Concert Katie

the same song over and over again

Concert Hanson John Mayer

Nashville / Atlanta

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Have you ever tried to go on vacation but the Universe tried to injure you *every day*?  That’s what my trip this past weekend ended up being.  I already wrote about the Fire Alarms going off at “Ain’t Too Proud” the musical.  That in and of itself is quite a story – but it just got worse from there.  Read on to find out what happened Friday, Saturday AND Sunday…

Friday night was John Mayer at the Bridgestone Arena.  We opted for “cheap seats” which ended up being quite steep and high up and I was mildly concerned that I wouldn’t be able to leave them (but I am home, so I did) and ended up dealing with a Tornado Watch during the show.  With being so far away, we ended up with the more “casuals” and had 2 or maybe even 3 couples near us who decided the right time to talk about John Mayer was while he was in front of them performing a show.  Can’t you just enjoy it while he’s in front of you and discuss it on the drive home like we did?  So obnoxious…  The Nashville show felt a lot different than Newark. I don’t know if it was because we were further away, if the closer to “hometown” shows for John feel different or if the Nashville crowd was just.. meh.  Appropriately this time, John started with Slow Dancing in a Burning Room.  The first two songs ended up being repeats from Newark, but then he ended up doing Heartbreak Warfare and In The Blood – the latter I was saying I would hope he would do because it had been stuck in my head.  He also threw in another of my favorites, Emoji of a Wave and then went into a medley based on signs of Something Like Olivia, My Stupid Mouth (YESSSS) and Daughters.  I had to laugh when he said he was going to play a brand new song nobody would know – but it was the same new one – Driftin’ – that he debuted in Newark. (I’m not sure he’s thrown anything else new into his sets?)  Then he said that the tour was just him solo but he was going to break that and bring on a special guest – a legend – and welcomed to the stage Sheryl Crow.  They did her song “Strong Enough”.    He also updated his stage banter before Your Body Is A Wonderland from Newark’s “is this song stupid?” and spoke a bit more about the song more sincerely.  I was hoping that we’d be Free Falling Free – but he ended up closing out the encore with it.   When we left the venue, there was an absolute downpour going on and while weren’t so happy about out $54 parking lot right next to the door to the arena, it made for a quick getaway and not getting completely soaked, so maybe it was worth it after all.

John Mayer Setlist Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN, USA 2023, Solo Acoustic

The next morning we got up early in an attempt to make it to the Brookhaven Festival in time for Deep Blue Something.  Initially, we were going to make it in plenty of time but unfortunately the traffic had other plans.  After making a pitstop for lunch, my friend says “There’s a person in the road”  I look up and there is a semi-truck in front of us that is stopped and a man walks out from the front of the truck.  He wanders to the left lane and ends up running a couple of cars off the road because they are trying not to hit him or anyone else.  We are in the middle lane and I think that once he made it to the other side of the road he would stop – but no – he ends up coming at our car.  My friend avoids him and we continue on, wondering if we should call the cops but not knowing quite where we were.  We ended up not calling, but hopefully someone did.  We thought we’d se a broken down car a bit further up, but there was nothing and the man did seem out of it but didn’t seem to have any visible injuries so we weren’t really sure what was going on and if he wanted to get hit or if he was trying to get help.

We made it to the festival and found the ADA parking lot that was supposed to be ‘close’.  Entered the festival, walked through the vendor area and 3/4 of a mile later… we made it to the stage.  Deep Blue Something was doing their last song as we were walking their (and from what I could hear, it wasn’t “Breakfast at Tiffanys”)  so we waited for Don McLean, who ended up enjoying the sing a long of American Pie so much, he sang most of it again.  Finishing out the festival was Band of Horses, but we opted to leave a bit early into their set because we wanted to beat the mad rush leaving and also hit up the Harry Potter Exhibition in Atlanta.

