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Written by LAUREN BOUKAS / Side photo by NICK POWILLS
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Thursday, 06 October 2005 |
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Stevie Ray Vaughn…Eric Clapton…Slash…John Mayer? When listing America’s greatest guitar players, the name John Mayer usually wouldn’t come to mind. However, his most recent project – The John Mayer Trio – highlights Mayer’s amazing guitar skills.
Long gone are the bubble gum pop days of “Your Body Is a Wonderland”, Mayer’s House of Blues Chicago show featured soulful originals and covers of popular blues hits.
As the self-proclaimed “biggest John Mayer fan” this side of the Mississippi, I was pleasantly surprised by the John Mayer Trio and John’s transformation into a blues man.
Color me lucky – I had the honor of meeting John a few months ago. People always say that meeting someone you look up to always turns out to be a disappointment. That statement proved to be untrue – John was an absolute doll. I was eating with a friend at 2 in the morning at Mel’s Diner on Sunset in Los Angeles when I saw a tall, shaggy haired guy walk in. Sure enough, it turned out to be Mr. Mayer himself, and I was ecstatic when he sat down two tables away.
After a few minutes of coaching myself, I finally got up, walked over, and introduced myself. After the initial “I’m such a huge fan” conversation died down, we continued chatting for several minutes – about my vacation to L.A., my plans after grad school, and his concert that I had attended the previous summer. Needless to say, meeting John was the highlight of my vacation, and quite possibly the highlight of my life so far.
Another highlight of my life was The John Mayer Trio’s House of Blues Chicago show. John’s publicist, Sandee, was generous enough to take a few reporters out to dinner and give us free tickets to the show. I was excited about the show initially, but after talking to Sandee during dinner and seeing her genuine excitement about John’s new project, I could not wait for the show to begin. Unfortunately, our dinner ran a bit late, and we missed the opening act, Ray LaMontagne, another incredible artist. After we were escorted to our seats in one of the HOB’s opera boxes, the show began, as did my complete enthrallment of John. Just when I thought I couldn’t adore him anymore, the Trio show brought me to a whole new level. During concerts, I’m usually the person straight up rocking out, dancing, singing along – the whole nine yards. However, during the Trio show, my jaw was on the floor for the majority of the performance. I was utterly captivated by the ‘new’ John Mayer.
To all the true John fans out there, The John Mayer Trio is a must-see. You will forget all about “No Such Thing” as soon as you hear the first chords of one of his new ‘blues’ tunes. |
bluesman
Written by Guest on 2008-05-11 21:57:04
Thank God John has finally shown is true BLUE color. That pop shit of his was driving me insane. Bluesman Forever |
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