My husband and I made a quick run up to Portland this week for the sole purpose of spending an evening at the Moda Center with James Taylor & His All-Star Band. We had purchased our tickets months ago and had been anticipating this concert a good long while, especially as Bonnie Raitt was featured to perform with Taylor. Unfortunately, she bowed out of several dates this spring due to an unspecified health issue. Though I would have loved to see her in a live performance, it simply meant we got twice as much James Taylor, and that’s always a treat!

My sister Julie and her husband, Dave, joined us, and we stopped first for dinner at the Multnomah Athletic Club, a venerable institution in Portland since 1891 and a producer of many Olympic athletes over the decades. We hopped on Portland’s MAX light rail train at a stop just outside the MAC for a quick trip across the river and jumped off just across the street from the Moda Center. (I just love the ease and convenience of MAX!) As Julie noted, there sure were a lot of “old” people at this concert, but there actually was quite an age range of Taylor fans there.

I’d seen James Taylor and many of the same musicians (a multi-talented and gifted group, most solo performers in their own rights) several years ago here at an outdoor venue with a capacity of about 4,000. The Moda holds considerably more, and we were up on the third level, so the intimacy level wasn’t quite the same, but the quality was fantastic. Taylor just turned 70, but his voice is as pure and clear as a mountain stream, with all the warmth and strength one heard in his early days. Well, actually, I think perhaps there’s a little more depth that comes through with the wisdom of his years, now.

So many of his songs come tinged with a nostalgia and a wistfulness in recalling earlier times, and throughout the concert this was reinforced with vintage photos, home movies and videos played on a number of screens suspended above and behind the stage. He played two full sets (more than 25 songs in all, including three encores) with a 20-minute-long intermission, the full length of which he spent down at one corner of the stage, chatting with fans, signing autographs and taking pictures. We were struck with what a generous act that was, especially as he played from 7:40 until about 10:45 p.m. and didn’t really take a break.

The audience clearly loved the music, the man and the evening. We all sang along to “Shower the People” as invited, but I’m sure most, like me, were quietly singing along to almost every tune he played. Not all were his biggest hits, and he generously identified the songwriters of some of his most well-known hits (Carole King for “Up on the Roof” and “You’ve Got a Friend” and Marvin Gaye for “How Sweet It Is”). I’m so thankful for the wonderful music, the memories it stirred up and the chance to share it with loved ones.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor