woo hoo hoo!!! john mayer show #2....review...for you!! hehe...i am rhythmic. =)

Maroon 5 / Counting Crows / John Mayer @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine 07.18.03

*ok, so last nite i came home pretty late...around 2am...so sorry for such late submission for your approval...let's do a review, shall we?? the show in irvine just may have been the BEST concert i have gone to...now, this may not be saying much because i've been to like 6 concerts total [tee hee] but this show will be very hard to beat. =) here's my chronology:

lisa and i dolled ourselves up a little and left for the concert at 530...while driving there, we very nearly crashed because people can't freaking drive...the two cars behind us were in an accident i think...bah. =T so we get there...we meet up john pv & buddies to give him his tickets...i must say, john pv, if you're reading this...you're the skinniest mofo i've ever seen...we need to meat you up or something..hehe. =) ok...so after that and taking free bottle opener keychains and glowsticks from star 98.7 [raver style hilarity], we went inside...now, they say no cameras..but they let someone take in a tripod? and they looked in my bag but didn't see my camera...muahahaha....but when they looked in lisa's purse, they questioned her wallet. lol...that was funny. now, as much as i enjoyed staples the previous nite, let me tell you...irvine meadows [what verizon used to be called and what i will call it] is incredible. it's an outdoor venue and it's lovely. there's a long walk inside, but definitely worth it. when we first came in, i thought we were at the fair or something because they have those people take your picture...and then there's all these booths set up for the alkyhol and food...and free stuff, like free karaoke and free condoms...lol. i did not take any... =) so we're inside...and i buy my john mayer sweatshirt [cha cha cha] and we go to our seats...dude, it was a hike up there!! =) lisa and i sat and basked in the cool breezy sunlight-lovely atmosphere while waiting for the show to start...

maroon 5 came out...and once again...AMAZING!!! they have so much energy and enthusiasm when they play..so great to hear and see. and yes, adam is a hottie still...here's their setlist:

through with you
the sun
this love
tangled
harder to breathe
not coming home
sunday morning

john did not sit in on this love this time, but they did play not coming home which is a first that i've heard of...hooray!! they closed their set with sunday morning, certainly one of my favorites. they had everyone stand up...and i mean everyone...even the lawn go'ers..it was great. everyone standing up and clapping along...i wish people were really that excited to listen to them...a lot of people don't know who they are, but i'm telling you...they are incredible. they are funky rock...something different. i really, really enjoyed them.. =)

next up, counting crows....they were good, but they didn't change it up or anything. i don't have much to say about them cuz i don't know their stuff very well, but the crowd really like their rendition of big yellow taxi...and they were more acoustic and mellow last nite than usual. =)

and the best for last...john mayer. oh bestill my heart, he was phenomenal. just cuz some people are interested, john wore a brown polo shirt [well, sort of like a polo...a more casual rendition], jeans and yes, the red shoes. hehe...at staples he wore the black & white pumas..hehe. ok, going back now. here is john's setlist [and i will go through each song cuz they were so kickass!]:

neon
no such thing
3x5 [with the agt intro]
my stupid mouth
something's missing
love song for no one [with dela]
lenny [maybe a little..??]
come back to bed [david ryan harris special]
your body is a wonderland
why georgia

encore! encore!
wheel [solo]
83 [with girls just wanna have fun in the mix]

ok, so here we go... =)
neon certainly hasn't been my favorite song, but last nite it was very awesome. no extended jams though...but very nice nonetheless. this went directly into no such thing...a crowd favorite certainly. i always love the i/you/we are invincible part...and i think following this part he said good evening to irvine and other surrounding areas...lol, so great!!

3x5 started with a nice little solo intro from john...during the song, one of the front rowers had a camera in hand. john took the camera out of her hand, and mid-song took pictures on stage of everyone in the band and a closeup of himself, then one of the audience...it was so cool. he gave the camera back and then continued on... =) next was my stupid mouth...a good crowd song...everyone was into it and there was a lot of energy and love for john there last nite...during msm, i think he made a comment to a fan like "i'm working right now, i'm working..." and then after the song he said, why would anyone wear blank baseball hats...but i think he saw they had a pen. he said they should get an award for being so "crafty" so john picked up a fan's hat and wrote "the last trucker hat" across it, signed and handed it back to the fan...hehe. he was very playful with the crowd last nite.. =)

something's missing was next...and every time i hear this song, it just gets better and better. it was great last nite...john said something about how he sometimes wished he had never really finished the song cuz he liked it so much that he never wanted to be finished with it...awww... =) he asked for the audience to help go through the checklist with him too...hehe. there was the standard checklist of friends/money/well-slept/guitar/microphone...but he added a few more to the checklist...hehe like his mp3's, his dvds, his mtv, his batteries [cuz everything needs batteries nowadays], a hot meal waiting for him and his ice cream...lol =) after this, the band was shooed away, leaving only john and dela to sing...love song for no one. =) i think he said something about how like 18 months ago him and dela played it all the time cuz john was lonely and wasn't getting any...hehe. well, i'm sure he can get plenty now. anyways, love song for no one was so great...he changed it up a bit. the line that goes.."i'll know it, when i see you." was changed to "i'll know it, when i sleep with you..." and the crowd went wild. also, he had the crowd solo on the part that goes "i could've met you in a sandbox. i could've passed you on the sidewalk. how could i have missed my chance, and watched you walk away?"...and after the crowd finished singing, john said "now that's fucking teamwork!" and once again the crowd went haywire. =)

