A Concert in Pictures: John Mayer, PNC Bank Arts Center - August 3, 2010

The great Train, a headliner, in their own right, opened for Mayer with an incredible 50 minute set that completely blew every other John Mayer opener in previous years away. Train is the kind of commercial rock band that I wish I didn't like but they're irresistable..

...particularly because of frontman and songwriter Pat Monahan who is one of the best live singers I have ever heard. His voice gives me chills when I least expect it and although it's slightly difficult to get past his showy stage demeanor and strange Ed Hardy-ish style, his music and specifically unusual lyrical phrasing, really makes it worth it.

This is my third and final time seeing part of John Mayer's summer tour and while I didn't think he could get better than his Jones Beach concert on July 21, this topped it by far. Consistently Mayer surprised the audience with his candid honesty and silly behavior (trading bracelets with a girl in the audience and telling the crowd how much he loves to sleep alone).

Wearing a black headband, fully buttoned plaid shirt, and rolled up khaki pants, Mayer didn't necessarily look the part of a rock star guitarist but during the always astounding cover of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine", his skills were front and center.

It's no surprise to anyone who has seen Mayer live before that he makes absurd faces.

And he looked a little high...

But managed to bring a new spin to every song he performed. Standouts included a gorgeous rendition of "I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)", "Clarity", and "Heartbreak Warfare".

For the underappreciated final track on "Battle Studies" entitled "Do You Know Me?", Mayer brought out the harmonica and teased the audience with a small sampling of the hit "Say" near the end.

Another classic Mayer technique: ending the show with some guitar playing on the ground. People go completely nuts and as you can see, run up to the stage and block my view. It's one of the most incredible things I've seen at a concert though. Anyone who says John Mayer is talentless has clearly not seen him play live.

Mayer's playfulness on stage definitely helps to make the audience feel a connection to him as not just a musician but a friend in some way. After seeing him over 30 times in the past nine years, I can tell you that his banter only enhances the concert experience.

More incredible guitar playing (if you're still unfamiliar with his style, check out the unbelievable "Gravity" as evidence of his genius).

John Mayer will probably be on tour for the next three months at least so make sure you check him out. Lawn seats are cheap!

John Mayer Setlist  - August 3, 2010

Chest Fever -> Bigger Than My Body

                                                                       No Such Thing

Clarity

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

Perfectly Lonely

Ain’t No Sunshine

Who Says

Waiting on the World to Change

War Of My Life

Gravity

Heartbreak Warfare

Do You Know Me

The Boys of Summer (w/ Patrick Monahan)

Half of My Heart

-encore-

Edge of Desire

All photographs courtesy of ME.

Standard Rock Radio

Just a quick thought about mainstream rock/pop music:

I'm so confused by it. Is it good? Is it bad? What is it?

I love Rob Thomas so much as a person and used to really dig Matchbox Twenty back in the day but I really have no idea what to make of his music now. I was watching VH1's Jump Start music video block this morning and saw his new music video for the single "Someday" and really enjoyed it but just wasn't sure to make of the song itself. Why is it that all of his songs are starting to sound the same? Even if that sound isn't particularly bad it's starting to go viral..

Doesn't Chris Daughtry and David Cook and Nickelback and all the others sound just like this? Granted, I'm not the first to comment on this commercialized corporate rock pattern but with my newfound love of Train it concerns me. Listening to their old hits (of which I'm pretty sure every single track they've ever put out has been), it reads like a list of standard, mundane rock tunes you'd turn to on any lite FM station or "80's, 90's and today" channel. Songs like "Meet Virginia", "Drops of Jupiter", and "Calling All Angels" are genuinely good but they have that monotonous sound of all the others. I am madly in love with the lyrics to some of these songs but they lack some oomph for the most part. "Hey Soul Sister" is obviously very different but is that just because of the distinct drums perhaps? I'm not sure.

Songwriters like Rob Thomas and Train's Pat Monahan are respectable because of their impressive writing skills.. maybe Monahan for his vocals but I don't think many people are particularly enthused to admit that they are gigantic Train or Matchbox Twenty fans - it's frankly a little embarrassing and I hate when that happens in music. These songs are certainly crafted in a specific way that took a lot of people a long time but it's just a shame that they almost completely lack any cool factor. They are mom rock at best and uncool blandness at worst - but the worst part is that there are talented guys behind this kind of music. Why do they insist on creating fluff on a lower level than Britney Spears? (which reminds me that Pink is also an impressive artist that doesn't get enough credit for her ACTUAL talent: writing)

Bottom line: I want to like Rob Thomas and Train but they make it too hard to even try.

Save Me, San Francisco (or Best Buy..)

And I continue my love of Train...

I'm so obsessed with that "Hey, Soul Sister" song that I'm getting embarrassed. For some reason Train's music reminds me of happiness, Christmastime, road trips - basically the few things in life that are good.

I don't know what it is with me and these lite radio sounds and as usual I wish I was drawn to more avant garde fare but I'm typically not (my version of avant garde is like - Dramarama - and now I'm thinking of how incredible they are and how I should write a post about them..).

On Tuesday I am definitely going out and buying their new album, Save Me, San Francisco. The clips on Amazon sound pretty decent and I'm itching to hear the rest of it.