The Exhibition had interactive displays where you could win house points, a bunch of photo ops as well as some of the clothing worn during the movies. It was pretty cool, though I have to say that the price of admission seemed to be a bit steep for what it was. But it takes a good hour and a half to two hours to go through and then they have a cute cafe with some themed desserts and of course a gift shop – complete with a penny machine.

When we got to the hotel for the night, completely exhausted, we found that the front desk was swarming with a high school marching band trying to buy snacks.  Of course, I tried to skip the front desk and get a digital key, but they needed to see my ID so we had to wait. Ugh!

The next day it was supposed to be a pretty stormy day so our plans for getting to the festival were up in the air.  With thunderstorms in the morning we opted to sleep in, went to Walmart and picked up rain gear and got to the festival in time to see Lissie.  Or so we thought.  About 3 songs into her set she got cut short because the radar was showing lightning.  We were instructed to take shelter in our cars.  Yes, the one that was 3/4 of a mile away. (And the able bodied attendees, even further, they were being shuttled in)  We ended up snagging umbrellas they were giving away and hunkering down for the storm that rolled through.  Things got back on track with All-4-One taking the stage a bit earlier than scheduled, then The Fray, and finally Hanson!

This was a pretty expected setlist for Hanson as they have their typical “festival” setlist that is single heavy – though we were surprised with the inclusion of “Runaway Run”, and not at all surprised with the inclusion of “Georgia”.  They started the set with Fired Up which we were joking they would because our weekend started with the fire alarms.  And we also got a kick of them singing, “isn’t it hard, standing in the rain”  I mean, yes, sort of… poncho on poncho kind of makes things slippery.

After the show we hit up McDonalds for their bathroom and then made another pistop at Buc-ees! I was glad to pick up a few boxes of their animal crackers that I loved so much when we went last summer, but I couldn’t find any of the overbite chocolates that I had liked 🙁  Oh well, I’m trying to count calories and it would have just complicated things too much for me.

I am happy to report that I had absolutely no flight issues there or back home – direct flights from Nashville to Hartford and back via Southwest.  I guess with everything else going wrong, something HAD to go right for once, right?

Book Review

Book Review: Pop Rock Icons

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Pop Rock Icons is a photographic book that shows a ton of Pop Rock Icons from the 60s and 70s.  I definitely wish I was alive at this time and am tempted to make myself a playlist from a lot of the acts featured in the book – The Beatles and Rolling Stones of course, but also Cat Stevens, Marianne Faithfull, Queen – and more.  It seems like there was just such an amazing and booming music scene during this era and I am sad to have missed out on it!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Pop Rock Icons takes us into the extraordinary world of London, England at the time of the greatest countercultural upheaval that the country has known.

A real musical revolution began at the beginning of the 1960s, led by the Beatles, further ignited by the Rolling Stones and many others. The incredible rise of rock music continued until the end of the 1970s, when Punk arrived and launched a new wave of DIY rebellion.

“Today, we are more popular than Jesus Christ.”

– John Lennon

In photographs which capture the spirit of the times, [re]discover the optimism of the Beatles; the Stones’ dark rhythm‘n’blues; the energy of The Who; the innovation of prog rock with Pink Floyd and Genesis, as well as the explosive heavy metal of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. The 70s gave us the glam rock of T Rex and the gritty pub rock of Dr Feelgood, without forgetting the rock giants: Led Zeppelin, Queen, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and the unclassifiable David Bowie.

Music Other Event

Ain’t Too Proud Musical

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When I landed in Nashville I found out that my friend had gotten us free tickets to see the jukebox musical about the life and times of The Temptations for that night. We were about a dozen rows back and were excited to check it out when about an hour into the show lights near the emergency exits started flashing. No one seemed to be reacting but the lights kept going off and then eventually started talking about there being an emergency in the building. I looked up and the balcony seats were evacuating, but the show was still going on! Shortly after someone yelled “stop the production!” from the crowd and a voice came on saying “actors please clear the stage” and we were told to leave and that it was believed to not be an actual emergency but they’d let us know if we could go back inside or not.

