I wrapped up this year with two more amazing concerts... can't complain. This has been an amazing winter season so far. =)
Max and I saw John Mayer On His Own at the Nokia Theater on Saturday... it was undoubtedly the best concert I've ever been to. Yes, this includes any NSYNC concert I've been to (awesome orchestra seats in an indoor theater vs. stinky stadiums) and even the last time I saw John Mayer at the Hollywood Bowl. Details on the reason why below.
A pleasant surprise -- Adele opened for Mayer and did an amazing set. Coincidentally I was introduced to Adele by Max and he was pretty
excited ecstatic freaked out when he found out Adele was indeed singing live from the stage and not just background music over the lobby speakers. He literally jumped forward, grabbed my hand and rushed us to our seats.
So the concept of "John Mayer On His Own" was just that -- John Mayer played on his own with a series of guitars and a drum machine. It was almost like voyeuristically watching Mayer play alone in the studio for fun. He did a lot of talking and joke telling in between songs and played a few "see if I remember this song" games where he would start on an "early Mayer" song until he forgets the next chord then transition into another song. The set was laid back and sounded so good live.
This concert was the first time I've seen his new look... which included the newly shaved head and tattooed arms (and a vintage Paul Newman Daytona -- always loved his watch style). I think in a way it made his music "look" and sound harsher... it is definitely a different feel watching him sing "Your Body is a Wonderland" with this edgier rocker look than his earlier floppy, more "romantic" days.
At the end of the set he came out to do a standing encore which included a very broody version of "Gravity" which showed off his blues guitar skills like no other. I think everyone in the audience walked away with a new appreciation for John Mayer.
One thing I will have to note is that we sat in front of the worst group of people ever. There were two couples sitting two rows behind us that would NOT SHUT UP during the entire concert. The girls were what you'd call a "woo girl", literally wooing after every stupid comment the other girl said. "It's John Mayer! Woooo!" "Everyone get up! Wooo!" "Heehee! Wooooooo!" And the worst of it is despite their size, they were so loud that they could be heard for rows ahead of us. There were times where they were louder than the actual music. It was hell. I was frustrated. But, the concert (and company!) was so amazing that it helped balance it out and I calmed down and laughed it off. It's way too early in the relationship to show Max my true colors. Muhahaha.
On Sunday night, we went out with Vina and George to watch Meiko in Hermosa Beach. The tickets were only $10 each, to see her perform in a small bar. That's cheaper than most movies!
We were surprised to see a line when we arrived. We waited for a good 20 minutes before we were allowed into a crowded bar with no seating room left. We stood around holding our plates of sweet potato fries and crab dip, switching off holding beers while waiting for the music to start.
Katie Costello was up first. Her music was quirky and pretty enjoyable until she opened her mouth and started talking and saying extremely unintelligent things in between songs. I think her ramblings actually ruined her for us and by the time she got to her hit single, Kaleidoscope Machine (which was played in last week's episode of 90210) we were annoyed with her. Edit: I just looked her up and she is only 17 so I guess that excuses her.
The funny part though was that she was talking about how even though she wrote the song, Kaleidoscope Machine she had never seen a kaleidoscope and it was soo funny that someone left one on her piano right before her set and it fell to the floor. (Yup, told you it was that bad) So after the set she tells the crowd that Kaleidoscope Machine is being sold in the lobby so go pick up a CD. As we were waiting around for Meiko to set up, Vina turns around and asks me where the lobby is. I point it out to her and ask her why? She says, "I want to see the kaleidoscope machine." Needless to say I laughed so hard while I tried to explain to her that it was the name of her CD and not an actual... machine.
Anyways fast forward an hour and
Meiko finally takes the stage. She played a full set of about 12 songs -- almost her entire CD. We were so close to the stage (an arm's distance) and with nobody standing in front of us so we had a pretty good view of the entire show. She is a very good performer to watch and entertaining between songs with her sarcastic humor. I thought her solos sounded a lot better than the songs she sang with backup instruments because those tended to drown out her voice.
My two favorite performances were Boys with Girlfriends and Real Real Sweet, both of which transitioned well together since they were written about the same topic. Actually no, I really liked her performance of Under My Bed. Something I noticed tonight is that she does a lot of... what Max calls "moaning" in all of her songs.
She invited a cellist up to the stage for one of her last songs. That mixed in with the trumpet, contrabass and her first performance with a drummer made for an interesting mix.
