A great song for a great day......
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
JM Summer Tour '08 (Part II)
Here's a few other thoughts and some additional shots from my time spent on tour.....
- I really liked the openers on this leg of the tour, Paramore and One Republic. I thought both bands did a nice job getting the crowd warmed up, but I especially liked the Paramore sets. I think they're the perfect type of opener in that they're high energy and the crowd feeds off that, that's the kind of vibe that's great to play after. I got to speak to both bands a bit and they were definitely cool and seemed pretty excited to be on tour. Good choices in my opinion, it would be cool to see Paramore open an extended set of shows in the future (they only did Charlotte and Pittsburgh). I guess we'll see.
- The Borgata in Atlantic City is an interesting place to see a show. This was my second time seeing someone there (I saw Pearl Jam awhile back) and it's just a different feel than most concerts. If you haven't been before, imagine a conference room that has risers in the back and then a general admission area up front. It's pretty small, and you kind of feel like you're going into a Human Resources seminar when you walk in. Instead, you're greeted by the opening chords to "Bigger Than My Body"......much better than hearing about your dropping 401K for two hours.
- My favorite setlist from the five shows was Darien Lake/Buffalo: Good Love, Taking On Water, Mercy, I Don't Trust Myself, Why Georgia, Wheel, Neon, Free Falling. Great show.
SOUNDCHECK
SOLO
HARTFORD CROWD
DRH, JM, ROBBIE
THANK YOU
- I really liked the openers on this leg of the tour, Paramore and One Republic. I thought both bands did a nice job getting the crowd warmed up, but I especially liked the Paramore sets. I think they're the perfect type of opener in that they're high energy and the crowd feeds off that, that's the kind of vibe that's great to play after. I got to speak to both bands a bit and they were definitely cool and seemed pretty excited to be on tour. Good choices in my opinion, it would be cool to see Paramore open an extended set of shows in the future (they only did Charlotte and Pittsburgh). I guess we'll see.
- The Borgata in Atlantic City is an interesting place to see a show. This was my second time seeing someone there (I saw Pearl Jam awhile back) and it's just a different feel than most concerts. If you haven't been before, imagine a conference room that has risers in the back and then a general admission area up front. It's pretty small, and you kind of feel like you're going into a Human Resources seminar when you walk in. Instead, you're greeted by the opening chords to "Bigger Than My Body"......much better than hearing about your dropping 401K for two hours.
- My favorite setlist from the five shows was Darien Lake/Buffalo: Good Love, Taking On Water, Mercy, I Don't Trust Myself, Why Georgia, Wheel, Neon, Free Falling. Great show.
SOUNDCHECK
SOLO
HARTFORD CROWD
DRH, JM, ROBBIE
THANK YOU
SOTD: "I Am A Patriot" - Eddie Vedder
This song was originally written by Steven Van Zandt but I prefer Ed Ved's take on it.......hope everyone gets to vote today.
Monday, November 3, 2008
JM Summer Tour '08 (Part I)
This summer I was fortunate enough to spend some time on the road with an old friend, John Mayer. I started out in Charlotte, NC and traveled with the band and crew through Atlantic City, NJ (that's Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Hartford and AC....with a quick day trip to NYC thrown in the middle). Over the next couple of days, I'll share some of my personal highlights and pics I took along the way.
To get things kicked off, I'd like to share some random thoughts from the tour........
- If I were to use one word to describe the "John Mayer Tour Experience", it would be: PROFESSIONAL. John has an amazing group of people surrounding him......and I mean that in all facets. Their dedication and attention to detail is really special. I've gotten to know many of these people over the years and met several more while I was on tour and they've always been great to me, but to see them working in action is a pretty cool site. Just a class group all around, truly a pleasure to spend time with them.
- John's backing band is really fantastic and a blast to see up close in person. They're an extremely talented group of musicians and each of them can stand on their own.....and it makes sense why many of them have their own bands. One guy that I don't think gets enough praise is drummer JJ Johnson. I'm telling you, watching him from the stage is a thing of beauty, I wish that the venues could showcase some of his work on the jumbotrons. I will NEVER forget watching him in Buffalo during "Mercy", it was absolutely jaw-dropping. I just think it's too bad that most the people in the crowd never get to see that angle because you get a whole new appreciation for what's going on.
-Whenever I see a band in concert, there's almost always one song that really takes on a new life, usually something I'm not too into from the album version. For this tour, I'd say that "I Don't Trust Myself (with Loving You)" would be that song. I always thought it was pretty good but I think it's one of John's best live songs. The intro, the horns, the harmonies, the solos, David Ryan Harris, it's just about perfect. It's almost like it has all these different chapters that come together to just create a phenomenal live track.Loved the lighting at the beginning of the song too. Here's what I'm talking about......
-The Buffalo/Darien Lake venue was one of the strangest theaters I've ever been to. It's a giant tent that's literally connected to a Six Flags theme park. I went over during the day and had some fried dough and walked around a bit. I was going to take in some rides but I didn't feel like being the guy who got stuck at the top of the ferris wheel alone, maybe next time.
- Sleeping on a tour bus is one of the most unique and surreal experiences I've ever had. These guys are all pretty use to it but to go to sleep in Charlotte, drive through the night and wake up in Pittsburgh is a pretty strange experience. Everyone should get a chance to do this at least once. One tip though, make sure your feet are facing the front of the bus, as opposed to your head. Could make for a bad scene if you had to stop short.
