I took this weekend off. Intentionally, I planned to "retreat" for a lot of reasons. I needed some space, I needed to rest, and I needed to spend some QT searching out some issues. I am glad I did it, and I learned and experienced a lot. All to be shared in this week's blogs. Stay tuned.
I spent Friday night with a long lost friend. It was electric (and acoustic). This happens every time. I forget how much I love it. And all over again I am surprised and excited; my socks are knocked off all over again.
I can not get enough of John. When I heard his talking voice and saw his face, I literally had the feeling of "There is my friend." It was so incredible. Ben Folds opened....blah, who cares. The opening opener was a guy by the name Brett Dennen. HE was a great John opener. Totally mellow and folks-y. Check him out: http://www.brettdennen.com/cd/somuchmore.html
The show was perfect. The seats were perfect. The weather was perfect. The crowd was perfect (HUGE....but perfect). It was aesthetically riveting; that was my favorite part... what it did to my senses. The sound was unmatched. And yeah, there were the Jumbo-trons, but what sent the visual stimulation over the top were the John-trons rigged up on stage (see picture).
The show was a perfectly unbalanced hybrid of the brand new and the delightfully old. He opened with a wonderful surprise of Neon followed by "oh I know how this is gonna go." And a perfectly John-like riff opening up to Belief. Next was No Such Thing, and this is when I started to really feel it. See, I joke around about how No Such Thing is my most UNfavorite song and how I could really do without it. I don't understand why that has been his most popular song. My attitude is always, "oh. THAT song."But when he started singing, and hee-haw leg started groovin', I heard something exquisitely comfortable. See, No Such Thing is regular; its normal- but its taken for granted. Its like the way Danny's laundry smells. It is incredibly comfortable and familiar, but it is just who John is.
Next was I Don't Trust Myself With Loving You. It was blissfully ballad-y and I was able to plop down on my blanket and sing along. After that was a fantabulous set of Waiting & Why Georgia. He introduced Dreaming With A Broken Heart with a schpill (I must say....there was not enough of that throughout the show). He explained what it was like to have these kinds of dreams, and just before playing the first chord says, "They are the dreams that make better the bad things." Delightful.
During Ray Charles' I Don't Need No Doctor, I chatted with a friend I haven't seen in a while. It was great, even in his slightly inebriated state. We ogled over John and made predictions for the encore. The one and only Heavier Things ditty was Bigger Than My Body, followed in an appropriate bluesiness by Vultures and a Gravity closing.
The encore was... exquisite. Many of you have heard me say that all I want is to put a bar stool in the corner of my bedroom and let John sing me to sleep. The encore was John on a bar stool with an acoustic guitar (He made good on his promise)!! He started with Slow Dancing, which in an acoustic form just might be my absolute favorite (I KNOW!). There aren't words to describe how terrific it is....that's why its a song. Next was Wonderland and while I chilled out, just listening to John sing, I thought "THIS is what it would be like to have John in my bedroom, lulling me to sleep. Except without all these people singing along." The ending was a great surprise....da da da da!!..... I'm Gonna Find Another You. I had to laugh at his Simpson reference when he sang, "If I'm forced to find another I hope she looks like you, (and instead of the REAL lyrics of "and I hope she's nicer too.")...yeah, I just hope she looks like you." Ha.
John is funny to me because usually more than once during a show he follows up a song by saying, "thank you thank you thank you." Really?! Really, John? It's my pleasure.
It was the most absolutely perfect way to start a weekend. If you ever find yourself in need of making me happy.....just take me to where John is.
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