Let me just preface this with this PSA:
There were no instances of "bro rape" at last night's concert in the vicinity of the venue.
OK, let's begin.
My GF and I went to see John Mayer in concert at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin last night. I must say, he puts on a fantastic show. Concerts really expose how an artist sounds "raw" with no studio mixing tomfoolery to cover up lack of talent. John Mayer delivered.
The concert was a little on the short side from what I'm used to; about 3 and a half hours from start to finish, including the opening act (Spearhead). It was a Monday, and I did need to get to work today, so that wasn't too big of a deal. If it were a Friday or Saturday, I would have felt a little jipped. The venue was OK. I used to watch basketball games there when I was going to UT (I also graduated there), and it works well for that, but it's a little tight and seating-focused for a concert, although, I am used to shows in smaller venues with no seating at all, so YMMV.
From a showmanship standpoint, it was pretty good. It had just enough effects to be entertaining for the youngsters, but it wasn't distracting for the more critical music listeners like myself (JM even mentioned during the concert that he would rather "take in" a show than "participate," so he was definitely keeping people like me in mind).
Obviously, JM is money on the guitar, but his band was solid, too. His drummer, Steve Jordan (IIRC), is a monster. The vocals were solid and "well-rested," and the back up singers were terrific. Whoever was on the mixing board was a little weaksauce, though, but I'll discuss that more in a bit.
I used to host live shows back in my radio days, which meant I got to sit on/back stage during the performance. I love my hearing, so I would always wear earplugs. Being the concert vet (and old man) that I am, I went ahead and brought the earplugs to this concert. Despite looking old (I used "natural" colored plugs, so they weren't all obvious), it really cleaned up the sound. I was suprised to find that the performance was much easier to listen to as all of the echoing was eliminated along with background crowd noise, leaving the performance very easy to hear. I think I will be bringing the plugs more often.
Along with the venue not being the best for a concert, the soundman seemed a little lazy. During the more uptempo and louder songs, the EQ was pegged. The overall sound wasn't horrible, but the bass drum would sound like bomb was exploding from time to time (ruining that nice chest reverberation in the process). The slower, quieter songs were pretty much perfect, but it seemed like the soundman mixed for the slower, quieter songs, and let everything else slide.
All in all, it was a great show, and we are going to see him again in June. This time, however, it will be in a different venue. If you get a chance to check out JM live, I would highly recommend it.
