Review: John Mayer at Save Mart Center
John Mayer is vanilla ice cream. Vanilla isn't the best ice cream out there -- but it's good. Really, how can you hate vanilla ice cream?
Vanilla ice cream has potential. It's pretty darn good when you go to Cold Stone and load it up with goodies. But it can also be pretty plain. Like Mr. Mayer. On both accounts.
He was at his best during his Wednesday night concert at Save Mart Center when he took his plain-pop radio songs and morphed them into extended bluesy, jammed-out versions. When he showed he has real guitar chops. When he took the vanilla ice cream and made it Neapolitan or cookie dough. He did this with "Gravity" and it was thrilling.
But at other times, Mayer sounded just like he did on his records. And that's not bad. It's just that when he's trapped in those confines, he's, well, vanilla.
The lanky guitarist took the stage a bit after 8:30 p.m., without much hoopla. He just walked out and started playing "No Such Thing." He was dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt that stopped being buttoned at his chest and had sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He played in front of a backdrop that resembled a run-down warehouse. It was all very simple.
His famous hair bounced around on his head, he made quick remarks to the crowd of about 8,000 and scooted through song after song, most of them from his recent album "Continuum." He worked in a few older songs here and there, but stuck mostly to his new work. Two of his biggest hits, "Your Body is a Wonderland" and "Daughters," were noticeably missing from his hour-and-40-minute.
The most Mayer flavor came from his guitar faces -when he closes his eyes, gets really into his guitar player and his facial expressions look like dough being kneaded - and, of course, his brightly colored Nike Air Stabs.
Being the guitar aficionado that he is, Mayer seemed to have more guitars at his reach than Baskin Robbins has ice cream flavors. He was switching almost every song.
After he finished his set with "Gravity," Mayer and his band took off and returned a few minutes later for a not-so-surprising encore. He played a couple songs with an acoustic guitar trio, including "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room," which he introduced by saying he couldn't explain the emotions that went into writing the song because, "What I say might end up in People magazine, so I better shut the f**k up."
He did another song (that he said might be on his next album) called "The Hurt" and then wrapped up with "I'm Gonna Find Another You."
It sure seemed like somebody was in break-up mode. You know what's a good cure for heartache, John? Ice cream.
A few words on opener Ben Folds:
If Ben Folds were ice cream (just keeping the theme here, folks) he'd be one of those oddly named Ben & Jerry's flavors that you look at in the freezer aisle and just wonder about.
But really Folds is more like that nerd who lives underneath your apartment and who you're shocked to find out plays in a band and has a wicked sense of humor.
The arena was a little too big for him, he was a little too smart for the crowd and his set was a little too long (about an hour), but Folds was still plenty entertaining doing his hipster-friendly piano rock.
Performance-wise, Folds was a hoot - bantering at the audience, playing his synth with his foot and winning over the crowd with his YouTube-famous cover of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg (Video NSFW).
A personal note:
I had ice cream after the show. It was vanilla and it was pretty good.
** Above photo thanks to Ms. Heather McLane, who had much better seats than me. Watch for more of her pics from the show coming soon to The Beehive.
UPDATE: Here are some videos from the show that I found on YouTube this afternoon:
Comments:
To say that John Mayer's songs are "plain" other than at the concert is just plain ignorance. Other than the singles picked out by his record label to be played and sold as just that, SINGLES, his music is damn near guitar perfection.
Posted by: Tre' at June 7, 2007 2:33 AM
I thought the concert was boring. The Ben Folds set was much better. Anyway, it dragged out like no other show I have ever been to.
Posted by: Shianne at June 7, 2007 3:04 AM
Because the concert did not sell out, we were moved from the very top section to the guest seats 5 rows from the stage. It just got better from there. John Mayer has a great live sound, he and his band (musically) kicked it hard. I would of liked to hear more 'old' songs. But, the songs he did.. were awesome. Could of done without Ben Folds (and their one hit).
Posted by: debbie at June 7, 2007 9:03 AM
To say John Mayer gave me my money's worth wouldn't suffice; Out of gluttony, I wish he played a lot longer. As a longtime fan, I was happy to see that he was playing what he wanted, not just what he "should" to promote his latest album "Continuum". I was a good mix-- those who like his music from what they hear on the radio got their fix. Those of us who like the other stuff got treated to "3x5", "Neon", and "I don't trust myself with loving you". But now, one question still lingers (again, as a long-time fan): where was Michael Chaves (one of his band members)? David "Dela" LaBruyere (the bassist with the porn-star-looking mustache) was still there, but where was Chaves? Has he been kicked to the curb? All in all, I was super happy... and thrilled to have spent nearly two hours in bliss. Next stop: Hollywood Bowl, baby!
