I've seen Fire, and I've seen Rain...lots of Rain!

Whenever James Taylor comes to Charlotte, my family always gets together to see him. JT always plays the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (Blockbuster Pavilion to any long-time Charlotte area residents!), so we get a bunch of lawn tickets and camp out for a nice summer evening under the stars listening to great music. Last night was the big night and we had quite a number in our party...my mom, her husband, his four kids, three of their friends, my sister, four of her friends, and myself.

We got to the venue and set up our camp, a little wary of the dark cloud hovering in the distance, but confident the rain would pass right over us...after all, almost every year they call for rain on the night of the JT concert and it hadn't rained yet. JT played his first set which included a good bit of newer music, but also some classics...Whenever I See Your Smiling Face, Handyman (my favorite) and Mexico. Near the end of the set, we felt a few drops and put on our sweatshirts and parkas, but we were in luck...no rain yet.

Intermission lasted for about half an hour. In the last ten minutes, the bottom fell out! There was no thunder or lightning (yet), so most people just accepted the fact they were going to get wet, and waited for the second set to start. Almost as soon as the music started back up, the thunder and lightning kicked in. A lot of people (including my sister and her friends, and my mom's husband and his crowd) decided to leave. I, however, am a huge JT fan and was determined to stay. My mom decided to stay with me.

By this time, the crowd on the lawn was really thinning out. Mom and I made our way up to the front of the lawn and found two abandoned folding chairs that we folded up and sat on like mats while we enjoyed a few more songs. We stuck it out for about 30 minutes before finally giving in and leaving. But those 30 minutes were the best! The rain was down to a steady drizzle, the lightning had settled down, and JT pulled out all the hits...Fire and Rain, Sweet Baby James, Carolina In My Mind, and Steamroller. The people around us were obviously die-hard fans as well, so everyone was quietly singing along, but not disrupting the mood. It was awesome!

I wish I could tell you what he ended on and how many encores he did, but I have no idea. We left after Steamroller and headed back home to get dry! I can't say it's the best concert experience I've ever had, but it was certainly one I'll never forget!