the JM report...

This weekend we semi-surprised my best friend Amanda with tickets to see John Mayer in Indianapolis as a part of her bachelorette party weekend, and it was an absolute blast. First of all, the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville is a great venue. Loved having lawn tickets, laying on a blanket, and feeling much freer than in the seating area. Besides, John himself gave the lawn area props for taking a risk on the weather...which turned out to be beautiful.

Brett Dennen was the first opener, and I had heard a few of his songs that I have on iTunes already, so I was excited to hear him live. Despite resembling a leprechaun, he sounded really great live. He has a Jack Johnson-ish sound, but a really unique voice sets him apart from a lot of artists.

Colbie Caillat was the next opener, and I already love her music no matter what. I had seen her perform on a few talk shows on TV and expected the performance she gave. I love her entire album, her voice, her sound, everything, but the girl doesn't have much stage presence at all. I don't blame her, because there isn't much you can add to her performance. She just fits much better in a coffee-shop setting or a smaller venue, but her performance leaves a little to be desired. I still love her though. And listening to her music while watching the summer sunset on the horizon made me feel like I was in southern California again...

John Mayer...always great. It was my third time seeing him live, and it was probably my favorite just because of the outdoor setting and being able to move around or sit down or lay down on the blanket or whatever we wanted during the show. Songs I know he played for sure (in no particular order):

• opened with Good Love is On the Way
• Vultures
• Belief
• Waiting on the World to Change
• No Such Thing
• Stop This Train
• Gravity
• Why Georgia
• Clarity (I think?...)
• Bigger Than My Body
• Stitched Up (song he wrote w/ Herbie Hancock)
• Say (encore)

Covers he did:

• "Free Fallin" --which sounded even better than Tom Petty himself...
• "Mercy" by Duffy--great bluesy rendition of this and continued w/ amazing jam session...love the blues.
• "No One" by Alicia Keys--took me a minute to figure out which song it was at first b/c he has the ability to make everything sound like it's his own. So good.

No matter what song JM sings, it sounds incredible live. He never sounds the same twice. It never sounds exactly like the recorded version, but I love when artists do that well. Sometimes it's annoying, but for some reason with him it's not.

And I just have to say that I love the wisdom he has in his lyrics. Continuum is probably one of the best albums of all time, and the lyrics are so solid throughout. The other night as he was playing "Belief" I said to Katie next to me "This should be the song of the church!"

We're never gonna win the world, we're never gonna stop the war. We're never gonna beat this if belief is what we're fighting for.

I know the song is about war, but I had a spiritual moment that night realizing that if all the world thinks "belief" in Christ is enough, they are missing out. If all we're fighting for is simply "belief" we're missing out on so much more...

So in the midst of the concert I had a little moment, but JM's lyrics always make me see something new. I love it. He closed with an encore of the song "Say"...which I cannot get enough of.

And here are some fun pictures from our night:

me and my BFF Amanda!!!

Katie, Abbie, and I making our best John Mayer singing facesAmanda and Melissa making their best John Mayer singing faces...Um, yeah we reverted to Jr. High and layed down on the ground to take a circle picture of our faces ;)Super excited about a song...playing guitar on each other's legs...haha
Oh, and P.S. for anyone wondering if Jennifer Aniston was there...I did not see her, but I do know she was there somewhere. I happened to go to H&M on Sunday and had a conversation with the guy at the cash register who happened to eat dinner with them both at The Grill in Indy on Friday night, the 4th of July. His friend managed the restaurant and they came in and decided to all hang out. So yes, she was there...Johniston was in Indy...