Sal Meets James Taylor!!!

Okay.  I admit it.  If I was going to a desert island and could take the work of only one singer, I would take the music of James Taylor.  I have loved him since I was a teenager, and have seen him perform many times.  I believe I've only missed one Cleveland show since I first saw him at Blossom in the early 70s.  When he and Carole King toured together in 2010, I saw the show in both Columbus AND Cleveland.  So I guess you could say I am a true fan!  My sister shares this JT love, and it's always great when we can see him together.

On Friday, July 24th, Anne and I had front row seats for James' concert at Blossom!  How did I get such great seats, you may be asking.  Well, if you get on JT's e-mail list, you will receive messages allowing you to buy presale tickets.  When the first minute of the presale rolled around, I was ready to hit the "Buy Tickets" button!  I am so glad I did this.  What an amazing experience to sit so close!

Of course I brought Sal to the show.  I knew that James would be signing things for fans, but wasn't sure if I wanted him to sign Sal.  I thought I might just want to get his picture with her if possible.  It seemed to me that if I had not had Jake Shimabukuro or James Hill sign Sal, it would not be right to have a non-ukulele person sign her -- even if that person was James Taylor!  But I was wavering...

Anne and I arrived at Blossom about an hour before the show, and had to park in Siberia.  We couldn't understand this until we found out that Blossom was charging $20 to park in lots A and B.  This meant that those who had not paid to park were sent to the faraway lots!  (Editorial Aside:  It is a shame that Blossom -- which I remember as such a happy place to see a show back in the day -- has become so money-hungry and ridiculously restrictive.  Audiences for the Cleveland Orchestra park for free in lots A and B, and can bring in pretty much anything they want, but the story is very different for all the other shows.  The only rule I'm grateful for is that people bringing in chairs are restricted to low-to-the-ground models so as not to totally obstruct the view of others.  End of Editorial Aside.)

Anne and I followed the long and winding road and eventually arrived at our fantastic seats.  I started taking photos of Sal on the edge of the stage -- hoping I wouldn't receive a rebuke from a member of the security staff.  All was well, though, and I took many pictures of her there.  

This is my favorite edge-of-the-stage shot because it shows the guitar that James was soon to play!

Of course I had to get a picture showing Anne and I by the stage, which a fellow concert-goer very kindly took for me -- and a photo showing Anne in her seat. 

JT-loving sisters and Sal.

Anne in her seat.  My empty seat is right next to hers.  Wowza!

I took a photo with my phone, too, and in attempt to get reception so I could post it on Facebook, I walked out of the pavilion and almost literally ran into my friend Michele, who was arriving with her husband.

Sal loves to hang out with James Taylor fans!  It was great to see Michele at the show!

The concert finally began and it was as awesome as one could have hoped.  James Taylor is simply the bomb!

I love this shot of James tuning.

Singing...

Singing...

Singing...

Hooray!  After a lot of failed attempts, I got a good picture of James looking in our direction.

James' sense of humor shines through!

Love this guy!

Intermission arrived all too soon.  The show was already half over!  Anne and I knew that James might return early and sign things for fans, so we hung around by the stage with Sal and our cameras.  We were right!  After just a few minutes, he came out and began signing things at the opposite end of the stage.  Since Anne had found a spot closer to that end of the stage than I did, she took Sal.  She was going to try to get James to take Sal, and I was going to get the picture.  Somehow, without much discussion, it seems we had decided that James should sign Sal.  He is, after all, my favorite performer of all time, so why not!? 

I was trying to get a picture of James signing albums, shirts, etc. for fans at the other end of the stage.  I'm not sure how I got this, but I think it looks cool.

Time was rushing by and James was moving too slowly toward our end of the stage.  We felt like he was never going to come our way...  Anne was waving Sal over the stage, hoping to catch his eye... 

So far away...  Will he make it to our end of the stage before intermission is over?

Anne waving Sal and hoping James will notice her.

He's getting closer...

YES!  This is the shot I got of James and Sal.  Notice that the rest of the band is ready to start the second half of the show, and the amazing James is signing my uke!  :)

Anne got this truly amazing picture of James signing Sal. 

YES!!!  We got the signature and the photos and were over the moon with excitement!  I was literally jumping up and down, and I'm pretty sure Anne was, too.  Sal was the last thing James signed before resuming the show.  And of course the second half was just as wonderful as the first.

I love the light in this shot.

Oh yeah!

I was taking lots of pictures during Steamroller.  This one is blurry, but I love it anyway.  I feel like it shows the energy in the performance.

Near the end of Steamroller.  James called this a "shameless display" after the song was over.  I'd say it was an amazing display of musical awesomeness!

Cleveland's own Arnold McCuller during his Shower the People solo.  It's always a crowd pleaser!

 What a night of music!  James did so many great songs -- including some new ones that will be on an upcoming album.  YAY!  Can't wait!

Anne got this great shot of the whole group taking a bow at the end of the concert.

After the band left the stage, we decided to get in the autograph line in hopes of getting Anne's ticket signed.  Lots of other people got in line, too.  What a generous guy to give up his break at intermission and then hang out for a really long time after the show signing stuff.  A performer of his stature certainly doesn't have to do such things.  But we are super-glad he did!

A staffer was taking pix of people with James, and pressed a wrong button or something on Anne's camera.  James was actually giving advice on what to do to get the camera working right again.  :)

My picture of Anne and James.

Staffer shot of Anne and James

Staffer shot of James and me.  I thanked him for signing Sal and gave him a Travels with Sal card.  I'm 99% sure he won't see this post, but it's cool to think that maybe...

After all the wonderful events of the evening, we walked back to the car feeling so happy.   There was a light rain and we had a pretty long walk, but we were feeling a JT-induced glow, so it didn't bother us at all.  What a great time we had!!!  Come back soon, James!!!

If you want to read more about the show, here's an article from Scene.