We waited outside, but a lot of people started bailing out, but we were too curious to see what would end up happening and if the show would go on or not. After about 30 minutes outside, we were told we could come back in.  Everyone got some time to head back to their seats and the show picked up where it had left off – to thunderous applause.  I don’t know about you, but whenever we had a fire drill at my work, we never could just jump right back into it – we always had to discuss the fire drill for like an hour after we got back inside – so it was impressive that the cast just jumped right back in where they had left off.  Then it was time for the actual intermission (the guy next to us said the earlier one was an ‘outermission’) which I imagine was necessary for costume and set reasons and couldn’t have been skipped.  Act II began and we were what we thought to be maybe 10-15 minutes from the end?  Only for the lights to start flashing AGAIN!  This time they were a bit quicker to tell the actors to clear the stage – and the lead playing Otis yelled “SO CLOSE!” before exiting.  This time we were told we needed to evacuate again and that the show would NOT be continuing.  What we had seen so far was great, but I wish we had gotten to see the end!  It does sound like TPAC gave everyone who attended a refund for the tickets.  Maybe I’ll try to catch it when it is in Hartford to see how it ends.

 

American Idol Concert

Haley Reinhart at The Kate

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Wednesday night I made my way to the Kate for a show I initially was considering not going to because it would have been back to back with Gaelic Storm. At some point I ended up seeing that there was still decent seats left, “yolo’ed” and bought one in the second row. While it made for a busy week, she was even more amazing than the last time I saw her and I’m glad I made the trek.

She did a mix of originals and jazzy covers and quickly won the audience over. She seemed to enjoy the crowds energy and was sad to end the show. (Though I was glad it was an early one as I made it home by 10!)  There was a mix of originals and covers and I have to say my favorite was “I Put a Spell on You” she told us that the spell she put on us was that we’d all come see her again whenever she comes back, which I will certainly be trying to do!

After the show, I ended up riding the elevator with an older couple who first were saying “wow wasn’t that something” and I agreed, she was amazing.  After they asked me if she was from American Idol or The Voice as they watch both and couldn’t remember.  I told them American Idol. Then they said “and she didn’t win?” “No she only came in third”  They were mad.  As I have been since that season aired! 

Haley Reinhart Setlist The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, Old Saybrook, CT, USA 2023, Off the Ground

 

Concert

The Mighty Tour at The Garde

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Tuesday night I headed to New London with a friend to see The Mighty Tour – Gaelic Storm and The High Kings at the Garde Arts Center.  The show was a lot of fun and there were a lot of jokes about Pat and jumping off the balcony because the last time Gaelic Storm played The Kate (the sister venue of The Garde and where I’ll be going tonight for a show!) Pat decided to jump off the balcony and ended up breaking both his legs because there were some stairs he was not anticipating and no one caught him.

Unfortunately I didn’t keep track of the setlist for either band but from looking at past setlists (where is the Irish folk version of me in CT?!) I believe the show opened with both bands on stage singing The Leaving of Liverpool and Whiskey in the Jar. Then The High Kings left the stage to Gaelic Storm.  I think they sang Scalliwag, Darcy’s Donkey (which had people jockeying across the front row and also Pat forcing a woman who was there from Finland to join in. Pat also kept saying that Finland won happiest country for the 6th year in a row and I thought that he just made that up but I actually saw the new article about it when I woke up this morning), Johnny Jump Up, The Night Pat Murphy Died… among others. (Either no one cares or someone will end up commenting to correct me lol)  There was a lot of up and down during this show – Pat claimed one song was their last standing song so I stood, only for Steve to tell us to keep standing for a second song! And then a few songs later Patrick said he lied and there was another standing song (at that point I was done and stayed seated!)

After a 15 minute intermission, The High Kings took the stage. Some songs I remember that they did was The Moonshiner, an entirely acapella piece called 1845 that they then had the audience sing back and they said we were the best ones yet – true or not I don’t know – but then they made us do it a second time.  But they played an hour+ so there’s plenty more songs I am missing but I was not familiar with them at all, but I did really enjoy them.

