Mayer (Say what you need to Say)

I went to see John Mayer in concert Sunday night in West Palm Beach. This was my third Mayer show, second at the outdoor amphitheater venue in West Palm, and each time I see his show, it gets better and better.

What a way to spend the Sunday before Labor Day, when you know Monday is a day off to do whatever your heart wishes. Fifteen of us made the 45 minute drive to WPB for some tailgating before the show began. Sun out, beer in hand, music playing, and friends all around, all we needed was a decent show and I would have deemed it a very good day.

What we got was more than a decent show. It was great.

I'm not the litmus test for this. Asking someone who is a fan of an artist, or someone who is already supporting a candidate to evaluate a performance or a speech isn't very helpful. They're already a fan and most likely approved. But I love watching those that are skeptical or unimpressed, and asking them if they were swayed in anyway to think differently. And for many reasons, there are always those skeptical about John Mayer.

The coolest part of the night was not how great his surrounding band was.
They're great.
Or how great the set list was.
It was great.
Or even how they were doing everything they could for the last show of the tour to be the best.
They did and it was great.
The coolest part was watching some of my friends who didn't like Mayer and who just came along for the party, get into the show and walk away fans.

I'll just share three highlights from the show.

1) During the encore, Mayer pulled out the Eddie Van Halen guitar and did a pretty great, although nothing drastically different, version of "Panama". Mayer ripped on the guitar while his other band mate sang the lead. Needless to say, the
crowd went ballistic.

2) Vultures/Gravity - This was my third time seeing Mayer since the Trio/Continuum releases, and each time the tandem songs of "Vultures" and "Gravity" steal the show. With long jam sections within, the show hits a level where Mayer is at his best, on the guitar, vocally, and lyrically. The show hit a 10 on the cool meter.

3) The surprising moment for me, and the highlight of the show Sunday night came during "Say". Since its release as a single earlier this year, I never particularly liked the song, but Sunday night it stole the show. I can't quite even say why, but the show took the next step. There were three or four of us that felt the same way. "Say" is a song that flexes Mayer's pure songwriting skills. Something he seems to get better and better at as the years go by.

You can always count on him entertaining the crowd between songs as well, with one of the more self-deprecating on stage personalities in music.

All in all, another great show, another great crowd and time for friends. And the best part of it all for the thousands there...

No work on Monday.