Bringing the Drama

Last Wednesday I went to see John Mayer. I’ve seen JM a few times over the past 8 years. I was not really impressed with the latest album, but the main reason I still care about him is that he can still play the guitar live and make me forget that he has stupid songs like “Say”. Maybe he’s gone over the top with this heart throb image he’s trying to project now, and maybe his stage looks like a curtain draped bed, but he can still impress me with the guitar playing.

After having seen Jay-Z at the same arena a couple of weeks before, I noticed and mentioned to friends at the JM show “if Jay-Z was the show where black people get dressed up, John Mayer is the show where white people get dressed up”. It was striking how true that statement was. More tight clothes, more of it all. On the way to get a bloody mary, I stopped off in the restroom. I’m standing at the urinal when I hear a liquid hit the floor behind me, and the cleaning guy on the other side of the room say “what are you doing man? get IN the bathroom!” I completed my task, and turned around to see some dude had thrown up in the doorway of the restroom. He made it all the way from his seat to the doorway and couldn’t make it the extra 10 feet. Pathetic. I went and got my bloody mary thinking “this may be my last John Mayer show, this crowd has changed over the years to something I’m not a part of anymore.”

I took my seat on the front of the upper deck. Michael Franti was still playing, so we watched him. All his songs sounded the same, and I guess I’ve had less patience for opening acts lately. He came out into the crowd to perform a couple of times, including one time where he started playing in the aisle right below us on the lower level, but sadly I lost that picture in the transfer from camera to computer.

John Mayer finally hit the stage and led off with Heartbreak Warfare. It is one of the few songs I like off the new album, partly because of the cool video he did to go along with it. No Such Thing came 2nd, which I thought was weird. They rolled through some good songs, including I Don’t Trust Myself With Loving You. One of the things I liked so much about Continuum, was the guitar solos. They are amazing to hear live. They’re the reason I go to the live shows. This solo did not disappoint. Before the next song stared, there was an electric guitar malfunction, so he called an audible and did two songs acoustic, by himself. The first was Comfortable, which was the favorite song of my friend TH way back when he was telling me about this new guy John Mayer in 2001 or 2002. I had never heard it live, so it was cool to finally hear it. After Neon (another golden oldie), the technical problem was fixed so the band came back out.

Even the songs that I think were stupid before sounded and looked good live, including Who Says. He finished up with his cover version of Crossroads, so he ended up playing the 3 songs on the new album that I think are the only good ones. It was one of the better shows I’ve seen him play. I would go see him again, despite the immature crowds and the stupid marketing. I get it, I get the big production and the fancy band, but at the heart of it is still that guy who I admire playing smooth guitar solos, and that’s enough for me.

I told you a while back about how I was going to see Jay-Z. A couple of weeks ago, that show happened. At work on the day of the show, I listened to three albums on shuffle. I emailed my sister the lyrics to the chorus of Hard Knock Life. I was telling people “Jay-Z is a big deal”. He is, he’s one of the biggest artists on the planet. I’ve seen 50 Cent and Ludacris (not together, and both were at a festival) live and they were HORRIBLE. Jay-Z is AWESOME. I thought this show would be better than any other rap show I’d ever seen.

We got there during the opening act, and he was okay. He had some song with lyrics that sounded like he wanted to sleep with a girl, but not want her to tell anyone, which made me ask “is this song about Tiger Woods?” We saw Mos Def and Spike Lee (really). We saw people dressed up way better than the standard concert, lots of tight dresses and big sunglasses. Then we saw the man himself emerge from below the stage.

One of the things I noticed about the other two artists who performed other than Jay-Z, was that they needed guys on stage who would go “give it up for so and so! Yeah! Make some noise!” Jay-Z did not need that, he’s a big deal. When the lights went down and the clock countdown got closer and closer to 0:00, the crowd knew who was coming. The curtain fell with 20 seconds to go, and the band is out on stage, and then Jay-Z rose from the depths of the stage and had the crowd in the palm of his hand. It was awesome. The entire crowd had their arms up bouncing along to Run This Town. It was everything I had imagined.

I thought the setlist lost some steam when he veered away from the big hits early. The other songs were hits too, but Run This Town and 99 Problems are just bigger songs that everyone can get into. I just thought one or two more of the bigger songs would have been better. The not so good songs weren’t made better live. I did really like the live band though. And his ability to spit out raps with such ease was amazing. I don’t think I could talk that fast and that smooth. I had read something earlier in the week that one of the things that sets him apart is he can command flow. I definitely agree. The midset handoff to Young Jeezy was alright (Jay-Z left the stage, and YJ did a mini-set), but it drained some of the life from the crowd. Though, YJ did manage to encourage us with sayings like “if you can dream it, you can motherf****** do it!” Right on. Jay-Z came back out and finished the show strong.

I thought one of the highlights was the girl that he pulled up on stage who sang a verse of Song Cry. The Unplugged is one of my favorite albums ever, and Song Cry is on there. It is one of my favorites. The chick managed to do really well, so well that I think Jay-Z was impressed, and teamed up with her for a couple of lines. She didn’t get to finish though, some excuses like “we gotta go” or something. Still though, I’m sure that’s one of the highlights of her life.

Overall, I would have made a couple of setlist changes (no Can’t Knock the Hustle or What We Talkin’ About) and eliminated the midset handoff, but other than that the show was one of those “quest realm” types that didn’t disappoint.

I came home from a tough day at work and checked my mail. Tough is really relative because KCOG was not there. I think he was off handling something with his divorce, which I know way too much about. He likes to let me in on his life at random times, even if I am using my headphones. ANYWAY, this is not about him. I got my U2 tickets today! They are just regular TM tickets, nothing fancy. I’m a little sad. Still though, they say FIELD on them, and that’s all that matters. My sister came over earlier so we could settle up on the Jay-Z tickets, and I got to show her the U2 tickets. She was a little concerned with me having to get in line so early, but I told her I’m probably going with a bigger U2 fan than me, so I don’t think it’ll be too hard to convince anyone to get out there early. It will be awesome. I want to fist bump Bono. Can we make this happen Adriene?

I finished up my paper for grad school and uploaded it with about a minute to spare. Since NC State is in the eastern time zone, I have to upload one hour earlier than probably everyone else in the class. It’s probably better off, because I know as a professional procrastinator, if I actually had till midnight, I would probably waste time until midnight. I found a late addition article to add and was able to easily satisfy the 1000 word requirement. Right on.

I took this picture a while back and have used it as avatars on message boards. Now though, I can use the picture for a new purpose, because yesterday I read that Jay-Z is coming to NOLA next February. My sister has already enthusiastically said she would come with. Tickets go on sale Saturday. They are a bit expensive for my taste, but have you heard the Unplugged album? It’s one of my favorite albums EVER. Have you been enraptured with Empire State of Mind this week? I heard it for the first time on Monday and it is FANTASTIC! Do you get an extra boost when 99 Problems comes on your iPod when you’re running? I do. Jay-Z’s always kind of been in the quest realm, but I never thought I’d ever have a shot at going to see him. Now though, it’s on.