John Mayer Live In Singapore April 1st

No it’s not an April’s Fools joke.

He really came.

It was an event I was anticipating for even while I was still in Ukraine because I heard he was coming.

John has always been the guy that inspires me as a musician, and I have been his fan for quite some time now, though I won’t profess to be a hardcore die hard one. And thus, for the past two weeks before the concert I’ve been trying to acquaint myself with more of his songs on my commute back home from work so I could sing along a little to his tunes (bad idea though, could hardly hear myself in there). Namely, I was listening to songs from the albums Born and Raised and The Search For Everything.

I haven’t been to a concert in the longest time – the last one I went to was when Girl’s Generation came to Singapore years back, also at the same venue and also surprisingly together with R – and being there to soak in the atmosphere was quite something. It’s not everyday you’re like 300 meters away from a superstar. And not just any superstar, a truly talented one, John Clayton Mayer. Being there in the stadium, one thought that struck me was how awesome is it to have your songs renown-ly known. It’s even in the moments when he steps back from the mic, the audience help carry on singing.

There are certain qualities John possesses that I think make him distinct as a musician. I shall list them down.

He makes guitar playing seem effortless. Those who actually play music know too well it isn’t as easy as it looks. But he makes it seem like child’s play. John also hardly plays the conventional opens chords you and I are familiar with, and to top it off, he knows how to phrase music really well making his solos really colourful.

He has a unique raspy voice. John doesn’t have a really high or wide vocal range (his guitar skills covers that), but his voice still plays nice on the ears. It’s also pretty distinguishable and you could probably recognize it if you walk past a shop playing his song, even if you haven’t heard it before.

He’s an excellent communicator. He’s not only a world class musician and singer songwriter. He is actually pretty good at communicating thoughts and ideas too. He has even done a bit of stand up comedy! Throughout the show I was actually ‘looking out’ to catch some words of wisdom from him.

Mid set, he stopped to talk a bit about anxiety and worry and how it’s a prevalent issue but that we shouldn’t worry about it too much because everyone in the room, chances are, the person beside you has it too. We all have our fair share of worries and problems. He then linked it to a song he wrote in 2010 titled Age Of Worry, which is on his Born and Raised album. I didn’t really like the mp3 version but I really enjoyed the live one.

Guitar faces! If you have watched John play live, (on Youtube) you would have seen some of his guitar faces (basically his facial expressions as he plays the guitar). I think it adds layers to his playing because it shows him engaged in his music. He’s immersed in it. I hope to one day emulate his guitar faces while playing, perhaps it could compensate my lack of playing skills.

Another thing that recently caught my attention and also raised the roofs of my respect for him was that he played How Great Is Thou Art as an opening to his show in Auckland, NZ while on tour as a tribute for those fallen in the recent Christchurch shootings. But that song is a pretty worship-py kind of song and so I was really impressed he went with it. I read that he grew up in a Jewish and Christian background. But it’ll be uber cool to know if he really jumped unto the Jesus bandwagon.

Overall it was a really good show, and I revel a little in the fact I was there. With the millionth guitar swap he did with the guitar technician, he truly delivered with each song, I felt nothing was half-hearted. Really glad also that John played the “Big 2” (in my opinion) which is Gravity and Slow Dancing. The whole show actually took close to three hours but me and R were saying if we took away the guitar solos, it probably only be about an hour hah!

A new revelation I learnt also is that Free Fallin is not a John Mayer song but actually originally written by Tom Petty.

I Got Dreams To Remember

This is an ad-lib line from his song Gravity, one of my personal favourites of his. And as I heard it again, it’s a reminder as well as inspiration to one day become the musician I hope and dream to be. I’m inspired once again to love my craft a little deeper. Or at least to do the best in whatever field I’m in. I can’t be John Mayer but at least I can try to be the best version of myself.

I caught a one to two second glimpse of his percussionist playing during one of the songs and that immediately sparked something in me. What I saw was passion from the guy while playing and this is something I find I lack in my playing. In fact the rest of the band were quite something too. Pino Palladino (we all know him) on bass laying down really solid grooves and holding it tight for the band. He is actually the reason behind why you feel like dancing or swaying along to the songs. David Ryan who is also a solid rhythm, and man that guy can sing better than John. Isaiah Sharkey who is actually a really impressively lead guitarist. Drummer plus keys guy whom I don’t know. (Actually I only know Pino by name).

In short with renewed passion, I will continue to hold on to whatever you (I’ll) find baby…