John Mayer concert
Jul. 17th, 2004 12:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
javacat John Mayer played at the Shoreline yesterday evening. As I've mentioned a zillion times, my nephew, Erik, is the trumpet player in his band. His mother (my sister), brother and I went down yesterday afternoon to hang out and be shown around backstage, etc. We had an adventure meeting up that involved crossed signals, cell phones, and culminated in our meeting on Hegenberger Road. At least we finally met up! Our names were on the list and we got to park in the backstage parking lot.
I've never been backstage at a big concert venue before and I expected a certain amount of debauchery, or some kind of excess that certainly was a part of my generation. Instead, the place was organized and moving on a relaxed but steady schedule. The daily schedule was posted all over, and everyone was keeping to it. The people were great. Everyone we met (including John Mayer) looked us in the eye, shook hands, talked with us for awhile. To a person, they were well mannered, nice, hard working, talented young people. It was very cool. Talent, discipline, hard work, and good manners pay off, you know?
It was great to spend some time with Erik. We watched the sound checks, watched the Local 83 fan club watching the sound check, got a quick tour of the band bus, walked around the golf course pathway, and hung out a bit in the Horn section backstage dressing room. We had dinner with the bands & crews (no alcohol – yummy healthy food from a 4 person chef-crew), then joined our various friends for whom Erik had arranged to get tickets and watched the show. Our seats could not have been better. Erik was just great - he came out and spent some time with us before and after the show, and offered to help one person with tickets for the Atlanta show.
Maroon 5 was energetic as all get out. The John Mayer set was wonderful. Horns are not a huge part of his sound - there's one song where Erik plays a lot and I missed it! I was up near the top seeking decaf lattes (in vain, too) and one of the ushers wouldn't let me into the not-as-good-seat-area to see just that song, the first one. (It’s probably my pay-back karma for being officious myself - probably for the time I asked Stephen Levine to sit down at the Rep.) Everyone in the band was really good. John Mayer is one talented guitar player & song writer. His 3 acoustic songs at the very end, the new stuff he's writing, were wonderful
Friday was insane in general. Took the sibling cats to the vet. Ben had his blood pressure taken, which involved shaving part of his tail and attaching a tiny sphygnomamometer (sp?)to it. He has high blood pressure plus the kidney failure. So, he goes on blood pressure medication on Monday, when I can get to the pharmacy that mixes chicken and tuna flavor meds for animals. Anyway, I was AT work all of 2 crazy hours on Friday. I'm going to have to go in tomorrow. I have a ton of stuff to do, alas.
Meanwhile, today, the water district finished jackhammering out the broken water pipe in front of my house (at least they didn't start until 8:45; I got back from the Shoreline at 1 AM), I'm having the 1-month old new tire that either someone vandalized or freakily picked up a 4 inch nail in the sidewall replaced while I'm up at the library, and then I'm heading to the Dillon Beach place with 2 friends. It's ickily hot and muggy today; should be perfect at the beach. >
I've never been backstage at a big concert venue before and I expected a certain amount of debauchery, or some kind of excess that certainly was a part of my generation. Instead, the place was organized and moving on a relaxed but steady schedule. The daily schedule was posted all over, and everyone was keeping to it. The people were great. Everyone we met (including John Mayer) looked us in the eye, shook hands, talked with us for awhile. To a person, they were well mannered, nice, hard working, talented young people. It was very cool. Talent, discipline, hard work, and good manners pay off, you know?
It was great to spend some time with Erik. We watched the sound checks, watched the Local 83 fan club watching the sound check, got a quick tour of the band bus, walked around the golf course pathway, and hung out a bit in the Horn section backstage dressing room. We had dinner with the bands & crews (no alcohol – yummy healthy food from a 4 person chef-crew), then joined our various friends for whom Erik had arranged to get tickets and watched the show. Our seats could not have been better. Erik was just great - he came out and spent some time with us before and after the show, and offered to help one person with tickets for the Atlanta show.
Maroon 5 was energetic as all get out. The John Mayer set was wonderful. Horns are not a huge part of his sound - there's one song where Erik plays a lot and I missed it! I was up near the top seeking decaf lattes (in vain, too) and one of the ushers wouldn't let me into the not-as-good-seat-area to see just that song, the first one. (It’s probably my pay-back karma for being officious myself - probably for the time I asked Stephen Levine to sit down at the Rep.) Everyone in the band was really good. John Mayer is one talented guitar player & song writer. His 3 acoustic songs at the very end, the new stuff he's writing, were wonderful
Friday was insane in general. Took the sibling cats to the vet. Ben had his blood pressure taken, which involved shaving part of his tail and attaching a tiny sphygnomamometer (sp?)to it. He has high blood pressure plus the kidney failure. So, he goes on blood pressure medication on Monday, when I can get to the pharmacy that mixes chicken and tuna flavor meds for animals. Anyway, I was AT work all of 2 crazy hours on Friday. I'm going to have to go in tomorrow. I have a ton of stuff to do, alas.
Meanwhile, today, the water district finished jackhammering out the broken water pipe in front of my house (at least they didn't start until 8:45; I got back from the Shoreline at 1 AM), I'm having the 1-month old new tire that either someone vandalized or freakily picked up a 4 inch nail in the sidewall replaced while I'm up at the library, and then I'm heading to the Dillon Beach place with 2 friends. It's ickily hot and muggy today; should be perfect at the beach. >