James Taylor & His All-Star Band with Bonnie Raitt at Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio, June 30, 2018
James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt sat side-by-side and, augmented by three singers and Taylor’s acoustic guitar, sang a tender rendition of “You Can Close Your Eyes” to wrap an evening that had began more than three hours earlier when Taylor walked on stage to a standing ovation and introduced Raitt, lovingly, as “funky as a dead dog.”
This delicate lullaby was in marked contrast to the version of “Johnny B. Goode” Raitt had played with Taylor’s band just minutes before, she offering slippery leads on slide and singing along with Taylor as the group - which included drummer Steve Gadd, horn players Walt Fowler (Frank Zappa) and Lou Marini (the Blues Brothers), plus percussion, fiddle, guitar, keys and three vocalist and rightly dubbed “All-Star” - turned Chuck Berry’s classic early rocker into a celebration of its author and music itself.
Following Raitt’s 65-minute opening set, Taylor’s one-hour, 55-minute performance had a retrospective feel, opening with a short montage of interviews from over the years and featuring several screens that floated over the stage in various combinations and showed images of Taylor and his bandmates at as they moved through life and illustrated individual songs with custom video and still photos.
In fine voice and mood, the 70-year-old troubadour’s humor was on display as he flipped over an acoustic guitar to reveal a “help me” sign after singing his band’s praises and saying there was nowhere he’d rather be; apologized for a blue joke by telling the audience his bandmates told him “never say ‘fuck’ in front of the k-i-d-s;” and talked wistfully about the old gas-powered and horse-drawn guitars that were made irrelevant by the electric model Taylor brought out for a down-and-dirty version of “Streamroller,” which appeared early in the set.
It’s not only Taylor’s catalog, but his presentation, that keeps fans coming back decade after decade. He’s written songs that get fans dancing in the aisles (“Your Smiling Face”) and makes them look inside themselves (“Shed a Little Light”). And his tributes to Carole King - whom Taylor called “my favorite contemporary songwriter” - were the rare numbers that are both homage and huge hits for the interpreter in the forms of “Up on the Roof” and “You’ve Got a Friend.”
As for presentation, not only does he switch up songs from tour to tour - and he has so many numbers to choose from that “Traffic Jam,” “Lo and Behold,” “Love Has Brought Me Around” and “That’s Why I’m Here” were among those that went unplayed on a fabulous, 20-song setlist, which did include all the biggies like “Carolina in My Mind,” “Something in the Way She Moves” and “How Sweet It Is” - he also tinkers with arrangements to keep things fresh. As such, “Sunny Skies” was rendered as a jazzy shuffle, “Country Road” was outfitted with good-time fiddle intro, “Sweet Baby James” was more country than ever with lilting accordion adding to the song’s emotional depth and “Mexico” came complete with a Latin-percussion breakdown from Luis Conte that gave the track the feel of a street party.
But Taylor is also wise enough to know when to leave well enough alone, which he proved by delivering “Fire and Rain” exactly how everyone remembers it and without any video accompaniment. “Shower the People” was similarly traditional until longtime vocalist Arnold McCuller took over on the coda with electrifying vocals that upped the energy in the nearly sold-out arena.
McCuller did the same for Raitt, coming out to join his old friend on “Nick of Time,” taking a verse and again bringing down the house with a seemingly improvised flurry on the outro. His appearance was a well-timed kick to a set that, while competent, never caught fire as Raitt and her band - featuring keyboardist Ivan Neville of Dumpstaphunk and guitarist George Marinelli of Bruce Hornsby and the Range - ran through career highlights and choice covers including John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery,” Mose Allison’s “Everybody’s Crying Mercy” and Skip James’ “Devil Got My Woman,” which found Raitt seated, alone on stage, playing an acoustic guitar and showcasing her delicious rasp.
Taylor earned his second standing “O” of the night - and far from the last - when he sauntered on stage with an electric guitar and dueted with Raitt on the set-closing “Thing Called Love.”
Raitt’s show would’ve been disappointing as a stand-alone concert. But as an entree to Taylor’s portion, it fit nicely.
And things were just getting started.
Grade card: James Taylor & His All-Star Band with Bonnie Raitt at Schottenstein Center, 6/30/18 - A/B
