It was a beautiful night on the lawn last Sunday for a great concert by John Mayer and The Avett Brothers. A set that drew largely from his latest album, Battle Studies, which, lets be honest, is way different, and maybe…not as great, as his other stuff, Mayer still managed to put on a show with enough variety to please even the most fair-weather fan (see complete set-list below).
The best moments in the show however, occurred when Mayer drifted from his own music entirely. He opened the night playing The Band’s old hit, “Chest Fever,” allowing him to wail a little bit on guitar—always a great moment—which then morphed into his own hit, “Vultures.” About halfway through the show was another awesome, and surprising cover. A reggae-fied rendition of Bill Wither’s, “Ain’t No Sunshine,” was really all I needed to hear the entire night. Or watch. If you’ve ever been to a John Mayer show, or even just seen him play, you know all about his trademark facial expressions…so strange, yet somehow so sexy.
Even though that’s what I enjoyed most, the overall crowd pleaser was probably the last song before Mayer’s encore. “Half of My Heart,” into a Springsteen cover, featured on Battle Studies, “I’m on Fire,” into a sing-along classic everyone knows, Journey’s, “Don’t Stop Believing.” I’d been warned before the show that he’s been covering that track and I have to say, I was pretty uneasy about it…Reallly, I can’t be the only so sick of that song? We’ve been singing it at every party since we were 12, right? But Mayer’s voice, mixed with his “Oh-oh-oh’s” (YouTube it, they’re nice), mixed with his advice on falling in love (he gave a lot of that), mixed with the poppier rendition of the tune, made for a great closer.
Come back soon, John, Indy loves you!
(via johnmayer.com)
Set:
Chest Fever > Vultures
Clarity
No Such Thing
Heartbreak Warfare
Ain’t No Sunshine
Perfectly Lonely
Daughters
Free Falling
Gravity
Waiting on the World to Change
Do You Know Me
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay > Why Georgia
Half of My Heart > I’m On Fire > Don’t Stop Believing
Encore:
Who Says
Edge of Desire
Check out the Photos from the John Mayer concert below:
