiddle highlighted in his songs live before, and it was a wonderful addition.

It would really be hard to disappoint me at a James Taylor show. If the question is, Does he still got it? The answer is yes. Yes, he can still write great songs. Yes, his voice still sounds terrific. Yes, the man can play the guitar. Yes, he can still put together a great band. Yes, he even moves more on stage than he used to. And yes, the money was well spent. James Taylor is still my favorite singer-songwriter.

Tanglewood

Tanglewood. There is nothing like it. Really. When my sister and I decided to knock an item off our bucket list, we could only imagine what was in store. Both avid James Taylor fans and avid concert-goers, we knew this would be special. James Taylor performs two shows every summer at Tanglewood, and with the help of an old friend from high school, we scored a couple of lawn seats for this year's July 3rd show. I could write forever about how much I love James Taylor's music. I've referenced it countless times on several different blogs, and even devoted a post to some of my favorites. But Tanglewood was something special. I suppose part of what makes it special is the way JT obviously feels about being there. He opened the show with Something in the Way She Moves, and as he finished to applause and whistles, he said how great it is to be home in Tanglewood. He shared that he and the band had been looking forward to it for days. And when an artist is at home, he's going to feel at home, and then the music just sounds terrific. So there's the music.

The other thing that's so cool about Tanglewood is the venue itself. Follow me here for a minute and forget I spent money to fly to another state to get there. Tanglewood is in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. It is 42 miles from Albany, NY; 130 miles from Boston; 62 miles from Hartford, CT; and 142 miles from New York City.  This makes it a day trip or weekend vacation spot for these areas. But most notably, it is a summer getaway for people in these areas. You know, the people who have summer homes... some of them are even Florida snowbirds. The area is spectacular. It is quaint New England a la Norman Rockwell (there's a Rockwell museum there), and it is made up of a cluster of small towns.

Tanglewood is in Stockbridge, one of the towns in the cluster. As my friend who got us the tickets told us, everything is twenty minutes from everything in the Berkshires. By and large we found this to be true. So picture these small towns, with families and couples and people of just about every age, there to vacation. Tanglewood is music and culture venue right in the heart of it all. It is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops perform there, and there are all kinds of musical performances throughout the summer ranging from classical and jazz to rock and pop.

Here's the clincher, lawn seats at Tanglewood are around $30, and children 17 and under are free. Did you get that? Doesn't matter if you have one or seven kids, if they're all under 18, they're in at no charge! Not impressed yet? Get this. You can bring in blankets, lawn chairs, coolers, picnic baskets... you name it. If you can carry it in, you can bring it. That includes bottles of wine and beer. One of the most interesting things about the lawn at Tanglewood is walking around and looking at everyone's picnics. People bring small tables adorned with table cloths and candles.  The gourmet markets are packed during the day as concertgoers stock up for the show. We went to Guido's Gourmet Market to pack our cooler, and you could just tell by the buzz and conversation in the store that may of them were shopping for Tanglewood. The gates open at 5 and the show doesn't start until 8. People are sprawled all across the lawn chowing down on gourmet treats and sipping on wine. It's like nothing I've ever seen. It was absolutely magnificent.

My sister and I agreed. If we lived up there, we would have season tickets and would be out there every weekend. It's hard to find concert tickets under $30 these days at any venue, and Tanglewood is without a doubt, one of the best venues I have ever been to. Even the acoustics were fantastic, not what you'd expect from lawn seats. As with so many great experiences the only bad part was it eventually had to end. It was an evening I will never forget.

A Blissful Day in the Berkshires

Original Post: Did my writing in a journal today- my connectivity has been spotty at most. Entry will be posted tomorrow. Here's a photo of me writing at Tanglewood!

Updated with internet access:

July 3rd was a perfectly heavenly day in the Berkshires! It's hard to make time for writing when you are on vacation with other people. It's not because you're not inspired or you don't have nay ideas, it's that you're involved in activity. You're out doing. And this weekend, I've been doing a lot. My sister and I have visited with two groups of family members in parts of Massachusetts, we've explored the Berkshires, walking through the Botanical Gardens, and we brunched in the wonderful little town of Stockbridge.

As we roamed the Botanical Gardens, I was struck by the many writing spots throughout the grounds. I kept saying to my sister, I'd love to just come here and write. I could picture meeting with my writing group and spending the day. The weather was absolutely spectacular. Sunny blue skies with just enough breeze to keep you cool in the shade at intervals along the way.

Now, as I'm lying here on a blanket at Tanglewood, waiting for the sun to set and paint the sky in all its glory, and anticipating the sounds of James Taylor taking stage and serenading us all on the summer lawn, I'm taking a few moments to journal about my day. There will be many things to write about in the upcoming days as I reflect on my wonderful weekend. But for now, I"m just going to take in the awesomeness of my environment, eat some gourmet treats from the picnic we packed, and revel in the sounds of James Taylor and His All Star Band at Tanglewood in the Berkshires.