Great VIP seats again, center table in front row
It’s always tough for a solo performer to pull off a two-hour show
while keeping the audience engaged throughout, but Livingston Taylor managed to
pull it off last night at AMP, with his songs and stories accompanied only by
his work on guitar, piano on several songs in his post-intermission set, and
frequently-tapping feet. Although many of the songs he performed were older
than I am (most notably “Pick Yourself Up”, “Heart And Soul”, and his standard
closing medley of “Merry Old Land Of Oz”/”Over The Rainbow”), he also
spotlighted more contemporary songwriters such as Stevie Wonder (the opening “Isn’t
She Lovely”) and Laura Nyro (the classic “Sweet Blindness”), as well as such
originals as “You Can Take Me Home”, “Life Is Good”, and “Writing A Book”
(undoubtedly Taylor Swift’s next move). His love of nicely-tuned song lyrics
was evident throughout, as he did a recitation of Oscar Hammerstein II’s lyrics
to “I Cain’t Say No” (from Oklahoma!)
and spent a few minutes praising the beginning of Lesley Gore’s big hit “It’s
My Party”.
