REVIEW: JOHN MAYER SECRET SHOW AT THE TROUBADOUR, BATTLE STUDIES OR BLUES JAM?

So at 11am I get this email on my phone saying "John Mayer Secret Show".  I immediately laugh and think to myself, "not another one of these twittered Hotel Cafe Not-so-secret shows".  Then I thought wait a minute, I wasn't on Twitter this was an email from the JM mailing list.  So I looked closer.  JM Secret show at the Troubadour TONIGHT!  wristbands available at noon at the box office.  Alright, so it's 11am and I am at church with the family in Burbank.  Troubadour is 20 min. away.  Ok so we drive over thinking there are a few things working in our favor.  1) it is Sunday about noon, most people drank way too much the previous night and haven't got up yet; 2) it wasn't Twittered 5 hours before; 3) and the details weren't real clear  for the casual reader (if you were even on the list); and 4) who is going to make the trek in the middle of the day to get tickets/wristbands for the limited 250 spots anyways?  We rolled up to a line of less than 20, got right up and gotter done. 
         Looking forward to a show of mostly new material as it was billed a "Battle Studies" show, we joined all the usual suspects.  Apparently Sony BMG was recording and filming the show for possible later release, which prompted a strict policy of no recording, no cameras, and no video. If you happen to hear a 7 year old girl yell out "John, You Rock!" in the middle of the set that would be my daughter Emma, the youngest fan in attendance. 
         As great as the show was - I particularly enjoyed the 13 minute version of Gravity and my favorite Who Did You Think I Was - it was lacking in new music.  John, during Gravity, banters a bit about having 1.9 million twitter followers yet it is impossible for 1.9 million to truly have your back.  A number he liked better was 12.  The crowd laughed.  He then stated, " Having 1.9 million twitter followers is NOTHING compared to the 12 that truly have your back."  There is a lot of truth to that despite the fantasy of having that many people interested in your tweets.  Wait a second, was this supposed to be a "Battle Studies" Set? Or a rockin' blues jam session? 

Here is part of what was sent: We’re excited to announce that tonight, Sunday August 9th, John Mayer will be playing a secret show at Los Angeles’s Troubadour! For the first time since getting in the studio, JM will step on stage with Steve Jordan, Pino Palladino and Ian McLagan to perform new tracks from Battle Studies.

If you came looking for the new stuff, as it was billed, you might have left a bit disappointed or underwhelmed.  Anti-climactic with respect for the more serious fans looking for the latest material, a great set for the casual fan despite the bait-and-switch.  Either way it was definitely a great show and to see these guys in that small of a venue is amazing in and of itself.

Oak so here was the set list:

Vultures
Wait 'Til Tomorrow (Hendrix Cover)
Come When I Call
Crossroads (Clapton Cover)
Never Say Never
Aint No Sunshine (Bill Withers Cover)
Turn The Lights Down Low (Bob Marley Cover)
Perfectly Lonely (Lyrics finished in the greenroom/bathroom prior to the set) Battle Studies?
Gravity
What You Gonna Do About It
———————————————————
(Encore)
Who Says
California Dreamin' (Mamas and Papas Cover)
Who Did You Think I Was


 

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