Saturday, July 24, 2010

The Future

So, I came across this very interesting article on how John Mayer has started something called an "augmented reality music video". Just when you thought you couldn't get that much closer to a celebrity now you can actually, virtually be in a JM video.

This is so John Mayer, not that I am claiming to know him personally but as an artist, this is so him. He loves interacting with his fans. You can tell, he always talks to his fans through twitter, tumblr, streaming video etc and eventually gets into trouble. But this augmented reality music video is an excellent addition to the John Mayer brand, it makes it seem more accessible and appeals to its target audience.
This is it! This is an absolutely brilliant idea. Well not cos of JM but its just genius!

Below is a link to an article that talks about how John Mayer "found time to revolutionize online music videos".
JM Video features YOU!

The Final Push

Below is a video clip from JM's live album and concert film, "Where The Light Is". This performance features three separate performances: the first an acoustic set by Mayer alone, the second with the John Mayer Trio, and the third with Mayer's regular touring band. With a cup of warm tea in hand, Neesha and I watched this concert from start to finish. By the end of the concert, we had that look in our eyes - we found our next adventure.

"I got an LOL RT!"

Since I've dedicated this entire blog to John Mayer and his musical brilliance, I thought it would be interesting to dive into his thoughts on social media. Listen to JM's take on Twitter and it's strong connection with the need for approval and external validation. This interview took place at the ASCAP's 2010 "I Create Music" EXPO in Hollywood.

Getting intimate with JM

Below is clip from an interview Fuse did with John Mayer prior to the release of his Battle Studies album on 17 November 2009. As much as we enjoyed watching him on stage in Raleigh, NC - next on the agenda: intimate jam session at home perhaps?

It's not warm when he's away

John Mayer left us in awe with his performance of the Bill Withers original "Ain't No Sunshine" at the Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, NC. This video has been shot by a member of the audience in the 4th row (a mere 13 rows ahead of us) - seats we would have ached to call ours. Regardless, with an added reggae twist, JM had no trouble in leaving us weak at the knees.


Dwindling

I ve realized that I have put up decriptions, set lists, photos, songs and tour calendars of the John Mayer Battle studies tour. i think I have exhausted all the souveniers of my adventure with Neesha. Soon we must find a new adventure to chase.

Without a doubt though, Neesha and I have already planned numerous adventures chasing our favorite artists and of course more John Mayer. This concert was definitely the first of many. Id like to chase some other artists too like Maroon 5, James Morrison, The Dave Matthews Band, David Ryan Harris, Ash Grunwald and The john Butler Trio. Some day they will all be names associated with my adventures. You see what I mean? Adventures follow me and I follow them.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Things I learned this week.

While interacting with people to take all these pictures I learned a a lot about other people and quite a bit about myself as well. There were times when we had to ask a stranger to take our picture because we would hardly get to take picture with the two of us.We would eventually make friends with some of these people too.

Even while we were in our seats at the concert, the people in the row behind us probably thought we were slightly camera happy. But of course, we didn't care at all. We were gonna get as camera drunk as we could at our first ever John Mayer concert.

I also learned that natural, candid shots make the nicest shots and thanks to digital cameras we can take a lot of pictures really fast and choose our best shot. This helps most snap happy people get really professional photos.

Good Pictures?



This is a shot of my friend Neesha walking down Capital Boulevard in Raleigh, NC. We were trying to find a bus stop. It was a long, hot walk. I used the flash for this one.
I suppose this shot takes advice from 2 tips. Use the flash outdoors and Move it from the middle.




This is John Mayer performing Who Says. This is close up shot. I used the zoom feature on my camera for this.




This is yet another awesome shot of John Mayer performing. I didn't use the flash for this one. there was a lot of light from the stage itself. This picture is an example of taking a vertical picture.

Where were we when John Mayer got into an ice cream truck.

