| Concert Review of John Mayer at Usana Amphitheatre on Mon Jul 21, 2008 |
| Event Date |
| Mon Jul 21, 2008 |
| Source |
| Salt Lake Tribune |
| Search for Tickets |
| http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/770494 |
| Concert Review Preview |
| Mayer improvises in long set with a blues, soul feel By Sheena McFarland The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated: 07/22/2008 05:51:27 PM MDT John Mayer's lifelong dream has been to perform in front of thousands of screaming fans. "All I ever wanted to do was to play my guitar onstage and to put you in touch with the best moments and memories of your lives," he said. And, boy, can that man play. In a 14-song set and two-song encore stretching nearly two hours, Mayer jammed with his bandmates, adding soulful blues riffs to every song. While Mayer comes across as mellow on his radio cuts, few in the audience at Usana Amphitheater sat as the singer improvised his way through his numbers. "We've all had such a beautiful time onstage, and that's because I finally figured out that if you don't love playing a song, change it up to make it lovable," he said as he launched into a slowed-down, bluesy version of "Daughters," from his 2003 effort "Heavier Things." That blues-and-soul feel pervaded many of the songs from the new album "Continuum," but none so much as "I'm Gonna Find Another You," which bled into "Stitched Up," a song Mayer co-wrote with jazz legend Herbie Hancock on the album "Possibilities." "I'm pretty proud of these two songs," Mayer said. "When I was making the record 'Continuum,' I was listening to a lot of soul music. I harnessed all that soul power sitting in L.A. traffic." Mayer has evolved greatly as a performer since his first performance in Utah at Deer Valley in August of 2002. During his set, he recalled being "the guy who put the tape inside VHS tapes" and noodling around with a guitar lick that he looped through a delay pedal back in 1998, when he struggled to pay $4 for a 9-volt battery that lasted only 20 minutes. But that investment paid off as the song evolved into the breakout hit "No Such Thing" from his freshman album "Room for Squares.". |
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| User Comments |
| It was my first time seeing John Mayer live and he didn't dissapoint. His band was excellent and Mayer is beyond his years as an excellent entertainer. He put on a great show with a long set of hits and favorites including a show of respect for Eric Clapton early on with a rendition of Crossroads and as a first encore gave tribute to George Harrison with My Sweet Lord. The guy is a true talent as song writer, guitarist, and band leader. |
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