Carolina in My Mind
James Taylor...I grew up listening to this guy and finally had the chance to see him play live for the first time Friday night. It was by far one of the best conerts I've ever been to, and believe me I've been to plenty of them. When I first found out he was coming to town (he played at the Koger Center) I told my parents that this would be a great thing for us to do "as a family". That sounds pretty good, huh? I decided on the "family" thing instead of the "I'm the typical broke college student, so can you pay for my ticket" thing! Anyway, the tickets sold out pretty fast and we were one of the last to purchase them, so we all ended up sitting separately. This didn't bother me at all; I just wanted to see JT!
Now, like I've said, I've been to a ton of concerts, but this one was a new experience for me. I think I may have been one of about 20 people under the age of 30 there, but I sort of expected that. Also, this was the first show I've ever seen where people sit down during the music. Regardless though, I had a great time. James Taylor spoke to the crowd and told stories in between songs, which made the experience really personal. He played all of his best songs like "Carolina in My Mind", "Fire and Rain", and "Sweet Baby James". But the best part of the night was when he came back onstage for his 2nd encore and ended the show with "You Can Close Your Eyes". That is my #1 favorite song by James Taylor and I was almost positive he wouldn't play it since it's not that well-known. My face lit up when I heard it! It was definitely a great way to top off an awesome night!
Oh yeah, I wanted to send out a special thanks to the nice couple sitting next to me at the concert for tolerating my singing during pretty much every song. Let's just say God didn't bless me with the best voice ever!