Here's a few pics I took (more to come)......
CHARLOTTE
JOHN & DRH
"MERCY"
THE BAND
SOLO
To get things kicked off, I'd like to share some random thoughts from the tour........
- If I were to use one word to describe the "John Mayer Tour Experience", it would be: PROFESSIONAL. John has an amazing group of people surrounding him......and I mean that in all facets. Their dedication and attention to detail is really special. I've gotten to know many of these people over the years and met several more while I was on tour and they've always been great to me, but to see them working in action is a pretty cool site. Just a class group all around, truly a pleasure to spend time with them.
- John's backing band is really fantastic and a blast to see up close in person. They're an extremely talented group of musicians and each of them can stand on their own.....and it makes sense why many of them have their own bands. One guy that I don't think gets enough praise is drummer JJ Johnson. I'm telling you, watching him from the stage is a thing of beauty, I wish that the venues could showcase some of his work on the jumbotrons. I will NEVER forget watching him in Buffalo during "Mercy", it was absolutely jaw-dropping. I just think it's too bad that most the people in the crowd never get to see that angle because you get a whole new appreciation for what's going on.
-Whenever I see a band in concert, there's almost always one song that really takes on a new life, usually something I'm not too into from the album version. For this tour, I'd say that "I Don't Trust Myself (with Loving You)" would be that song. I always thought it was pretty good but I think it's one of John's best live songs. The intro, the horns, the harmonies, the solos, David Ryan Harris, it's just about perfect. It's almost like it has all these different chapters that come together to just create a phenomenal live track.Loved the lighting at the beginning of the song too. Here's what I'm talking about......
-The Buffalo/Darien Lake venue was one of the strangest theaters I've ever been to. It's a giant tent that's literally connected to a Six Flags theme park. I went over during the day and had some fried dough and walked around a bit. I was going to take in some rides but I didn't feel like being the guy who got stuck at the top of the ferris wheel alone, maybe next time.
- Sleeping on a tour bus is one of the most unique and surreal experiences I've ever had. These guys are all pretty use to it but to go to sleep in Charlotte, drive through the night and wake up in Pittsburgh is a pretty strange experience. Everyone should get a chance to do this at least once. One tip though, make sure your feet are facing the front of the bus, as opposed to your head. Could make for a bad scene if you had to stop short.
Here's a few pics I took (more to come)......
CHARLOTTE
JOHN & DRH
"MERCY"
THE BAND
SOLO
SOTD: "Tamacun" - Rodrigo y Gabriela
If you haven't heard of this duo from Mexico City yet, you're really going to enjoy this. Rod y Gab put on a tremendous show, definitely check them out if you get a chance.
NYC Area Concerts week of 11/03
11/3-4 Black Crowes @ Town Hall
11/5 The Decemberists @ Terminal 5
11/6 Toadies @ Webster Hall
11/6 Julian Velard & Ari Hest @ Le Poisson Rouge
11/6-7 The Hold Steady, Drive By Truckers @ Terminal 5
11/6-7 Smashing Pumpkins @ United Palace Theatre
11/7 Dredg @ Highline Ballroom
11/7 Val Emmich, Chris Batten & The Woods, Hudson Rail Co. @ Maxwell's
11/8-9 Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band @ Terminal 5
11/5 The Decemberists @ Terminal 5
11/6 Toadies @ Webster Hall
11/6 Julian Velard & Ari Hest @ Le Poisson Rouge
11/6-7 The Hold Steady, Drive By Truckers @ Terminal 5
11/6-7 Smashing Pumpkins @ United Palace Theatre
11/7 Dredg @ Highline Ballroom
11/7 Val Emmich, Chris Batten & The Woods, Hudson Rail Co. @ Maxwell's
11/8-9 Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band @ Terminal 5
Saturday, November 1, 2008
October '08 Mix
At the end of each month I'll try to put together a mix of "singles" that I think you'd dig from any albums released that month. You can just roll over to Itunes and type in the names and see if anything jumps out. Here's the first entry:
October '08 Mix
Bloc Party - "Ion Square"
Bloc Party - "Flux"
Ryan Adams - "Cobwebs"
Ryan Adams - "Let Us Down Easy"
Ryan Adams - "Stop"
Tom Gabel - "Anna is a Stool Pigeon"
Tom Gabel - "100 Years of War"
Rodrigo y Gabriela - "One" (Metallica cover)
Rodrigo y Gabriela - "FOC"
Ray Lamontagne - "Meg White"
Matthew Good - "Blue Skies Over Badlands"
Matthew Good - "Champions of Nothing"
Matthew Good - "Strange Days"
October '08 Mix
Bloc Party - "Ion Square"
Bloc Party - "Flux"
Ryan Adams - "Cobwebs"
Ryan Adams - "Let Us Down Easy"
Ryan Adams - "Stop"
Tom Gabel - "Anna is a Stool Pigeon"
Tom Gabel - "100 Years of War"
Rodrigo y Gabriela - "One" (Metallica cover)
Rodrigo y Gabriela - "FOC"
Ray Lamontagne - "Meg White"
Matthew Good - "Blue Skies Over Badlands"
Matthew Good - "Champions of Nothing"
Matthew Good - "Strange Days"
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