As many of you know, there's a jacket hanging behind the Black Hole Bar in my basement that once belonged to James Taylor. Here's how it got there.I went to see JT at Blossum Music Center back in '78 with friends Tom Elliott and Chris Benner. After the show we ambled down to the side of the stage, just getting a look at the setup really. The roadies were tearing down the set, wandering around doing this and that. At some point I look up and say, "Hey, look. He left his jacket hanging on the mike stand." He'd worn it onstage and had taken it off during the show. Anyway, one of us (probably Tom) gets the bright idea to try and grab it. Nice plan but the place was crawling with security and roadies. I turn to Chris for ideas, turn back around, and Tom has already jumped the railing and was halfway across the stage. He was just casually walking like he belonged there. A couple guys glanced at him but didn't say a word, either because he looked like he belonged or because he's 6'-3", 280 lbs and looks like he could kill you in a heartbeat (which by the way he could but that's another story). He casually grabs the jacket, throws it over his shoulder, and hops off the other side of the stage as Chris and I run frantically around to meet him. We walk away without looking back, expecting at any moment to hear, "Stop them! Thieves! Thay have James Taylor's jacket! For God's sake stop the bastards!" Except it doesn't happen, and we make it to the car. At that point Tom tries it on. Obviously too small. Chris grabs it. Too big. Heh-heh. Fit me perfectly. And that's how it came to be hanging in The Black Hole.
By the way, later I woke up wide-eyed in the middle of the night, realizing I hadn't checked the pockets. The possibilities were mind-boggling. Alas, nothing.
My all-time favorite Black Hole story!!
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