John Mayer in San Jose - Show #24!

Seeing more than one show on a tour definitely has it's advantages. The first time around, you don't really know what's coming, so if you're an obsessive photo and video taker like me, you miss some of those "epic moments" at show number one.

The next show gives you a chance at a do-over to catch the epicness. The only rub with John (and most other interesting live artists) is while a batch of the songs are in the same place on the set list every time, there are always surprises. That means you've gotta stay on your toes, because you may have ADDITIONAL epic moments to capture.

Let's just say I've never managed to PERFECTLY document any John Mayer show I've attended, so I keep going in the hopes of actually pulling it off one day. In the worst case scenario, I get to carry around a ton of epic moments, even if they're only in my memory.

I took the day off after show #23 and flew to San Jose for #24, my second and last stop this tour. Because I am EXACTLY the kind of person that will fly into and out of a city in one 24 hour period just to see a show. Life is for living, peeps. And I scored much better seats for this show...in the 12th row, to be exact.


(Check out the view from MY seats!)

I also managed to arrive early enough to catch all of the opening set, and I was glad I did.

Michael Franti's set was full terrific energy, very little stage banter, and virtually no break between songs! He pulls people up on stage. He even got off the stage and danced out with the crowd. This guy is the energizer bunny of performers..and he does it all barefoot!




(NONE of these people are actually IN the band...)

The entire band just exuded energy! And his co-lead singer girl rocked the house.



If that jacket doesn't just squeal positive vibes, I don't know what does.

My advice - don't judge Franti by his one mega-hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and get out to a live show and find this guy if you need a hit of happiness.

Now on to John. The hardest part of writing this blog was picking which photos to use, so I also decided to include a link to my Facebook album if you want to see them all. I think I shot something in the neighborhood of 188 (yes, the view from row 12 was that great), although I didn't post them all. And this link works even if you're not on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160091&id=787837661&l=4bdde1c056



The set list was about 75% the same as the Staples show, although a few songs were in slightly different position. The stuff that was new is in BOLD.

Full Band
Heartbreak Warfare
No Such Thing
Bigger Than My Body
I Don't Trust Myself With Loving You
Perfectly Lonely
Assassin

Acoustic
Blues Run The Game
Stop This Train
Ain't No Sunshine
Wanna Take You Higher
Waiting On The World To Change
Vultures
Half of My Heart/Dreams
Gravity

Encore
Who says
Why Georgia

My big video successes of the night included capturing all 8 1/2 minutes of "Assassin," another off-the-hook Steve Jordan drum solo, and John's white boy dance leading into "Wanna Take You Higher."

And then there were the great photo captures...



David Ryan Harris and the back-up ladies got did a beautiful vocal intro on "I Don't Trust Myself..." David just owns that song, and it suits his voice so well.



At one point on "Stop This Train," John stopped playing guitar completely and just sang the bridge a capella. I thought my heart was going to stop. It's absolutely the best I've ever heard him sing.



John brought Michael Franti on stage for a glorious little bit of beat boxing, leading into "Waiting On The World To Change."



And a little private moment between John and the left side of the audience is always nice.





Sadly, this is my last show for a bit. But somehow, I have a feeling John is gonna turn up "In My Atmosphere" before too long. I can't wait to see what epicness Show #25 will bring!