James Taylor’s crowd-pleasing show at Dickies Arena filled with familial love, memories

James Taylor’s best songs have always felt as if you knew them before first hearing them.

The stories told in his lyrics, often underlined by his naturally melancholy vocals, have felt like a warm blanket on a cold night for more than five decades now.

It is with that sort of reverence for his own material, that he took a nearly full Dickies Arena crowd down memory lane Tuesday night during a one hour, 45 minute, 17-song set filled with his most well-known songs since his 1968 self-titled, debut album.

Taylor, who was backed by a seven-piece band (and sometimes eight), and four background singers, still has that uniquely solemn voice, even if it has thinned a bit at age 73. The show was originally scheduled for May 18, 2020, but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aim of the show was clear before Taylor ambled on stage with his trademark Brixton flat cap, dark sports coat and slacks. A montage of fans and amateur musicians testifying to Taylor’s songwriting career played on video as fiddle player (and background vocalists) Andrea Zonn helped build the tension with percussionist Michito Sanchez and drummer Steve Gadd before Taylor made his way to center stage for the opener “Country Road” from 1970 release Sweet Baby James.

Four of the 17 songs came from that album, including the title track, “Fire and Rain,” and “Steamroller Blues.”

Taylor was in a lighthearted, playful mood, which he showed early. After saying hello to Fort Worth, he added, “Some Dallas [people], too, I think, in there,” he said to some playful backlash from some in the audience. “It stands to reason. I’m just saying. I don’t want to start anything.”

He then pointed out that his hometown Boston Red Sox are currently playing a Texas baseball team from down south in the ALCS.

“I don’t want to start anything there, either,” he quipped. “It’s a minefield.”

That drew some good-natured booing from a few Texas Rangers fans in attendance for even his mere mention of the Houston Astros.

But Taylor had nothing to worry about. He smoothly segued from one song to the next, offering insight about the meanings and origins of some of his hits and lesser-known gems, including “That’s Why I’m Here,” the title track from his 1985 album. It was written in the aftermath of the 1982 drug overdose death of his friend, actor and comedian, John Belushi.

“For me, it was a big event, it was a real shock. But it also, as they say, it shocked me sober,” said Taylor, who had his own well-known battle with addiction. “It sort of woke me up.”

He dedicated the song to “anyone who is in recovery tonight,” to a big cheer from the crowd. He quickly added, amusingly, “we still have plenty of songs for those of us who are still [expletive] messed up, too. That’s fine, too.”

He explained how former President Richard Nixon inspired the 1997 song “Line ‘Em Up” and how “Sweet Baby James” was written for his nephew, who was named after him.

His Son Henry Taylor, 20, was one of four background vocalists, including Arnold McCuller, Kate Markowitz, and Zonn. Early on, when the four vocalists spread out across the front of the stage during “Mexico,” the show briefly had the air of a church rock band.

“Sometimes you have to say, ‘Woo.’ It’s like a human bark,” Taylor said after hearing a few from fans between songs.

Saxophonist Lou Marini shined on “You Make It Easy,” and the entire band, including keyboardist and trumpet player Walt Fowler, guitarist Michael Landau, pianist Larry Goldings, and bassist Jimmy Johnson all took turns jamming during an extended “Steamroller Blues.”

The main set closed with a flurry of smash hits that had fans, many of whom have grown gray or bald (along with Taylor), singing along. “Sweet Baby James,” “Fire and Rain,” “Carolina in My Mind,” “Shower the People,” and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)“ came one after the other, the last including a video montage of personal family snapshots over the years.

Jackson Browne, who played an 11-song, hits-filled set as the opener, returned during Taylor’s encore to do “Take It Easy,” the Eagles’ hit that Brown wrote with Glenn Frey. It was a more laidback, Taylor-ized version of the song, but it still had fans excited as he and Brown took turns singing.

Taylor closed the show with Carole King’s classic “You’ve Got a Friend,” a song that Taylor has made his own since its release in 1971, with Brown and his wife Kim Smedvig adding to the background vocals.

Many fans, apparently past their bed time at 10:30 on a Tuesday night., headed for the exits before, during and after “You’ve Got a Friend.”

But they missed one of the most poignant moments of the entire show. Taylor, with acoustic guitar, and son Henry, with electric guitar, sat on stools for a duet on show closer “You Can Close Your Eyes.”

It was a sweet, familial touch for a show steeped in deeply-held memories for both performer and fan.

James Taylor’s Oct. 19, 2021 set list at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas:

1. Country Road

2. Copperline

3. That’s Why I’m Here

4. Mexico

5. You Make It Easy

6. Line ‘Em Up

7. Steamroller Blues

8. As Easy as Rolling Off a Log

9. Sweet Baby James

10. Fire and Rain

11. Carolina in My Mind

12. Shower the People

13. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

(encore)

14. Shed a Little Light

15. Take It Easy (with Jackson Browne)

16. You’ve Got a Friend

17. You Can Close Your Eyes