Posted by: liz at June 7, 2007 9:27 AM
i thought the concert was pretty slick. from a guitarists point of view, his guitar tone was jawdropping, and his flair was undeniably amazing. each of his flurries of notes that were so tastefully placed suited the MUSIC, and he wasn't overbearing. and he is one of a few that i know that vocally sound pretty damn near ON POINT in comparison to the recordings. i was amazed and i had a hell of a time.
Posted by: Jay at June 7, 2007 9:38 AM
John was not plain. The concert was a little short and i was dissapointed when he didn't sing your body is a wonderland because that is my fAVORITE song of all time!!!!!!!!!! HE WAS SOOOO SEXY IT WAS UNREAL. THE CONCERT WAS AMAZING!! NUMBER ONE FAN MARILYN MALDONADO
Posted by: kandi g at June 7, 2007 10:00 AM
I will be seeing this show friday in vegas :)
Posted by: tamara at June 7, 2007 10:24 AM
Loved, loved, loved John Mayer! He is an incredible musician who feels his music down to his toes! Could have listened to him all night. His unpretentious manner works well with his mixture of blues, lyrics and major guitar talent. Loved the whole band. Could have done without Ben Folds. Never heard of him and not my style and he played too long. Would like to see a different type of opening act for John; not sure what though. I caught on to John when he first started and will gladly follow his career for years to come.
Posted by: Linda at June 7, 2007 12:59 PM
The concert last night was amazing (as usual)! John came across comfortable (would have loved to hear that song...oh well) and very cool on stage. The music was brilliant, with a little something for everyone. His concerts are never long enough for me....it would be a 32 song set list, if I was in charge. Though, I definitely left satisfied and missing him already. I hope he comes back soon (maybe with a little more promotion next time). Most of the people I talked to didn't even know he was coming to Fresno. SMC needs to get the message out a little better, or we wont have anything but country concerts. There needs to be more radio stations involved in promoting this genre of music. I know I'll be back every time John Mayer comes to town!!
Posted by: EP at June 7, 2007 1:00 PM
A bunch of replies from me...
@ Tre:
By saying "Other than the singles" you're pretty much agreeing with me. Some of his stuff is really plain. That's OK. It's meant for a Top 40 audience. Some of his stuff is more artistic, made for people who are really into music to appreciate. That's better than it being all sap.
I dig Mayer when he really gets into it, as I said above. He did that really well last night -- I just wish there was more of it, because that's the Mayer I like.
@ Debbie:
Congrats on getting the seats moved. They tend to do that a lot more these days. So a word to concertgoers out there, ya know never when you might get upgraded the day of the show.
@ Liz:
I have no answers. You know more than me.
@ Jay:
Yeah, he sounded a lot like he did on record vocally. Enormous props for that.
@ EP:
The trouble with promotion, I think, is that most people are chained to their radios (unfortunately) and there's really only Alice that plays his music. I felt the loss of Y-101 in there last night.
Posted by: Mike Oz at June 7, 2007 1:43 PM
i just laugh at the people that say ben folds didn't have to be there. ben folds is the reason i went to the show in the first place. i had seen john mayer twice before. the first time was in mountain view. the second was his first time in fresno. now that i seen him on thursday all i got to say is he was better the first trip to fresno. it just sucks that pepole here in fresno don't know ben folds. just because he isn't on the radio like john mayer i guess that makes him a dope. then again this is fresno the city i call a "banwagon city". if it's on the radio it's better then anything not on the radio. people in fresno need some good music to listen to. and that may not be on the radio. buy the way i thought ben folds had a good set. i need to check him out in a smaller venue out of town. like i do most of the time when i want to see a band. later
Posted by: alfonso sanchez at June 8, 2007 12:35 AM
I thought the John Mayer concert was better than it was when he first came to Fresno. I mean he played some of his best songs that he has wrote and came out with. I wish he did play more, but what he put out didn't make me complain. He was awesome...the best show for me from him. Even though i only have seen him only twice but compared to the other one this one was better. Whatever other people think of how this concert went i really enjoyed it i would want to go back in time to see it again. IT was that good. Playing SLow Dancing (acoustic) and Neon which cam out of nowhere proved this was going to be a great concert. And it was.
Posted by: Sarah at June 10, 2007 12:02 PM
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