Then Gaelic Storm came back out for a handful of songs at the end.  I actually really like fiddles in music but not when it’s country so apparently it is the fiddle + bagpipe combo I need for Irish folk music.  Gaelic Storm is always a fun time so I was glad I went out, even if it was a bit far away and during one of the busiest weeks I have maybe ever constructed for myself (This is show #1 of 5 for this week… we’ll see how well I keep up with making posts…)

Random

90s Con 2023

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That's 4 Entertainment | 90s Con 2023

This past weekend was the 2nd 90s con, once again held in Hartford, CT! This year I got a full weekend pass and a hotel room at the convention center!

Day 1

The first day was 4-8. I immediately went to merch because they had a bear I absolutely needed for my collection. I also ended up getting a pin and magnet and impulse buying a pen and slinky. 🤷‍♀️

My first stop was Joey Fatone’s booth and of course he left as soon as I got in line. But he was back quickly, I managed to snag one of the last Joey/Buzz shirts he had and did a photo/auto combo and was super excited he had on a care bears shirt! (See also last paragraph where I mention my love of collecting bears, care bears included)

Then I hit up Chris Kirkpatrick’s booth and asked him for dinner recommendations for my trip to Nashville next week (stay tuned to see if we end up there!) I also did a photo/auto combo with him and had both him and Joey sign masked singer photos!

By the time I got through Chris’ line, it was just about time for my *NSYNC duo photo op so I headed that way and ended up the first through. Joey said hey and was ready to do a photo and then realized we needed to wait for Chris. Then when Chris came we realized he was in the wrong spot since he has a sling so we repositioned and Joey made them take a 2nd photo. So thank you Joey for the BOGO. (I prefer the 2nd one too!)

I then made my way up to the ballroom for the Steve Burns panel, which I was waffling on because I didn’t have time to see Jeff Timmons, but I am soooo glad I did the panel because it was amazing to hear all the behind the scenes from Steve and how he created a lot of things used on the show (and they initially wanted a more conventionally handsome host but his pilot went over much better with the kids they showed it to in a focus group!)

Then it was time to head back to the hotel and rest up.

Day 2

I started the day waiting to get into the panel room and ended up doing 3 panels in a row – Hocus Pocus, All That and Full House.

Hocus Pocus was Omri, Vinessa, Thora and Jason.  I was hoping Kathy Najimy might have showed up as well, but no such luck.  They talked a little bit about how they filmed just for a couple weeks on site in Salem and then everything else was on sets.  There was also a lot of discussion about how it was released in July so it never really caught on initially but then like 10 years later it started gaining traction and now it’s bigger than ever, especially since the sequel is out.  It was fun to hear all the behind the scenes stories about filming and special effects and magic.

All That was Lori Beth, Danny and Kel.  Amanda was supposed to be reuniting with them but unfortunately had to cancel last minute due to illness and it sounds like she’s not in a great place right now so I’m definitely wishing her the best with her mental health so maybe she can come next year! After the three came out and were chatting for a bit, Kel said he had something he wanted to do for us and yelled “HEY YO KENAN!” and Kenan ended up joining them!  Lori Beth was absolutely hilarious and their stories about skits and doing the voices of some of the more iconic characters really took me back.  Kel also said how he feels bad that he may have gotten kids hooked on Orange Soda and says there’s now orange soda with probiotics and electrolytes and he loooooves that now.  Lori Beth was hating on Danny’s mustache and ended up shaving it off mid panel with a razor that she had tucked in her bra!  You never know what’s going to happen at 90s con…

Next up was Full House which was Candace, Andrea, Dave and Jodie.   I feel like they talked a lot about the same stuff as they did last year.  Dave ended up being impressed with the ASL interpreters and kept making fart noises to see what they would end up doing to sign them as so now I know the variations of ASL for fart… Everyone keeps asking me about the interaction between Jodie and Candace – they didn’t sit near each other but they did interact and talk to/with each other during the panel so I can’t confirm or deny if any beef has been squashed or what’s going on there.

