There was fire and there was rain last night as James Taylor took the stage at the Molson Amphitheatre.

Strangely, it was in the form of a nasty little electrical storm that struck up just in time for the mellow folk singer to indulge an audience of 10,800 with his patented, laid-back brand of adult contemporary folk music.

It was as extreme as things got during Taylor's three-hour, 27-song concert.

The rain had long since subsided by the time Taylor obliged fans with a version of his hit Fire And Rain in the middle of the show's second set.

As for the fire, that had more to do with what Taylor didn't do than what he did.

The singer is a master of the anti-performance.

He even made his entrance by wandering out onstage alone, with no fanfare and the house lights -- and sun -- still up, at 8:15 sharp.

It took a minute for the crowd to notice. You'd never have known that this entrance is a practised trick at Taylor's shows lately.

And despite his unassuming ways, Taylor was adamant that music from his new album, Hourglass, be given fair stage time next to audience favorites like Carolina, You've Got A Friend and Steamroller.

It took a little while for the crowd to warm up -- the first big response followed his cover of Buddy Holly's Everyday, four songs into the show.

Soon, Taylor was meeting a string of audience requests with sarcastic, self-deprecating remarks.

He picked up his set list, pointed to the hits and suggested fans have "a little nap" until he got to them.

Defiance shrouded in dead-pan wit and little-boy charm? Maybe.

But Taylor kept his subtlety at highly entertaining levels throughout and made a remarkable connection with the audience, considering the vast, sterile expanses of the venue.

He spun witty yarns before intelligent songs like God Have Mercy On A Frozen Man.

He introduced Never Die Young by commenting that it might be a "little too late for that, anyway."

Any musical diversions of the night were not exactly hairpin turns, and came with the New Age-y Gaia, the stripped-down gospel of Twelve Gates To The City and Me And My Guitar, which found Taylor's four-piece backing band almost working themselves into an actual groove.

Still, Taylor received great, understated support from the band, which featured local Bob Mann on lead guitar.

Singer Arnold McCuller -- one of four backing vocalists -- even got a standing ovation after his standout performance on Shower The People.

The audience seemed to see this shining moment coming -- the show bore a striking resemblance to Taylor's recent televised concert on A & E.

Even some of th best between-song banter had been heard before. Then again, why mess up a good thing.

To quote Taylor during one such passage: "I digress. I've made a career out of it."

SUN RATING 4 OUT OF 5