It was amazing how the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer handled the gig like he was in a small venue like most singer/songwriter shows are and not at a huge throng of thousands pushing sold out variety at this outdoor popular shed.

Thanks to the fine folks at Live Nation we were up close in the 11th row center enjoying Taylor’s short takes on the songs he mastered over his long career which began in 1967.

Cynthia Woods Pavilion is celebrating their 25th year in 2014 and JT was making his 11th appearance! Amazing how time flies by.

He opened with “I Feel Fine When She’s Around” and his eleven piece band on stage was stellar. The quartet of impressive back-up singers, led by the strong pipes of Arnold McCuller, stood out all night long, but never over shadowed the timeless and strong vocals of Mr.Taylor. As far as instruments he had a band of aces including Michael Landau on guitar, Blues Brother sax pro Blue Lou Marini and killer drum man Steve Gadd with Luis Conte on percussion.

Easy going is probably the best way to describe his style on stage whether handling folks with comedic dead pan zings who were yelling out for tunes, talking about being scared to death auditioning for Paul McCartney and George Harrison where he got his big break signing with Apple Records, or when trying to hush the crowd from the multiple standing ovations he received throughout the massive gig.

James came on at 8pm and played 1 hour and twenty minutes, took a twenty minute break where he sat on the front of the stage and took pics with fans and then played until 11pm! All the while he performed they had beautiful videos showing behind the stage as a great enhancing addition to the experience.

Of course the goodies rolled out including “Sweet Baby James”, Carole King remakes “You’ve Got a Friend” and “Up on the Roof”, churning blues “Steamroller”, a Buddy Holly tune “Everyday” and dedicated to Texas lullaby “One More Go Around”.

There is something to be said for a show that offers the viewer a comforting feel all the way around from crystal clear sound to consistency by the main man on stage. The mostly Baby Boomer crowd was able to get up and boogie to wonderful versions of “Mexico”, “Your Smiling Face” and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” ! He made sure to get accolades for every band member and it was not a hollow shout at all.

One of the main things we took away from this night is how timeless and wonderful good lyrics matter in a song, especially when Taylor can deliver a war horse like “Fire and Rain” and make it sound like anything but a well worn classic that it is.

My sweet better half Rose had a smile on her face all night long and I’d like to thank James Taylor for the million “Brownie/Fluff” points I got for this outing!

It was an absolutely superb display from a seemingly ageless dude in his mid-60’s………..Inspiration to all us to get out and enjoy LIVE music!