After Full House was the costume contest so I left to try and find food.  I probably should have stayed because Chris Kirkpatrick ended up being a judge and the concession stand I went to was out of food other than salads and vegan wraps.  I ended up getting the wrap as I needed to eat something and got back in line for the Saved By The Bell panel.

For Saved by the Bell it was Mario, Elizabeth and Mark Paul.  They also talked a lot about behind the scenes and gave a lot of kudos and credit to Dustin Diamond for being such an amazing actor and not really caring what anyone else thought.  They talked a bit about their first kisses, behind the scenes stories and when they all first met, what they’re up to these days, etc.  It did seem a bit awkward at times and Mario almost seemed like he didn’t even want to be there but it was nice to see 3 of them as last con I went to it was only Mark Paul on the panel by himself. (Elizabeth had been slated to come but had to cancel.)

Then I was freeeee to roam the floor. I ended up trying to see Jeff Timmons but he wasn’t around, but was able to knock out Sabrina’s Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, then went for a witchy trifecta with Thora Birch and by the time we did all that, Jeff was back.  OF COURSE as we are chatting, MMMBop starts playing and I tried not to react at all.  Jeff ended up telling me 98* would be touring in the fall and should be coming to CT in September so that was good to know! (I am kind of hoping the date he said he thought it might be isn’t accurate though as it’s pretty close to 90s Con Tampa which I am debating going to!)  After that, Joey’s VIP line had no one in it so I mean, of course I had to go see him again.  He ended up saying he loved MY shirt this time and I was glad he got the reference (Chuckie from Rugrats) because no one else seemed to. (And just after we left a line a couple girls came up to me and said “Your shirt, we know we know it, but can’t think of it…” And once I said “Chuckie from Rugrats” they were like “ohhh yeah!”)  We ended up leaving a bit early to hit a local restaurant before the mad dash showed up – and we played it juuuust right as the line was nearly out the door when we left!

I opted to not go to the after party and instead hang in the hotel to rest up some more.

Day 3 

My initial plan was to jump in line for Kathy Najimy ASAP and just hang there until I made it through or it was time for the 1pm Boy Bands panel.  However, she unfortunately needed to leave early due to a family emergency. So I decided once again to just do panels all morning.

First up was Sabrina The Teenage Witch – with Melissa, Caroline, Beth, Nate and Jenna.  It was absolutely hilarious, although the panel host kind of couldn’t keep them under control.  They had some absolutely wild behind the scenes stories – even one about a lion (or panther?) that got on the loose and all the different props that didn’t quite work and were trying to kill them.  They talked a bit about their favorite guest stars and even some of the mishaps with the guests on set as well.  Caroline Rhea is absolutely hilarious and I think Beth was trying to keep her in check but it was not working at all! lol

Next was Clueless.  Alicia, Stacey, Elisa and Breckin were in attendance.  The ASL interpreter caught Breckin’s eye and he ended up saying “poop” to see what would be signed and then rapped a couple of songs to see if they could keep up with them.  The interpreters absolutely could and he ended up getting up and hugging one and saying thank you.  He seemed enthralled by watching them the entire panel.   They talked a bit about Brittany Murphy and how they missed her and were sad that we can’t see what she would have been up to now and how she’d most likely be killing it because she was a great actress and singer and would have had so many opportunities. 

Then it was time for the main event – the boyband panel!  Joey and Chris from *NSYNC and Jeff from 98 Degrees.  They all were absolutely hilarious, but I figured as much with Chris and Joey there.  Poor Jeff kind of got railroaded and kept being told be was the “serious” one.  Jeff “I am not!” Chris “Watch this” *Jeff answers the question with a serious answer*  I had totally forgotten that Chris has been in a band with both Joey and Jeff too.  They talked a bit about when they first were starting out and toured together in the UK which I didn’t know much about and also that 5ive and 98* apparently had some beef.

