Inside A Comfort Zone
Published in Berkshire Eagle, 7/2/11
By Jeremy D. Goodwin
LENOX—Independence Day weekend is, for many, a time to reenact traditions—to gather in the same (or similar) places with the same (or similar) people and do the same (or, yes, similar) things. The pleasure comes, as with any ritual, not from the promise of finding something new but from the soft comfort of familiarity and repetition. So it is with James Taylor's annual run of shows at Tanglewood, and so it was with this year's kick-off performance on Thursday night at Ozawa Hall.
Taylor is a hugely talented craftsman who has long since mastered the art of meeting his audience's expectations. He was joined by a fluctuating ensemble anchored by cellist Owen Young, pianist Larry Goldings, drummer Chad Wackerman and fiddler Andrea Zonn—with his familiar, four-member team of backup singers onstage frequently and a sixteen-member delegation from the Tanglewood Festival Chorus on board for a few songs as well.
He was in fine voice as he led his precision-tuned unit through a series of sepia-toned favorites culled from his sterling roster of greatest hits. It seems hardly necessary to recount the setlist; there were few surprises, from the "Secret O' Life" opener to the "You Can Close Your Eyes" closer, with regularly scheduled stops along the way at the anecdote about first hearing Carole King sing "You've Got A Friend" and the quip about George Harrison writing his own version of "Something in the Way She Moves." It's an expertly executed routine, down to the gesture before the last song when he pantomimed looking off stage to ask if there was time for one more.
Yet diehard Taylor connoisseurs may have keyed into a couple less-familiar moments, like Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More," on which Owen sounded marvelous. "Belfast to Boston" featured a martial snare beat from Wackerman; a measured reading of "Islands in the Sun" (written by Harry Belafonte and Lord Burgess) was included as well.
Wryly funny (even if some witticisms are as ingrained in the show as a late-set "Shower the People"), Taylor nods at his awareness of this routine. "Fire and Rain" was introduced as "a song we don't often not play." And even if we’ve heard the jokes before, perhaps their repetition makes them not hollow but comforting.
And yet, if there was ever an opportunity to step outside the boundaries of the legacy-act amphitheatre circuit, to trust the steady embrace of the audience and try something different, it has to be the opportunity provided by multiple nights of the blissful, hometown crowd that comes out annually for these much-anticipated concerts. Yes, this year’s run is split between the somewhat slimmed-down (and string-aided) show at Ozawa, a bill with the Boston Pops last night, and the full-on JT experience in The Shed on Monday and Tuesday. But the material, and the feeling, remain essentially the same.
Perhaps one year there’ll be the desire to try something truly different, rather than fussing at the margins. Say, four nights in which each first set features a classic Taylor album played in its entirety. Or an evening given over entirely to other artists’ songs that have been influential. Or a VH1 “Storytellers”-type show, in which he goes beyond the well-practiced quips to share some insight into the stories behind the songs, perhaps taking questions from the audience. A two-guitar duo show? A truly solo, guitar-in-hand performance (with no pre-recorded choirs or bands piped in to fill it out)? But, hey—if he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t have to.
Taylor is in a true harvest season now, having received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama in March, followed by a four-night tribute series at Carnegie Hall that included the venue’s 120th anniversary gala. In the past decade or so he’s been elevated from particularly successful singer-songwriter to national treasure territory, a cultural deification that makes his annual Tanglewood appearances all the more welcome and appreciated.
There may be a strong whiff of déjà vu permeating Tanglewood this weekend, but after all, I suppose that’s what we came for. As regular as the July 4 fireworks, the kickoff to the Bard of Lenox’s homecoming weekend was crisp, crowd-pleasing, and enduringly familiar.
LENOX—Independence Day weekend is, for many, a time to reenact traditions—to gather in the same (or similar) places with the same (or similar) people and do the same (or, yes, similar) things. The pleasure comes, as with any ritual, not from the promise of finding something new but from the soft comfort of familiarity and repetition. So it is with James Taylor's annual run of shows at Tanglewood, and so it was with this year's kick-off performance on Thursday night at Ozawa Hall.
Taylor is a hugely talented craftsman who has long since mastered the art of meeting his audience's expectations. He was joined by a fluctuating ensemble anchored by cellist Owen Young, pianist Larry Goldings, drummer Chad Wackerman and fiddler Andrea Zonn—with his familiar, four-member team of backup singers onstage frequently and a sixteen-member delegation from the Tanglewood Festival Chorus on board for a few songs as well.
He was in fine voice as he led his precision-tuned unit through a series of sepia-toned favorites culled from his sterling roster of greatest hits. It seems hardly necessary to recount the setlist; there were few surprises, from the "Secret O' Life" opener to the "You Can Close Your Eyes" closer, with regularly scheduled stops along the way at the anecdote about first hearing Carole King sing "You've Got A Friend" and the quip about George Harrison writing his own version of "Something in the Way She Moves." It's an expertly executed routine, down to the gesture before the last song when he pantomimed looking off stage to ask if there was time for one more.
Yet diehard Taylor connoisseurs may have keyed into a couple less-familiar moments, like Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More," on which Owen sounded marvelous. "Belfast to Boston" featured a martial snare beat from Wackerman; a measured reading of "Islands in the Sun" (written by Harry Belafonte and Lord Burgess) was included as well.
Wryly funny (even if some witticisms are as ingrained in the show as a late-set "Shower the People"), Taylor nods at his awareness of this routine. "Fire and Rain" was introduced as "a song we don't often not play." And even if we’ve heard the jokes before, perhaps their repetition makes them not hollow but comforting.
And yet, if there was ever an opportunity to step outside the boundaries of the legacy-act amphitheatre circuit, to trust the steady embrace of the audience and try something different, it has to be the opportunity provided by multiple nights of the blissful, hometown crowd that comes out annually for these much-anticipated concerts. Yes, this year’s run is split between the somewhat slimmed-down (and string-aided) show at Ozawa, a bill with the Boston Pops last night, and the full-on JT experience in The Shed on Monday and Tuesday. But the material, and the feeling, remain essentially the same.
Perhaps one year there’ll be the desire to try something truly different, rather than fussing at the margins. Say, four nights in which each first set features a classic Taylor album played in its entirety. Or an evening given over entirely to other artists’ songs that have been influential. Or a VH1 “Storytellers”-type show, in which he goes beyond the well-practiced quips to share some insight into the stories behind the songs, perhaps taking questions from the audience. A two-guitar duo show? A truly solo, guitar-in-hand performance (with no pre-recorded choirs or bands piped in to fill it out)? But, hey—if he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t have to.
Taylor is in a true harvest season now, having received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama in March, followed by a four-night tribute series at Carnegie Hall that included the venue’s 120th anniversary gala. In the past decade or so he’s been elevated from particularly successful singer-songwriter to national treasure territory, a cultural deification that makes his annual Tanglewood appearances all the more welcome and appreciated.
There may be a strong whiff of déjà vu permeating Tanglewood this weekend, but after all, I suppose that’s what we came for. As regular as the July 4 fireworks, the kickoff to the Bard of Lenox’s homecoming weekend was crisp, crowd-pleasing, and enduringly familiar.
