John Mayer

with Ben Kweller

7/4/2007, Vodafone Arena, Melbourne.

There are few guitarists that inspire me to play a Fender; Stevie Ray Vaughan, Dave Gilmour, Eric Johnson and Hendrix. That's pretty much it (well, Clapton as well). John Mayer has just entered that short, but illustrious list. He was an amazing. amazing guitarist in action. I've loved his live albums so far to date; in particular the John Mayer Trio release (totally blues based, rockin' stuff), but seeing him live was a great experience. He took the stage in a single spotlight and let rip with some soulful shit. I mean some solo guitar work that set the scene for the night, reminiscent of Clapton and Gilmour; and continued throughout the evening. There was plenty of noodling in between songs, extended solos and improv jams. He traded licks with his band (who just ripped it up - all consummate professionals in their trade). Vodafone was great for sound (surprisingly) and the view was uninterrupted (I got a seat on the floor, but when the band came out I moved forward to a good standing position). Support for the gig was Ben Kweller, who put on a good show, but found it a bit hard to get the crowd going in an arena (I think). Lighting for John Mayer was subtle but effective, spotlights used to good effect. The setlist was heavily focussed on the new album (Continuum), which was good, and a little surprising. I thought there more be more of "the hits", but then again, looking at the set now, it's still full of songs that most people would know and love. Belief Good Love Why Georgia (the crowd when crazy. It was intro'd with a nice little spiel about the joy of being a musician, and being able to look back at your former self through song) I Don't Trust Myself With Loving You Bigger Than My Body (intro'd as "I wish I could write this song again" - in a good way) The Heart of Life Waiting On The World To Change I Don't Need No Doctor (great guitar work) Vultures No Such Thing I'm Gonna Find Another You (extended jam - probably 15 minutes?) - 3x5 (notes below) Gravity (intro'd as "his favourite song") So, John actually started the encore with him playing 3x5 solo on acoustic, however this wasn't planned from the looks of things. After finishing the main set, he stepped down into the front row to grab a huge banner off some fans which said "We Love JM, play 3x5 please!". He showed this off to the crowd, then said into the mike ">insert name here, speaking to the sound mixing guy<, when we return, we'll play 3x5 first". This coupled with the fact that I got the setlist off the sound mixing guy after the gig, and it listed Your Body Is A Wonderland and Clarity instead of 3x5 pretty much cemented it. I was actually much happier with 3x5 (I'm a bit over Wonderland - it's been played to death I think) Even without him playing my favourite song (Something's Missing), it was still a fantastic gig, and one that has kept John Mayer songs in my head for the past few days (combined with Pixies songs, it's been an interesting soundtrack in the past week). I'll definitely see him again if he comes out and try hard to convince others to check him out, it was inspiration stuff from a musician who has found a good balance between commercial success and staying true to your roots / playing mighty fine guitar.

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