After the panel we grabbed some food and then wandered around a little bit before it was time for all the *NSYNC photo ops to start.  Mine was the last, since I had a trio.  I was on the fence about doing a fun pose or not, but when I walked in I told the guys my plan and they all agreed to it so that was fun! It came out perfect!   Then we ended up going back to Jeff and he saw my Hanson popsocket and started saying how he really likes Hanson.  Well, I guess I *should* have reacted when MMMBop was playing the day before.  But this time 5ive was playing and when Chris came back to his table he yelled over to Jeff “They’re playing this just for you!” and Jeff started saying how they were a two hit wonder.  We also went to see Caroline Rhea, and she ended up taking a picture of my shirt because she thought it was funny!  After that everyone had seemed to start breaking down so we unfortunately missed out on The Golden Gays and a few of the other photo ops that were set up.

Then I got stuck trying to leave the parking garage – I had paid in the hotel but the machine ate the receipt. He ended up making sure I go the receipt texted to me and it was a good thing he did because they were trying to get me to pay another $45.  Once I showed the receipt they got a manager involved and all was good, but I was there for a good 5 minutes lol

Overall it was an exciting and exhausting weekend and I can’t wait to do it all again next year! 

Book Review

Book Review: Solving The Price is Right

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Solving The Price Is Right caught my eye, but I guess I should have read and comprehended the subtitle of it a little better before I dove in to read it.  “How Mathematics Can Improve Your Decisions on and off the Set of America’s Celebrated Game Show.”  I’m a software engineer – I’ve dealt with a LOOOOOT of Math in my life.  I don’t really need to be seeing graphs and percentages when I’m trying to read a book about a game show.  So unfortunately this book became my first DNF of the year.

However. If you’re looking for statistics and an in depth analysis of The Price is Right and how to make your wagers should you ever find yourself on the show – and you’re ready, sooo soo ready for tons and tons of math – GO FOR IT and read this book.  It just wasn’t the right match for me but I am sure there are more statistically minded people out there who would absolutely love this one.

I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

The Price is Right is television’s longest-running game show. Since its inception in 1956, contestants have won cars, tropical vacations, diamond jewelry, even a live horse, and the hosts’ excited catchphrase “come on down!” has become part of our everyday vernacular. Part of the program’s enduring appeal is the apparent ease of the game, guessing the cash value of certain prizes. But, if that’s the case, then why do so many contestants come away from the show empty-handed?

Solving The Price is Right is an in-depth exploration of the underlying probability theory of the popular television program that explores how biases and behavioral pitfalls limit our ability to successfully apply logic and math both on and off the show. With rigorous data and analysis compiled from Seasons 47 and 48 (356 total episodes), investor and math practitioner Justin L. Bergner draws strategic and mathematical insights from all facets of the show, from Contestant’s Row bidding to the Showcase Showdown, and all 77 Pricing Games, using a combination of game theory, probability theory, statistics, and pattern recognition. In each section, Bergner summarizes contestant performance, highlights the biases leading to sub-par outcomes, and shows how outcomes can be improved by executing the right strategies while avoiding cognitive biases.

Throughout, Bergner applies the lessons learned to the fields of business, finance, and our real lives, shedding light on themes of reverse psychology, strategic patience, and the importance of establishing what is sufficient for success in our pursuits. The result is a truly unique and meticulously researched book that uses Solving The Price is Right as a lens to examine our own choices – and how to make better ones.

Justin L. Bergner graduated cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics with a specific focus on Game Theory and Probability Theory. Since receiving an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, he has served as an Equity Investment Analyst and Portfolio Manager. He maintains the popular mathematics blog www.popculturemath.com.