I Want Ice Cream

So, I'm guessing Raleigh, NC was not really a much anticipated concert on John Mayer's part at least. He didn't get into any ice cream trucks before he played for us! How tragic. I am not generally a fan of ice cream, but man! if JM handed me one I'd probably at least let it melt in my hands. Okay maybe a few slurps. But damn! That would be so awesome.
I wish we could just go and hang out with him. I mean not to sound fan-like but he just seems like an interesting person to hang out with and maybe play cards or go to a bar with. Like I don't think I idolize John Mayer, I think I like him cos he is smart and his perspective of the world is interesting. And of course his music is just amazing. I respect an non-manufactured artist, I really do. They can have my iTunes gift card and concert ticket money.

This article just goes to show how quirky he is. Like he is closer to normal than most celebrities are and he actually has a claim to be like that. It's cool cos it shows that he's just as normal as we are. The only difference is he can hold a tune, strum the crazy on a guitar and ride around on an ice cream truck WITH the ice cream man's permission.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Additional Resources

Despite rain, John Mayer is bluesy romp - Music - NewsObserver.com

John Mayer Blog

John Mayer UStream

John Mayer Fan Site

John Mayer Quotes

Deep Web

To John Mayer With Love

Thats the URL of this blog I found. It is so simple and well suited. You can definitely tell it is a personal page. The blog is written by a girl called Mia. There is nothing much else I know about her except that she has a HUGE collection of JM pictures.She keeps the blog updated pretty promptly. Her credentials are that she is a highly enthusiastic JM fan and this blog is her tribute to him.
The blog has some informative widgets and information like tour dates, blogs, and links to other JM sites and social media sites.The links on her site work and her information is mostly her personal opinion and commentary.
The site does not have a lot of traffic or even one review according to alexa.com. The site has 16 sites linking in and it has a traffic rank of 1,489,581.

The purpose of this site is more personal than public. The blogger is obviously a fan of our Mr. John Mayer and this is her ode to him.

See for yourselves....

This is an awesome website I came across. It has the set list for the concert we went to AND videos of each song.
NB: The videos are NOT from the concert itself, but live performances nonetheless.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Finally!

No amount of words could have described how excited we were after being dropped off at the concert venue. It had just stopped raining and Neesha and I were probably the two happiest brown girls in the world at that moment.


Train had already started singing, we could hear them as we walked in. When we found our seats and filled our eyes and ears with Train's spectacular performance. Wow! They played Save Me San Francisco, Calling All Angels,If It's Love and Marry Me. Pat Monahan got up close and personal and decided to walk into the crowd and serenade some lucky old lady during Marry Me. Sigh!


And then came John Mayer himself, opening with Vultures. It was amazing. Now THAT is a true artist. He sounds better live than he does in his recorded albums. Neesha and I were in heaven. This was actually happening. After screaming and dancing to most of our favorite John Mayer songs, we were still trying to come up with a strategy to get backstage and meet JM. Obviously, that didn't happen or else this blog would be called Finding John Mayer or something to that effect. Either way, hoping that our imaginations and wildest dreams would come true was good enough for Neesha and I.

Monday, July 19, 2010

How it all started.....



I love John Mayer (JM) as an artist and I have always wanted to watch him perform live. My friend Neesha is just as much a JM fan as I am. Since I have to leave the US to head back home, i decided to make it my mission to watch one of Mr. Mayer's concerts. I pitched the idea to Neesha, and hoped hard that she would agree to go with me. She did.

And then started the tiresome task of looking up airline deals and ticket prices, hotels and tour dates. Most good seats were sold out so we eventually settled on $244.00 for two VIP Box tickets for the JM concert in Raleigh, NC at the Time Warner Cable Pavillion on the 17th of July. The cherry on top was that Train was opening for him. By the time we had purchased out flight and hotel we had spent almost $ 500 each and had gone way over budget. Still, being almost penniless didnt even mildly affect our excitement and anticipation. We slept so happily that night. We were getting to see John Mayer live. It was gonna happen.

http://www.ustream.tv/johnmayer

This blog is about more than just a concert. Because attached to every concert is an adventure waiting to happen, a new place to be discovered, new people to meet and new things to learn about. This blog is about great artists and finding them. Most importantly this blog is about silent life experiences under the guise of good music.