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Teaching evening guitar lessons generally forces me to arrive late to Bluesfest on weeknights and on July 7th, 2008 I didn’t make it to the gate until after James Taylor had begun his set. He and his band were playing Get A Job by The Silhouettes as I cycled up, a great tune that I’ve never heard anyone tackle before. But with a band like the one Taylor put together one is free to tackle anything they’d like. Drummer Steve Gadd (Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Eric Clapton, etcetera), saxophone player Blue Lou Marini (The Blues Brothers, Frank Zappa, etcetera), and multi-instrumentalist Walt Fowler (Frank Zappa, Ray Charles, etcetera) are three standouts in James Taylor’s Band Of Legends and they put on a much more rockin’ set than I was expecting. And you know, if you listen really closely you’ll find that James Taylor has always been a pretty fine guitar technician himself.
Musically epic as it was, there was of course a strong adult-contemporary element running throughout. The hug-and-sway arm-in-arm singalong that I witnessed (but did not participate in, no matter what people might tell you) to You’ve Got A Friend was pure moonbeams and unicorns and midway through the song they even put up a picture of a puppy on the screen so the crowd could all share an “Ohhhhhh!” moment in perfect unison.
Seriously, the guy put a picture of a puppy on the screen. I had to balance that against the remarkable cachet of cool James Taylor enjoys as forever holding the distinction of being the first artist that The Beatles signed to first Apple Records. I mean, if the ’60’s-era Beatles think you’re worthy then you are freakin’ worthy; he remains cool.
Regardless, just in case things got even cheesier I figured it would be best to take a little break. Plus I wanted to catch a bit of my friend Tony D’s set over on the River Stage so I turned my back on all that talent and walked straight towards a whole pile more.
Now here was a guy who has dedicated his entire life to wandering steadfastly down the musical road-less-travelled and as a result he has enjoyed an adulthood of continually playing his guitar for audiences all over the world. Here at home he gets ample respect too, always pulling plum bookings at the Bluesfest. This year he was hosting a nightly blues jam full of sit-ins called Tony D’s Power Hour.
When I arrived he had Becky Abbott up on stage with him and she was singing her cahones off. He handed off the next song to his bassist for the evening Suzie Vinnick (another Ottawa musical mainstay) and she brought her bluesy heart and soul straight to the table. Tony was clearly having a great time and the band was so happenin’ I just couldn’t leave. The Texas Horns each had a turn at the mic and Tony’s regular sax player Zeke Gross tore it up whenever he got the nod. Real great blues, right there at the Bluesfest (no matter what people might tell you).
When Tony D started his last number I wandered back to the main stage to soak up JT’s final hits. I got there just in time for a frenzied brassy R&B showstopper and the medley-ridden encore. I was close to the gate when the final note dropped and deftly ducked out ahead of the crowd on the last note and can you believe it? The bastard came back on. I kept walking, he kept playing. By the time I finally biked out of earshot he must have been on his third or fourth encore.
In the end, I had gone down to LeBreton Flats to see James Taylor mostly on a lark (and a free pass) and was actually impressed enough that I feel in retrospect I should’ve taken his set more seriously. Still, I’m glad I cut out for a while and caught lots of Tony’s Power Hour. Cheques and balances, my friends.
Todd Man Out 