Take a seat in the front row with...
John Mayer
Housing Works-Live from Home, NYC
November 19, 2004
Review and photos by: Erica Futterman
John Mayer started out
like most male singer/songwriters – just a guy and his guitar (and maybe
a bassist or other backup musician) playing small cafés and bars. But
those shows have become a rarity, thanks to the success of his two
major-label albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things.
Although his most recent summer tour included several small after-show
blues
performances,
it’s been a while since fans had the chance to see just Mayer and his
acoustic guitar. That all changed on November 19, when a crowd of over
300 gathered in the Housing Works Used Book Café to see Mayer perform a
solo acoustic set. And, just as the show itself was a rare treat, the
night’s set list was full of uncommon and brand-new tunes.
The show was part of Live from Home, a monthly series designed to bring artists into a small environment and to raise money for Housing Works, an organization that provides services to homeless people living with HIV and Aids. Mayer’s big name drew a slightly-larger-than-average crowd (normal capacity is about 250) and enabled attendees to experience the music of a smaller artist, Kelly Hunt. After a short performance by Hunt, who – interestingly enough – played with a full band, Mayer casually walked on stage, sat on a stool and read part of a “book” to the audience because, after all, this was a book store. The book was titled The Longest Day, but the passage Mayer read was actually handwritten by him before the show and left most of the audience laughing in bewilderment. Joke completed, the floor was opened for fan suggestions, acknowledging that the audience had probably heard all of the songs on the radio. “Tracing,” a fan request and “one all the geeks know” (because it was only available on the “Bigger Than My Body” import single) was a perfect choice for the evening’s first song, creating a mellow mood.
Despite
confessions of being a bit off in his game, Mayer impressed the
mixed-age crowd with an acoustic version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Axis Bold is
Love” and an extended jam intro to “Neon” that included a bit of Michael
Jackson’s “Off the Wall.” Although both “Why Georgia” and “Clarity”
were radio hits, they were clearly fan favorites. That the songs are
both well received in a sold-out amphitheater show or in a crowded café
is a testament to Mayer’s versatility and the extent to which he can
adapt his performance to the crowd in front of him.
The evening’s set list was also proof of Mayer’s evolution as a songwriter. After singing the more poppy “Why Georgia,” he noted, “it's cool to be this far ahead and play old stuff and go, ‘wow, I wouldn’t normally write that or sing that anymore.’" Then Mayer played the relatively new “Another Kind of Green,” a song with definite blues influences. Though the two songs were of almost entirely different genres, it was still clear they were written by Mayer.
Of all the evening’s witty remarks
and song choices, the best combination of the two occurred after “Your
Body is a Wonderland.” After finding out he had time for just two more,
Mayer launched into the song that won him a Grammy, much to the visible
dissappointment of his longtime fans. Their unhappiness didn’t go
unnoticed by Mayer, who commented on it after the song ended. “You guys
are like my constituents,” he said, “You had to brave listening to ‘Your
B
ody
is a Wonderland’ when all of you were like, ‘Ugg, this is intellectual
slighting to me that you have to play this song. No part of the fiber
of my fanship ever contains ‘Your Body is a Wonderland.’ I am going to
protest this song by not singing along.’” This, coupled with his
response to a couple of overly-enthused female fans minutes before (they
shouted out, “JOHN YOU’RE A SEXY BITCH!” in unison, and he paused before
responding, “I’m always embarrassed by my mother’s friends. It’s really
uncouth, don’t you think?”) further upped the entertainment value of the
evening just before its end. And, all humor aside, Mayer delivered a
repreiving performance of a song he claimed to have written the night
before. Alhtough it is still untitled and very bluesy in its sound,
fans latched onto it, hoping to gain insight as to what future music
will bring.
For an artist who has played with so many legends – the briefly reunited Police, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and B.B. King, just to name a few – and before giant crowds, Mayer seemed unexpectedly unsure of himself during the hour-long solo set. Although possibly excused by his confession of being out of practice on an acoustic guitar, Mayer often prefaced his songs by saying he was sure he’d mess up. Unless the slips were actually called out by him, as a few were, the enamored audience probably wouldn’t have noticed or cared. Except for some isolated performances, Mayer is on a touring hiatus while he works on his next album. Ended by the seasonally appropriate “St. Patrick’s Day,” the evening was certainly enough to tide over those in attendance during the long winter months ahead.
However, for those who can’t wait any longer, Mayer is performing two blues shows at NYC’s Webster Hall December 28 and 29.