CONCERT REVIEW
JOHN MAYER
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Ill.
Nov. 28, 2003
Entertainment
Art
By NICK POWILLS
So here I was, at the Allstate Arena, lost in a sea of children who had barely experienced the thrills of puberty, gearing up to see the great John Mayer perform songs about beautiful bodies and driving 85. I was in for the night of my life. With my date sitting next to me, a nice cold beer in one hand (another in the cup holder), surrounded by a bunch of 13-year-olds and their hot moms; what else could a guy want?
Honestly, I love John Mayer. I have all his studio albums, live cuts, bootleg CDs, and a worn-out shirt from my first Mayer concert. No, I'm not gay, I just think Mayer has a solid sound that excites my ears – an orgasm of melodies, if I may. He is my guilty pleasure.
And I know, for a fact, that I'm not the only one. I may be part of that small percentage of straight male Mayer fans who can actually admit their tastes for his music, however, judging from the faces of some of the other 20-40 year-olds, that percentage is quickly growing. Maybe the love for Mayer is growing so strong that we can come out in thousands and admit, together, that he is a great musician. OK, now my dream is crossing that line. Back to the show.
Mayer is not an original performer. I know that. He knows that. He has stolen his styles from other greats. However, he never tries to pass them off as his own. Stealing other styles that work is not bad. Scores of other musicians have done it simply because it works. Maybe I am thinking way outside the box, but I see James Taylor meets Dave Matthews on stage. Is that too far stretched? Not a bad thing.
He definitely knows the art of jamming, and the chemistry between him and his band was near perfect, in sync.
Used as a promotional method for his newest album, Heavier Things, the concert-set list was derived from his new album. "Daughters" was performed admirably, and the hit single "Bigger Than My Body" to perfection. His other songs were not what the crowd was expecting. His first two commercially successful albums vary so much in musical flavor, that Mayer seemed to lose the crowd at several points during the show. Of course, he would pick the fans right back up with another hit song. Fans would be on their feet dancing and screaming to one song, and would slowly get turned off to the sounds and eventually sit down during the next. When it was time for the encore, it seemed as if half the arena had cleared because they somehow got bored with the show. I, being a true music fan, enjoyed the uniqueness as Mayer would take a 3-minute song and expand it into 15 minutes of jammin’ bliss. But, a lot of the younger fans seemed to get annoyed with that.
This is a big problem for Mayer and his live shows. He needs to figure out a better system for keeping the fans excited and focused on his music. He did do a lot of talking to the crowd, which was enjoyed by all, but for some reason, the show ended up being just mediocre when it had the potential to be quite great.
Again, I will be the first to admit that I love John Mayer. I will even continue to say that I love John Mayer live, but given his desire to experiment with different genres of music, he should also experiment with different types of concerts. He needs a more targeted set list so that it isn't such an erratic night.
