Craig in Indy
Your cool Uncle
I know it seems absurd to post about John Mayer in this section, but over the weekend I saw his Where the Light Is concert DVD, and I have to say, if you haven't seen it, you absolutely should. The concert (one single show in LA in December of '07) is split into 3 parts: the first is all acoustic guitar and mostly solo; the second is his "Trio;" and the third is his full band.
The first and third sections are all basic Mayer stuff, and whether or not you like them will probably depend on if you're a fan. But the middle section, with the Trio, is just astonishing. Blues and rock like I never would have guessed could come out of a guy like that. The trio is him on guitar, Pino Palladino on bass and Steven Jordan on drums, and they cook like you would not believe. All of them are great, but Mayer was the big surprise for me. I had no idea he was such a great guitarist, and such a great interpreter of blues. He also throws in some Hendrix which he does in a very creditable manner.
I gotta tell you, I was floored. I'd never paid all that much attention to Mayer before, partly because in interviews he comes off, IMO, as kind of a flake who's a little too full of himself. And part of that comes across in this film, too, when he's talking to the crowd (and to the camera during intercut scenes of driving around in his car).
But if you want to see a really tight blues trio that just gets up there and takes care of business, this is a concert film you've got to see.
The first and third sections are all basic Mayer stuff, and whether or not you like them will probably depend on if you're a fan. But the middle section, with the Trio, is just astonishing. Blues and rock like I never would have guessed could come out of a guy like that. The trio is him on guitar, Pino Palladino on bass and Steven Jordan on drums, and they cook like you would not believe. All of them are great, but Mayer was the big surprise for me. I had no idea he was such a great guitarist, and such a great interpreter of blues. He also throws in some Hendrix which he does in a very creditable manner.
I gotta tell you, I was floored. I'd never paid all that much attention to Mayer before, partly because in interviews he comes off, IMO, as kind of a flake who's a little too full of himself. And part of that comes across in this film, too, when he's talking to the crowd (and to the camera during intercut scenes of driving around in his car).
But if you want to see a really tight blues trio that just gets up there and takes care of business, this is a concert film you've got to see.
