John Mayer, Maroon 5 & DJ Logic

I don’t know much about the city of Marysville, but here’s a guess: nothing much happens there. And when John Mayer rolls into town, they hire half the town to control the crowd at Sleep Train. They also hire plenty of women with walkie-talkies whose purpose is to be suspicious of you when you say you have tickets at will call and keep you from seeing DJ Logic. But, it’s okay Marysville, I forgive you.
Once I had my ticket and had thrown away my potentially dangerous open water bottle at the security check, I was able to check out the venue. It was like a John Mayer fair. Vendors were selling food, jewelry and clothing. The enormous amphitheatre was already pretty full of people even though Maroon 5 had yet to go on. I overheard some ladies in the front office talking about how John Mayer was pretty good but a lot of people there came for Maroon 5, and when the band started to take the stage I could tell they were right. Maroon 5 mostly played songs from their album Songs About Jane, but also performed a couple of new songs. The performance was very polished both technically and stylistically, but it lacked creativity. Most songs sounded exactly like they did on the album, and while frontman Adam Levine sure seemed to think he had stage presence, I would disagree. But to their credit they did seem to drive some female members of the crowd into fits of ecstasy, including this cute six-year-old in front of me who knew all the words to “This Love.”
As Maroon 5 left the stage, the sky started to darken; and once John Mayer was set up, it was night. The sky’s synchronicity with the set change was so perfect it seemed planned. The audience reached near-full capacity and let out thundering applause when John took the stage. And they had reason to. Not only is he a talented guitar player, but he has great stage presence and a creative live show. He played songs off of Room for Squares and Heavier Things, and also played a couple of new songs and covers. His backup band was equally talented and included a keyboard player, saxophonist, trumpet player, drummer, bassist and a couple of guitarists. He also brought DJ Logic on the stage to spice up a few songs. I tried to keep a level head, but eventually I, along with every female around me, succumbed to his humble charms. After the uninspiring show that Maroon 5 put on, and seeing the lame merchandise that John Mayer was selling, I was very afraid to see the show, but it renewed my faith in both him and his guitar. I would highly recommend seeing John Mayer in concert if you have a chance; sure he may be super popular now, and his shows may be filled with lots of people clothed in Abercrombie & Fitch, but he’s worth it.

Bookmark:

Comments down for maintenance.