February 9, 2010

It is a crisp February night in Birmingham, Alabama. Thousands of fans eagerly pour in the the BJCC Arena to witness the performance they have been anticipating for months. They rush to their seats and await for the show to begin. As the arena lights dim, a large, mesh curtain cascades over the stage. The arena is pitch black now, with nothing to be seen but the distant flashes of cameras. A vintage clock counts down from five on a screen directly behind the stage; Fans scream as the distant shadow of a man is seen under the illuminating amber stage lights, enlarging as he nears the front of the stage. John Mayer approaches the microphone, picks up a guitar with his perfectly toned and sleeve-tattooed covered arm and begins to strum. The curtain draws, and the band begins to play the introduction to "Heartbreak Warfare". His riveting voice fills the arena as he sings, the crowd singing along with him. Mayer goes on to play many of his countless hits, conversing and joking with the audience in between songs. Each song has it's own story to accompany it, each chord with speaking for itself. As several hours pass, the fans become aware that the lights will soon brighten, and the performance will draw to an end. Mayer eventually finishes his set, thanks the audience several times, and exits the stage. The arena becomes dark, but the fans refuse to leave their seats without an encore. Finally, the mesh curtain covers the stage once again, and the screams of fans fill the arena. Mayer and his band walk back on to the stage, and begin to play "Who Says". Mayer then closes the show with an incendiary guitar solo that lasts several minutes before turning into "Gravity". Mayer thanks the crowd again, and walks off of the stage for the last time of the night. The lights brighten and the fans file out out of the arena and into the bitter February air, dazed by the performance of a lifetime that they have just witnessed.

What did I get out of the John Mayer concert? I believe the correct question is what didn't I get out of the concert. Just in case it wasn't already obvious, I adore John Mayer, and I have long before this concert. I knew going into it that the likelihood of me being unimpressed by his performance was slim to none. Even though I expected it to be amazing, Mayer went above and beyond my expectations. Aside from playing every single one of my favorite songs, the general sound of the concert was great. His voice, the haunting sound of his guitar, everything. It was all perfect. John Mayer really knows how to put on a truly mind-blowing performance. My favorite part of the concert was when Mayer played a song called "In Your Atmosphere". While introducing the song, he says " I don't really remember this song, but i'm gonna go for it. I'm going to pretend like we're all hanging out in my living room, and i'll see if I can remember this song... I actually wrote this on a bus in Birmingham". Although I don't know if he meant his tour bus or a city bus, it still seemed as if he was trying to reach out and relate to the crowd. I like to think that he meant a city bus, because I would be thrilled to know that Birmingham City buses could be, in all their glory and lack of sanitation, worthy of John Mayer composing a truly beautiful song on one of them. This was a performance of a lifetime. I am beyond grateful to even be able to attend the concert, let alone have such an amazing experience. I find myself constantly reminiscing on February 9th, wishing I could be there over and over again. If John Mayer had not already won me over, this sure did it.