Concert John Mayer

John Mayer @ The Prudential Center

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“It’s been a long night in New York City… it’s been a long night in Newark too…”

Saturday night John Mayer kicked off his SOLO tour at The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.  I am not sure I realized I was going to the kick off show when I first bought tickets, but even once I did realize it was going to be the opening night I still didn’t realize just how special it would be.

I had never been to the Prudential Center before. I ended up buying an accessible ticket and parking in the garage that had a bridge to the center (for a whopping $51).  I was pleasantly surprised that once I got inside I was almost at my section! I couldn’t have planned that better if I had tried.

JP Saxe opened the show, I didn’t think I knew anything about him, but then he sang “If the World Was Ending” and I did know that song.  He seemed to like the F-word but otherwise was a nice 30 minute or so set.

As soon as the lights dimmed for John, pretty much everyone was up on their feet.  When he kicked off the show with Slow Dancing in a Burning Room I knew this setlist was going to be pretty bananas, and that it absolutely was.  There were a handful of songs I hoped/thought he would play and I think he hit almost all of them.  I’ll be curious to see how the setlists changes (or not) as the tour progresses.  He had also said that the setlist was just a suggestion and at any time a sign could knock him into a different song entirely.  It seemed like he only ended up adding one song from the printed setlist – Split Screen Sadness.  All I Wans Is To Be With You was on the setlist but was skipped.

“There’s no tour in my entire life I thought about more than this one. There’s not been more times in my life that I have been on this stage in my mind than this one. I have been here before a thousand times. Half of those times it was a BUST.  But I forgot about the fact that you’d be here in your own loving and incredibly enthusiastic way and now I realize that everything’s ok” he said after finishing Queen of California and it seemed to take him a few songs to shake off those first show doing something completely new nerves.  He also mentioned he had talked to his pal Andy Cohen that morning, as he does every morning, and Andy assured him that we knew what we were getting into when we bought the tickets – that it would be him SOLO and that’s what we were expecting.

My favorite part had to be when he played a video of him from 2002 before Room For Squares was taking off and then did Neon and Why Georgia.  He also talked a bit about how he’s not really nostalgic for his songs/work that he’s done (and acknowledged that we are) and that he may not feel the same way as he did when he wrote some of the songs, but the songs are a reminder that at one point he did feel that way.  After he did the ‘deep cut’ Home Life, I’m not sure if he thought it went over very well, because he teased a bit of “On Broadway” and said it was a trick to make people who didn’t dig it forget all about it and defer the applause…  He also started Wonderland – to massive cheers – and then asked if the song was stupid.  But said he was going to sing it sincerely.  Has he not been all these years?!

He played the piano for a few songs – a bit of New Light, You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me and Changing.  At the end of Changing he ended up looping the piano and playing the electric guitar over it and it was pretty amazing. He said it was some of the craziest shit he’s done. He also said he had made a rule that he wouldn’t loop the guitar this tour – but he didn’t say he couldn’t loop  the piano.  He also said he was allowed to break the rule – which he did end up breaking before the show was over.

There was a new song Driftin’ – in the set.  Online chatter seems to be that everyone loves it but I wasn’t that into it.  Of course, maybe hearing it a few more times will change my mind as I’m always a little iffy about new songs the first time I hear them.  He also talked a bit about Why You No Love Me and how he wasn’t going to play that because he didn’t think it worked and wouldn’t it be funny if he DID play it. But he’s not playing it.

When he left at the end of the main set I was hoping he’d do an encore.  The entire place went NUTS.  I’ve never been one to get goosebumps, but I absolutely had them.  I hope John felt it too because he seemed very unsure how him solo was going to go over. And it went over amazingly well.  I’m so glad I’m getting to see another show on this tour in a couple of weeks.

I do kind of wish that the venues were a bit more intimate for this type of show – but the ticket sales and demand seemed to be so crazy he probably did need the larger venues.  I also feel like I cheated listening back to the recording to write this… but if it’s out there might as well use all the resources I can, right?

John Mayer Setlist Prudential Center, Newark, NJ, USA 2023, Solo Acoustic

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