Taylor Hicks My Idol: Ray LaMontagne

You know that 'feeling' I'm talking about!
The euphoria you experience when listening to Taylor Hicks' music.

Then there's the high intensity excitement that enfolds you when seeing Taylor Hicks in concert.
Anticipation, wonderment, tears and smiles.
You feel so good you are down right giddy.

video: Taylor Hicks @ Millersville University, Millersville, PA

Well I searched for most of this past summer for something to give me a taste of that special 'feeling'. I knew a trip to see Taylor in 'Grease' on Broadway wasn't in the cards, so I wasn't going to get a Taylor fix any time soon.

To the rescue came my friend Froggie with news that Ray LaMontagne and Marc Broussard were both performing concerts in our area. My soul was about to receive some much needed soothing and I eagerly agreed to her purchasing tickets for both performances.

It seems our souls were not the only ones in need of soothing. Both concerts were highly attended, in fact they were packed with varying ages, but the predominant age was college students. And believe me they were as into and appreciative of the music as we both were.

Can you imagine our excitement upon hearing Ray sing "Trouble" and Marc singing "You Send Me" and "Let's Get It On". It was as if the spirit of Taylor Hicks was right there with us!

Both Marc and Ray gave fabulous performances, but for me there is only one person whose performances fullfill that special 'feeling'. Taylor is the man ...
hook, line and sinker.

video: Taylor Hicks @ House of Blues, Cleveland

We caught Ray's concert at the Royal Oak Theater, but this video from his Chicago concert is a better capture of his new song.

video: "Winter Birds" by Ray LaMontagne @ The Chicago Theater

And here is a small sampling from Marc's almost 2 1/2 hour concert.

video: Marc Broussard @ The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, MI

Thanks Froggie for looking out for me! Without you as my travel buddy I would have missed so many wonderful concerts.

Next adventure booked is East Lansing in December to see Taylor in 'Grease'.
What a fab birthday present for me!

Trouble ...
Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble
Trouble been doggin' my soul since the day I was born

I sat here at my computer last night watching special alerts flash across the screen, feeling like I was standing in a supermarket line.
Of course, there ... you can't miss seeing all of the tabloids with their screaming headlines and titilating captions.

But do you pick them up and read them?
(Obviously many do, or there wouldn't be so many of them available to choose from.)
Do you believe every headline or do you wonder what lies beneath the surface?
Do you ever wonder what the 'real' story is?

While I admit to being a voracious reader, they are not my cup of tea, or coffee either for that matter.

I tend to shy away from the same kind of reporting here on the computer too.
What I find hard to understand ... why, even positive things are reported with a negative slanted caption.
And why are these the types of stories that get repeated across the net, yet the truly newsworthy, positive stories are buried and you have to search them out.

What makes people so fascinated with the 'personal' and 'private' lives of the Rich & Famous?

I found an interesting article last night http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20199608/ that answers the question to a degree.
In this article they talk about the 'stars' that crave that kind of attention, but what about those who just want to go about performing their craft?

How must it feel to someone like Taylor, who was thrust into the spotlight seemingly overnight?
Was he prepared to literally have his laundry hung out for everybody to view?
Did he anticipate that his life was now an open book, and not just the one he wrote?

He shared a great deal of 'personal' information in "Heart Full Of Soul", surprisingly, but did he realize his life would be continually viewed through a microscope?

When Simon asked him, "Why are you here", and Taylor replied "I want my voice heard", we listened.

When Ryan announced, "The winner of American Idol Season 5 is Taylor Hicks", we celebrated, applauded, cried, and cheered ... right along with the audience!!!

We were his "Soul Patrol", and he shouted out to us, and still continues to do so ... but does that make him ours?

I often wonder what Taylor would think if he read some of the things I have seen posted on the internet.
Would he just shake his head or ask himself ,"is this the price of fame?".

If you are searching for the latest rumor, or this one makes me laugh, who decorates Taylor's house for Christmas? ... you won't find the answers here.

What you will find is ... "what it's all about"!

Stepping down and moving on :-)

When Taylor performed Ray Lamontagne's song "Trouble" on American Idol, he introduced to many of us a previously unknown artist.
While I appreciate that it's Ray's song, it shall forever be associated with Taylor for me.
The passion that flowed when he sang, the break in his voice ... when his heart cried out ... you just couldn't help being caught up in the music.

And that is what Taylor Hicks does for music ... he makes it 'real'!

I would love to hear him sing "Trouble" again ... even if it was only a tag!

video capture by AliceinTaylorland
(Thank you)

I apologize for the soapbox, but since I was doing laundry any way ...
it seemed apropos.

(If you are missing Taylor's "Trouble" playing as you opened this page, I'm sorry, I am too! I had to turn it off as it was playing along with Pooh & Friends. Just click on the player to start!)