Last Monday, my daughter Haley and I participated in what I consider a historical event. I have never been to a political rally and neither has she. But we decided to go to the free James Taylor concert for Obama at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

They did not allow banners into the show, otherwise ours would have been THE BEST:

The show was at 7 p.m., but the doors opened at 5 p.m., so we got there just a little after 5 p.m. We were early enough that we were about seven rows away from the stage. The crowd was, for the most part, quiet and polite. A lady behind me was knitting. College girls were flirting. College boys were hiding subs under their jackets since food was not allowed. The only disruption was a 2-year old (yes, a 2-year old at a concert where she would have to wait two hours to see something she really doesn't care about when she wants to be home eating Cheerios one-by-one while Mom fixes dinner) who was kicking up a fuss...some of the kicks landing in our backs. But THAT, and her brother and friend who were with them, is a whole different blog.

How close were we?

Yes ... that close. And no zoom lens. It was the quietest concert I have ever been to. The last time I saw JT was 29 years ago at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center where we had lawn seats and it was a drunk and disorderly crowd. This crowd listened respectfully as James Taylor talked about his roots in Chapel Hill and his love of the Tar Heel State and how incredible it is that this year WE ARE A BATTLEGROUND STATE!

He started with a sweet acoustic version of "America the Beautiful." We listened quietly as he crooned our favorites, like "Something in the Way She Moves" and "Sweet Baby James" (which I used to sing to my son as a lullabye). In between songs, he shared self-deprecating stories about his long career, how he worked with Carole King and worked up his own version of "You've Got A Friend" to play at a gig they were playing together...not realizing he would be playing it EVERY NIGHT FOR THE REST OF HIS CAREER.

He spoke quietly and understatedly about Barack Obama and his own commitment to the campaign. The concert spoke to me of reason over rambunctiousness (as opposed to Hank Williams Jr.'s similar concerts). The people in the crowd, maybe even the kicking 2-year old, represented the people I want to be with supporting Obama. Supportive, respectful, believers in the candidate more than the rhetoric.

He even had the crowd sing a hushed "Go Obama Go" as a sweet harmony to his guitar picking and singing.

Enough politics...29 years later, James Taylor still sounds as sweet and his music continues to inspire with its quiet meaning.

Di appears Saturday on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Di at her blog Live and Let Di.