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The 60-year-old singer-songwriter took the stage as his 11-piece “Band of Legends” kicked into the Temptations’ 1965 hit “It’s Growing,” briefly throwing in a few dance moves to the amusement of the mostly middle-age crowd.
This led directly into the “sha na nas” of another cover, the Silhouettes’ classic “Get a Job.” The first two songs will be on Mr. Taylor’s upcoming album of covers due in the fall.
The song selection wasn’t the only thing that brought the crowd back to another era; the stage — adorned with red curtains, bright multicolored lights and platforms in front of each musician listing his or her name — resembled something out of the big-band era of the 1940s.
The first of Mr. Taylor’s hits came with the third song, “Country Road,” from his famed 1970 album, “Sweet Baby James.” A breakdown between Mr. Taylor and legendary drummer Steve Gadd added an energetic twist to the folk staple and got the crowd on its feet.
“It could’ve came from the hills right around here somewhere,” Mr. Taylor said, referring to the brief instrumental bluegrass song that was led by fiddle player Andrea Zonn. “That was ‘Whiskey Before Breakfast.’ ”
Mr. Taylor’s variations of songs by Jimmy Webb and George Jones were followed by a mellow take of “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” the opening of “Oklahoma!”
The “Band of Legends” also included former “Saturday Night Live” and Blues Brothers saxophonist “Blue” Lou Marini and classically trained pianist Larry Goldings.
Near the end of the first set, Mr. Taylor held up a large sign displaying the set list to a video camera, and even teased the crowd with a separate one featuring the second-set list.
Ominous evening skies with hints of rain held off for the first set before a brief downpour in the 20-minute intermission.
Tags: jim, marini