YEARS ago my wife and I made a pact.
It was simple. We promised each other that if you ever did a concert here in the Philippines, we would find the time and the money to watch your show. And we waited and waited.
Then the announcement was made and my wife and I were so excited about your show. (We have all your albums.) And this concert was even made special when our children chipped in for the tickets. They got us front row tickets. When we saw where we were going to sit, we told ourselves we could practically touch you. We were more than excited with that possibility. We were your fans.
So my wife and decided to book a room in a hotel near MOA where you would be doing what we called a concert of a lifetime. We were ready to spend for airfare, hotel , meals and whatever it took to make this event something to remember. We were ready for the February 25 concert, your concert. The James Taylor concert. Heck as early as January we were playing your songs every day in anticipation.
And then you cancelled. Wow, we thought. Suddenly, just like a bubble bursting, it was gone. You were gone. Our children told us that we could try Singapore or Hong Kong. The tickets were much cheaper there by the way. At first, we wanted to but that would mean bigger expense and honestly, though we are truly fans of your music, going to Hong Kong or Singapore just to listen to you, would not be worth it. What a waste, we thought. Bummer we thought. So where does that leave us now?
You said that your reason for your cancellation was the killings going on in our country. I hope that is the real reason and not the rumored reason of low ticket sales. I will not go into the politics of it nor even attempt to judge you. If the killings were the reason, let it be so.
But let me also say, we are really disappointed. All your cds are now kept somewhere. All your songs which we have listened to for so many years are now skipped or not played. What a huge disappointment this is. We were actually looking forward to February 25. We had dinner plans, lunch plans and even a small shopping foray. Now all of that is gone.
You see James, your music was something we grew up with. We hummed to “You’ve Got A Friend” so many times. We knew “Fire and Rain” by heart. As we did with “Wandering.” And speaking for myself one of my all-time favourite songs is “Carolina In My Mind.” Not to mention, the not so famous but outstanding “ Millworker.”
It was more than the songs, it was the beauty of your songs. Their simplicity, their fire and their passion. And you also had one of the coolest voices. Your songs were the songs of our youth when we thought we were invincible. These were the songs we sang when we were innocent and idealistic. The world had not yet stained us with its hurt and bigotry. Its greed and its violence.
We were standing at the edge of tomorrow. Eager and naïve. Strong and powerful. The world was laid out like a highway to be discovered. A path to be explored. We were young and we were at the starting gates.
Too bad James. We were waiting. As it turned out, we waited for nothing.
Well there’s always Barry Manilow.