James Taylor Crowd Knows Nothing of His WorkThere was the usual phalanx of celebs at the Ross School in East Hampton Saturday for James Taylor’s penultimate concert in the Hampton Social series — the Olsens, Richard Gere, Jimmy Buffett, Daryl Hannah, even Paul McCartney — but, as it turned out, they weren’t all necessarily there to see Sweet Baby James. “I don’t know much of his music,” James Blunt admitted to us before the show started, “but I’m looking forward to it.” So no favorite songs, then? “I’ll have to get back to you at the end of the night,” he said. Mischa Barton was equally flummoxed. “Um, I don’t know,” she admitted. “Everyone’s been asking me. I put it on my iPod before we left, but I haven’t listened.” Beth Ostrosky, there with her boyfriend, Howard Stern, was one of the few who could answer the question. “‘You’ve Got a Friend,’” she said proudly. And local gal Christie Brinkley eventually came up with an answer, too. “I sing the kids this song at night to help put them to sleep,” she said. “I don’t know what it’s called, but it goes, ‘There is a young cowboy ’ Oh, ‘Sweet Baby James,’ that’s it.” Yup. —Brett Amelkin
party lines
Celebs Go to Hamptons, See Concerts, Check OutCelebrities are typically eager to tell you what they think about nearly any news event — except when it’s summer, and they’re on vacation, and they’ve stopped paying attention to the news. We bumped into Sopranos gals Edie Falco and Aida Turturro at the Dave Matthews concert for the Ross School, held in East Hampton Saturday night, and we asked whether Lindsay Lohan would ever work again. “I don’t know what goes on,” Falco said. What about you, Aida? “I don’t know what happened,” Turturro seconded. “I’m out in Montauk; I don’t even know.” Shifting gears, we asked Joan Allen about Eliot Spitzer’s recent troubles. “I’ve been gone a lot,” she said, begging off. “I was in Greece with my daughter, and I just kind of got back. I’m out of the loop with what’s going on.” Billy Joel, who’s playing the next Ross concert was at least able to answer a question. What did he have on tap for next week? “For this kind of gig? I’m going to keep it hit heavy,” he said. “I don’t think you want to go too obscure for these prices.” No, no, you don’t: Tickets to the five-show series cost $15,000. —Lillien Nathan
gossipmonger
A Royal PainPrince’s highly publicized performance at the Ross School in East Hampton didn’t exactly get the crowd going. And he wouldn’t attend the after-party until everyone else left. Padma Lakshmi has been spending a lot of time with billionaire Teddy Fortsmann. Hillary Clinton has a subscription to the Post but not the Daily News. Jon Lovitz put a beating on Andy Dick at an L.A. comedy club during an argument over murdered SNL star Phil Hartman. Paris Hilton drugged her newest boyfriend with pills. Naomi Campbell gets to throw a temper tantrum in a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial directed by Zach Braff. Some staffers don’t like the cubicles and the food-paying system in the new New York Times building.
gossipmonger
The Continuing Education of Mrs. Ross ContinuesCourtney Sale Ross, founder of the Ross School in the Hamptons and the new Ross Global Academy charter school in the Tweed Courthouse, is not the easiest person to work for (as Phoebe Eaton reports in this week’s New York.) Construction on Ann Curry’s townhouse on West 71st Street has led to four lawsuits from angry neighbors. Bruce Willis got a make-out session with Courtney Love on his 52nd birthday. Michael Jackson is in talks to build a 50-foot robotic replica of himself in — where else? — Vegas. Governor Eliot Spitzer is liberal with the compliments. Former Studio 54 busboy and current Nobu managing partner Richie Notar will run Ian Schrager’s Asian fusion restaurant in the Gramercy Park Hotel. The former chef at 44 used to serve Calvin Klein McDonald’s French fries for lunch, and Klein was none the wiser.