While I'm waiting, I took a listen to the band Mr. Mister, the one mentioned in my Train song and found that I'm starting to love Train even more for referencing such a strange band that makes such eerie music. Who doesn't remember this song "Broken Wings" from their childhood when your parents were still in charge of the radio station and listened to the generic Top 40 of 1989? This really makes me happy for some reason and I can see the connection somehow between Mr. Mister and Train.

Does anyone even know what I'm talking about? Do you have to be a huge fan of Train to appreciate what I'm talking about even if you know what I'm talking about? Am I going crazy?

Yeah.. just watch this video though.

Anatomy of a Song: Train

Every time I hear this song (the title of my last post), I am more enamored than before. I recognize that it's a little cheesy but get over it! It is damn good and I had to go through the song line by line to check out what it is about the lyrics that move me so much. I found a few that are pretty killer:

Hey, Soul Sister Lyrics

Hey hey hey
Your lipstick stains
On the front lobe of my left side brains
I knew I wouldn't forget you
So I went ahead and let you blow my mind

Your sweet moonbeam
The smell of you in every single dream I dream
I knew when we collided
You're the one, I have decided, who's one of my kind

Hey, soul sister
Ain't that Mr. Mister
On the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair, you know
Hey, soul sister
I don't want to miss a single thing you do
Tonight

Hey hey hey

Just in time
I'm so glad you have a one-track mind like me
You gave my life direction
A game-show love connection we can't deny

I'm so obsessed
My heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest
I believe in you
You're a virgin, like Madonna
And I'm always gonna wanna blow your mind

Hey, soul sister
Ain't that Mr. Mister
On the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair, you know
Hey, soul sister
I don't want to miss a single thing you do
Tonight

The way you can't cut a rug
Watching you's the only drug I need
You're so gangsta, I'm so thug
You're the only one I'm dreaming of

You see, I can be myself now finally
In fact, there's nothing I can't be
I want the world to see you be with me

Hey, soul sister
Ain't that Mr. Mister
On the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair, you know
Hey, soul sister
I don't want to miss a single thing you do
Tonight

Hey, soul sister
I don't want to miss a single thing you do
Tonight

And the same can be said for their massive hit "Drops of Jupiter":

Drops of Jupiter Lyrics

Now that she’s back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey, hey, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there’s time to change, hey, hey, hey, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey, hey, hey
hey, hey, hey, hey

Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated

Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there

Now that she’s back from that soul vacation
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey, hey, hey
mmmm.....
She checks out Mozart while she does tae-bo
Reminds me that there’s room to grow, hey, hey, hey, hey
yea...

Now that she’s back in the atmosphere
I’m afraid that she might think of me as plain ol jane
Told a story about a man who is too afraid to fly so he never did land

Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back to the milky way
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind
Was it everything you wanted to find
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there

Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you, even when I know you’re wrong
Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance five-hour phone
Conversation
The best soy latte that you ever had . . . and me

Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back toward the milky way

Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated

Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself

nah nah nah nah nah nah nah
nah nah nah nah nah nah nah

And did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day

nah nah nah nah nah nah
nah nah nah nah nah nah

And did you fall for a shooting star
Fall for a shooting star

nah nah nah nah nah nah
nah nah nah nah nah nah

Are you loney looking for yourself out there



I have to find out more about the singer of this band. For him to be writing lyrics like this, he's got to be an interesting guy. I'll let you (the imaginary people I think read this blog) when I find out.

Hey Soul Sister, Ain't that Mr. Mister on the Radio?

I just have to write this second about some excellent work being done by contemporary artists that are really amazing me.

I've already written a lot about Monsters of Folk and briefly mentioned my love of Mayer Hawthorne but I am sincerely addicted to both. They have quickly taken the place of all my go-to artists. I'm also finding a lot of Jazmine Sullivan to be incredibly impressing along with Regina Spektor's new album and of course the always amazing Phoenix. Kid Cudi, Kris Allen (of all people) and Train's latest single have also been topping my most played list as of late and although it's a rather strange mix of people, I'm so excited about all the new discoveries.

Autumn always seems to bring those anticipated new albums from artists you've either been dying to hear more of or up and coming ones you can't wait to be introduced to. I know November will bring about the new discs of Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga's reissue of "The Fame Monster", Britney Spears' single collection with the new song "3", John Mayer's "Battle Studies", Alison Iraheta's debut, and Shakira's "She Wolf"... if you're into that sort of thing. Personally, I was hoping for a new The National album but that won't happen for quite a few more months.

So off the top of my head, here are the new songs I'm really digging (some are repeats if you've been reading all along but this is a more complete list):

Mayer Hawthorne - Maybe So, Maybe No
Mayer Hawthorne - One Track Mind
Mayer Hawthorne - Just Ain't Gonna Work Out
Monsters of Folk - The Right Place
Monsters of Folk - Dear God
Monsters of Folk - Say Please
Jazmine Sullivan - Need U Bad
Jazmine Sullivan - Switch
Jazmine Sullivan - Lions, Tigers, and Bears
Kris Allen - Live Like We're Dying
Train - Hey, Soul Sister
John Mayer - Heartbreak Warfare
Phoenix - Girlfriend
Phoenix - Countdown
Phoenix - 1901
Kid Cudi - Make Her Say
Kid Cudi - Day and Nite
Regina Spektor - Eet

I can't wait to find even more amazing music like this in the coming days...

Some of my current favorite videos accompanying these songs: