an ode to john mayer

I remember the first time I ever heard about John Mayer.  I was a sophomore in Show Choir and a guy had the CD with him - Room for Squares.  I loved it.  "Neon" and "My Stupid Mouth" were my jam.  I wore that CD o-u-t.

It wasn't hard for me to get behind Heavier Things either.  "Split Screen Sadness" coached me through a high school breakup, "Clarity" made me happy to be alive, and the bridge of "New Deep" sent me into a crazy land of euphoria.  I loved and love this album.

When my friends and I found out John Mayer was coming to the Cox Center in 2003 (I think), we couldn't get in my parents' Envoy fast enough.  I drove the 6 of us (Sara, Reese, Katie, Jolie, Alex) downtown and we made a million jokes about the "Cox" center.  We thought we were hilarious.  I'd share pictures from this night, but this was back when we had Razors as cellphones.  And if you remember correctly, the "camera" feature was kind of a joke.  Plus, even if we had taken real pictures that night, I have no idea where they would be.  You high school kids count your blessings.  You have your lives documented to the Nth degree. 

Continuum came out the beginning of my junior year in college, and we also happened to have ACL tickets that year where John Mayer would headline.  (This was back when you could get 3-day passes for ACL just a month or two before.)  Not only was ACL the happiest place I'd ever been on earth, but I had never enjoyed a concert the way I did his.  We danced barefoot in the grass in the dark like a bunch of little wannabe hippies.  It's something I'll never forget.

(Reese and I smoking "weed."  Bahaha.  Hilarious, again!)

(Maybe the first picture Colt and I have together.  This was in the beginning of our like.)

(The best people ever to go to ACL with.  Aren't we cute in our matchy tank-and-skirt outfits?)

I'm a bit ashamed to admit I don't own the last 3 albums of his.  Blame it on a crazy 3 years of teaching and then being mom, I guess.  But I'm still a true fan.

All of these stories and moments came flooding back when Colt and I saw him a week ago at the Chesapeake Arena.

(I just scrolled up and down between this picture and our other one together like 20 times.  Crazy how 7 years can fly by!)

He did a lot of newer stuff so I just sat, ate my gummy bears, and enjoyed the crazy-nutso-ridiculous musicianship of John and his band.  He didn't do any tunes from Heavier Things, but he did do 7 (seven!) from Continuum.  I was immediately taken back to that junior year apartment with my girls, listening to that album on repeat.

A few clips for your enjoyment:

I was talking to Colt about all of this and why John Mayer feels like such a big deal to me - such a big musical deal to me.  It's not just because I've been a fan of him since the beginning.  I think it's also because his first album came out at a time when I was really starting to invest in music.  I was starting to find out what I really liked and what I really wanted to spend my money and time on.  John Mayer was a good choice. 

Any other John Mayer lovers out there??

sara bareilles at cain's

I saw Sara Bareilles in concert on Tuesday night.  In other words, my life is almost complete.  (I still have yet to see Regina Spektor live.  I mean, I saw her at ACL in the scorching heat when she just did her solo thing for about 50 minutes.  But I don't really count that.  I want full band.)

Reese, Sara, and I drove to Tulsa and stood on our feet for 4 hours.  I know that's what you do at concerts and whatever, but gracious day!  Sara was worth it though.  And Harper Blynn was a fun opener.  Their vocals were great, their songs were catchy, and I liked their beats.

Sara came on about 9:30 p.m. and killed it from start to finish.  She's a wonderful vocalist, excellent pianist, beautiful songwriter, and she's hilarious.  I just know we could be friends in real life, I just know it.  I loved getting to see her in person doing her thang.

The only problem was that Cain's needed a seating chart.  Reese, Sara, and I were more than willing to make that happen for them, as you can imagine.  It's like show choir, people.  You've just gottta find your windows.  It's all about the windows!  And when you move, your window moves!  And if your window moves, people can't see Sara B!  The guy in front of Sara was unaware of this.

Also, Reese got bopped in the head with a water bottle by a passerby (to which she instructed the young man on how to carry his water bottle through a crowd) and the girl next to me got a drink spilled on her not just once, but 3 times.  People, I don't know why it's so hard to stand still like a human and hold your drink and not get all up on the people in front of you.  Why is this a thing?

And you know what else?  I was shocked at how people lost their minds when a radio hit was played.  Sara sang "Eden" (the most incredibly perfect song ever with Eric Whitacre-esque vocals off of her new album) and everybody was standing there, open mouths, blank stares.  Then she sang "Love Song" and people went NUTS.  I was just really annoyed.  Sure, "Love Song" is great and I'm pro-Sara no matter what she writes.  But "Eden"!  It's like the song of all songs!

The guy in front of me was one of these people (the "hit songs only" people).  He went b-a-n-a-n-a-s when "King of Anything" started.  Again, it's a great song.  But he spent the majority of the concert taking pictures of Sara with his digital camera while not really paying attention to the songs she was playing.  After each picture, he and his girlfriend would lean together, examine the picture, giggle, and then continue watching.  But once a hit was played, the rambunctious gyrating began.  I actually found the leaning together to look at the pictures thing the most annoying because it messed up our windows.  THE WINDOWS, FOLKS!

Sara played a lot of great ones.  Someday, I really need to hear "The Light," "Hold my Heart," and "Satellite."  I plan on stalking her from now on though so I have faith that will happen.

If you're anti-Sara because you're anti-pop or anti-things-that-are-on-the-radio, you should listen again.  "Love Song," "King of Anything," and "Brave" are great tunes, but I don't necessarily think they are her best.  You should totally give her another chance.  She's pretty phenomenal.

In spite of the crazies around us, my lower back stiffness from standing for too long, and the really late night, the concert was absolutely magical and totally worth it. 

I was so tired when I woke up Wednesday that I was thinking really weird things.  I sent this text to Colt first thing.

I was probably just reminiscing about the McDonald's fries I ate on the car ride home at 1 a.m.  I know, isn't that so gross and so juvenile?  Mmm, but they were so good.

Are any of you guys fans of Sara B?  Have you seen her in concert?

my first concert of motherhood

Last week, Colt and I saw Page CXVI and Derek Webb in concert at Frontline.  In the beginning, I was pretty "whatever" about the whole thing.  Yeah, I'm a musician and I love live music but I don't like standing at concerts and that night, I just wasn't in a concert mood.  Turns out, we sat down the entire time and the concert was absolutely amazing.

Obviously I'd heard Derek Webb's music once upon a time and I saw him live in college.  But I never was a crazy fan.  As for Page CXVI, I'd never even heard of them.  My expectation was to sit, drink my decaf mocha, and passively listen to the music being played in front of me.  

Page CXVI took the stage and with the first note that came out of her mouth, I was hooked.  They sang several hymns (which is what they do) and some originals (which is what their band under a different name does, The Autumn Film). 

They totally sucked me in.  But when she began to sing "Roll Over Me/Joy," I felt like the rest of the room disappeared behind me and I was sitting directly in front of the stage alone.

It was like I had written this song and she was singing it for me. 

So roll over me
I'll just sink down, I'll just sink down
To the bottom of the sea
I'll just be here, I'll just be here

My eyes started to fill with tears and stayed like that the rest of the song.  She told us the story behind the song and although my story is completely different, I could still relate to the idea of wishing I could sink down to the bottom of the sea.  You can probably relate too.  There are just those moments that you would rather be hidden under rock (because of anxiety, heartbreak, a loss, etc.) than out in the open.  I was so thankful for her honesty that night.  It was a beautiful time of sitting, praying, and reflecting on this journey I've been on and am still on.

Once they finished playing, Derek Webb was up next.  He did about 20 minutes of requests from the audience.  Then, he brought Page CVXI back up to play with him.  They played through his CTRL album all the way through.  I was totally blown away.

(P.S.  Read the short story behind his album here and the hidden meaning behind the story here.) 

I was not only blown away by the concept behind all of it, the musicianship, and the flawless execution, but by the chord progressions.  Oh, the chord progressions were fantastic!  I wished so badly I could get out a piece of paper and start doing some harmonic analysis, but that would've probably been odd.  This album is so creative and so well-done.

I highly recommend that you check all this music out.  And while you're doing that, I'll be stalking Tifah from Page CXVI and wishing we could be BFFs.  We totally could be though, right?

they'll explain it once you get in there

A couple/few months ago I wrote on this blog about how Lilith was coming back. Sarah McLachlan is my ultimate musical hero (explanation below) and I have never seen her live, therefore, I had to go. My 2 traveling buddies, Reese and Sara, decided this would be a fun trip and could also double as my birthday celebration.

Why Sarah is my musical hero: As a young, adolescent girl who enjoyed playing the piano and singing, I felt pretty alone in the late 1990s. It was a world where a lot of female vocals were full of soul, licks, and belting. I had none of those. I felt like my voice was plain, breathy, and not cool. And then.... I heard Sarah. Her tone was totally unique but her voice was plain, breathy, and cool. (In no way am I saying that I have her voice.... I'm just talking about vocal style.) She had a simplicity about her. I loved the way she played the piano and I loved the way she sang. She made me feel like I was allowed to keep doing what I was doing and that it was okay to sound like me, and not like Mariah, TLC, and Lauryn Hill. I love her songwriting and who she is. She's inspiring. The end.

We arrived in Bonner Springs, KS to Capitol Federal Park @ Sandstone around 1:30, the time in which the doors would open. We pulled up to the parking lot and saw that we would really have to search to find a spot. PSYCH! It was practically empty.

We parked and walked over to purchase our tickets. The tickets we were purchasing were lawn tickets... cheapo depo $24 tickets to see lots of great people. The lady at the window explained that someone just passed her a ticket that wasn't going to be used. She gave it to us. Everything just became even cheaper. We noticed that the free ticket said 'lawn' and the others said 'general admission.' Uh... we were NOT going to be separated. We triple checked with the lady that we really were going to be able to sit together. She made this comment, "Oh, you'll get to sit by each other. They'll explain it once you get in there." Weird answer, but we figured if it didn't work out, we'd just throw her under the bus and blame it on her.

We got in line and waited for the gates to open at 1:30. However, it was 2:00 at this point. The gates were obviously not opening at 1:30. We sat and hung out with our sweat beads and finally, they opened at 2:30. We walked in and realized very quickly that this was not a huge place. At least, not as huge as I had imagined. It's certainly no ACL.

We got right down to business doing the first thing that any normal human would do in this situation..... get hot dogs. We inhaled our food and water and walked over to hear the first bands.

We heard Erin McCarley, who was pretty good, followed by Vedera. If you're not aware of Vedera, you should be. They are amazing and her voice is flawless. After this, we made our way to the amphitheater stage to hear Metric, Ingrid Michaelson, Court Yard Hounds (the 2 sisters of Dixie Chicks), Emmylou Harris, Heart, and Sarah McLachlan.

Quick review: Metric.... a new favorite. Ingrid.... really wonderful. Hounds.... fun. They said the word 'chick' on stage at one point and the crowd began to cheer.... and then they quickly realized what they had done and said, "Well, not that kind of chick." Emmylou.... classic. Heart.... absolutely amazing and truly exceptional voices. Sarah.... unexplainable emotion and the best part of the night.

Just one little funny moment I experienced...

Girl 1: "I wonder when Heart is playing."

Girl 2: "Not until 8:50."

Girl 1: "Oh, I thought they were at 7:40."

Girl 2: "No, that's some Mary Lewis lady."

Immediately after this, another woman blew a bubble with her gum and it popped all over her face. She scrambled to get it off, hoping no one saw her. But I did. And it was really funny.

Back to the tickets... I need to explain the situation. Recall that I described how our tickets were different. Well, the lady was right. We could sit wherever we wanted. They actually blocked off the lawn seats and made everyone sit in the amphitheater seats. They wanted to make it look full for the artists. Basically, ticket sales were freaking low, which was not specific to this location evidently. In summary, we paid for 2 tickets for 3 people and scored seats that were double, maybe even triple, the individual ticket price we paid. We got a good deal.

Thanks, Reese and Sara. Happy Birthday to me. :)