[Review] James Taylor at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON July 24th/14

On a gorgeous summer night, James Taylor and his All-Star Band graced the stage of the outdoor venue playing to a sold-out crowd. As his voice and music are timeless, it was also evident that he has affected generations of music lovers by the many age groups of the concert goers in attendance.

Foregoing any openers, we were lucky to have him all to ourselves for a good 2 ½ hours, save for a 20 minute intermission where he stayed to sign autographs and take pictures. When's the last time you went to a concert without openers and without having to pay for a meet & greet to get the opportunity people had at intermission? It's just another indication of how the music industry has changed over the years and, in that regard, it's nice to be old school.

He makes it seem like singing and playing guitar are so effortless yet he is so precise and flawless in both endeavours. I was so enthralled I didn't even pull out my phone. The guitar, or should I say several guitars are such an extension of the person, you wouldn't even know it wasn't his first instrument. As a child he started out learning how to play the cello but switched to guitar at the age of twelve and wrote his first song at fourteen. Aren't we glad he didn't stay with the cello? Although his guitar-playing technique is derived from his bass clef-oriented cello training and from experimenting on his sister's keyboard. “My style was a finger-picking style that was meant to be like a piano, as if my thumb were my left hand, and my first, second and third fingers were my right hand.”

Some may think the majority of his music is quite somber and classified as easy-listening but don't be sleepin' on James Taylor. He can get down with his bluesy bad ass self. He had us clapping, singing and dancing our asses off. Not what you'd expect at a James Taylor concert.

He joked about the frequent interruptions from the planes flying by at close range, remarking on one occasion that, “That one starts out as an A (note)”, an observation that could only be made by a very musical ear. He played many of his classic songs, even saying that when he first started playing Carole King's 'You've Got A Friend' he didn't know he'd be playing it every night for the rest of his life, not that that's such a terrible problem to have. He also shared some new songs that are going to be on his long-awaited forthcoming album.

A five-time Grammy award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000. His Greatest Hits album was certified eleven times Platinum in the U.S., earning a Diamond certification by the RIAA and eventually selling close to 20 million copies worldwide. Over a time span of 40 years (1968-2008) he has come out with 16 studio albums.

In an age where the radio charts and music award shows are rife with electronically manipulated 'music' and even 'vocals', it's nice to know that there is still REAL music and REAL vocals out there to be savoured. Coming from an era where it didn't matter so much what you LOOKED like but it was more about what you SOUNDED like, seeing James Taylor live was like seeing your favourite relative that you've known since your childhood who holds a special place in your heart and brings back fond memories of growing up with his music.

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