afterwards, john strummed the guitar a little...it sounded like lenny, or part of it, but hard to tell. the band was in full force again and he sang come back to bed. goodness me...this song is so awesome. when i read the titles to the new songs, sometimes i am just in wonderment about what is going on with all the body/sex references...come back to bed now makes sense though after he explained his reasoning and after he sang it. he wanted to let the ladies in on something...that when they are mad and the guy asks what's wrong, girls should just say what it is...because they keep saying nothing and the guy will stop asking after 3 times...the guys know what they did was wrong and will apologize later for their "stupid mouth"..lol. and also, that if we girls are mad, don't take the love away from the man...hehe. sometimes a guy needs a girl's body next to him to sleep at nite...something about the girl being a man's thermostat...hehe. i thought that was cute...anyways, so he continued on with the song...i guess the story behind it being not to take the love away...put the argument aside and let's just be together for now..."don't hold your love over my head".. =) it was a jammin' number...incredible guitar work on it. =) the real treat was at the end though with david ryan harris. he came out and sang some backup vocals for john...it was sort of like a dual between john and drh. whenever drh sang a note or extended yelp, john mimicked the same sound on the guitar and then they switched off...after this, they would play something, then hand the guitar over, and exchanged back and forth, sort of tossing it to and fro...it was so cool...drh is a great guitar player man...and at one point john was playing with one arm behind his back...hehe. it was just so awesome...

next came your body is a wonderland...and yowza, nothing gets the shreeks more than that song...a little crowd singalong on that one too...hehe. but yes, a great, great tune to hear...next up, why georgia, a personal favorite...with the infamous "i am tempted to keep the car in drive...and leave this shit behind!!" line added...woohoo. =) this, technically, was the end of the show... =)

encore! encore! he, of course, came out for an encore....and shockingly, he played wheel...[cha cha cha] =) omg, wheel is sooooo great...just a lovely song. it's about how all the love he gives out will roll back around and one day be returned to him...awwww... =) it was a delightful surprise to hear it...the only other time it was played was in sacramento a few days before...he asked the audience to try to resist clapping along [as what happened the first time he played it] cuz he really wanted us to listen and get the message.. =) he thanked the crowd for allowing him to play something new...i think he really felt the love from the crowd and that we weren't there just to hear the radio-friendly hits from RFS...he ended the show with 83...i absolutely love this one...especially live, since he likes to mix in songs from or around 1983...tonite it was girls just wanna have fun again...familiar but a favorite. in the end, he thanked everyone for accepting him and supporting him...he was much more playful and fun last nite than at staples...more hilarious banter and more interaction with everyone...we [heart] john for all the music...i think he did say something about how he was overwhelmed by the crowd...how he hadn't seen a crowd like this in a while and that we were the best audience thus far...hooray!! =)

*a few other tidbits...i saw a lot of the video shoot people at the show...woohoo!! martha sat next to us! she was the panda shirt girl i talked about before...i went back with her to get john's autograph at the shoot...it was so great to see her and talk with her.. =) that girl was prepared...she had camera, recorder and binoculars...hehe. i also saw janet [hiya janet!!] =) saw her afterwards, exchanged a hug and chatted a bit...people were waiting for john to come out to sign for fans, but security said he wasn't coming out because there was an afterparty going on... =( it's ok though...a lot of the video people were recognized and they talked with one another..it was pretty cool to see. =) after the show we also saw kimmy and linda...i think we made kim a believer...hehe. =)

as we were leaving, lisa was overjoyed...hehe. it was such a great concert...certainly the best i have gone too and i know many feel the same...it will be difficult to top i think...hehe. lisa was so happy, she wanted to go to the san diego show...lol. she almost convinced me man...hehe. then i would've gone to 3 freaking shows! =) when we drove home, we went online to see what was available...and actually, there were seats available...we tried to weigh the pros and cons, but ultimately cons won...by the slightest margin. we decided that it was a freaking long ass drive there and back...it would be late, and us tired. plus, it's not like he'll never be back...and we are trying to save up for spa day.. =) [but it's john man...that reasoning usually just about does it for me, hehe] so yes, sadly, we did not go to san diego...but i'm telling you, when he's back in southern cali...there's no stopping us...lol =) i took lots of pictures, although i wonder whether any of them will come out ok since we were far from the stage to get good pictures...but cross your fingers. if i do have any good ones, i will scan and post...woo hoo hoo!! =) anyways, fun was most exceptionally had and now i miss it...i'm having john mayer post-partum depression...you just don't want to leave once john lets you in...but when he does leave, you are sad... =( this is just like the video shoot...sort of depressing to go back to normal after such awesomely awesome john occurings..but oh well. we'll just have to wait for the next one to get us all to do the funky chicken. =)