Viva Las Vegas! Keith Urban & John Mayer @ Tiger Jam

Friday was the last class day of the academic year at my university. Although we still have final exams and grading next week, a weekend trip to Las Vegas to see a special Keith Urban/John Mayer concert was a great way to celebrate the end of the semester!

I had to get up at 4:45 am to make it to my 6:45 flight. Being a nervous sleeper I woke up at 4:30 before the alarm even went off (I’m sure hubby appreciated that). Turns out that was a good thing because Delta had emailed in the middle of the night with a 15 minute earlier flight time change! Wonder how many missed the flight because they don’t check email at the wee hours of the morning? The flight to Vegas was full to the gills; Sin City is still drawing the travelers!

Mandalay Bay was too pricey for me since they bump up rates whenever an event is scheduled (been there, done that last time Keith was here anyway), so I decided to stay at the Pyramid shaped Luxor next door (where the rate for Sunday night was only $50!). My room in the Pyramid looks out over the huge Sphinx that guards the main entrance. It is a bit disconcerting, however, to ride to my 12th floor in elevators that are also traveling sideways (to follow the 60 degree slant of the Pyramid) as they ascend - I felt off-balance even though I hadn’t been drinking. Luxor also earned my thanks with the complementary copy of the oversized Mlife with Keith’s photo on the cover and interview inside.

Vegas is in the 60’s this weekend, so some are complaining it is too cold to lounge by pools, but I think it is just perfect. I had a wonderful seafood lunch at Rick Moonan’s restaurant (one of the chefs I had seen many times on Top Chef Masters), then slept for a couple hours to get ready for a show that wouldn’t even begin until 10:30 pm Central time/8:30 Las Vegas time. I noticed Tiger Woods had taken over the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay for a private pre-show Tiger Jam party (but he forgot my invitation: ). I wonder if John and Keith attended?

A younger singer, Tyler Hilton, opened the show with a lot of energy and emotional expression in his acoustic set. Then we saw a short video of Tiger talking about his charitable foundation which helps prepare and send thousands of ‘underrepresented’ kids to college each year. Then Tiger actually came out on stage to thank us all for coming and supporting Tiger Jam and said that “Seven time Grammy Award winner John Mayer” would be out in just a few minutes. (I had wondered whether John might perform first this time around. At their concert at the Gorge John had seemed rather distraught when he slipped and said something about how great it was to have someone like Keith Urban “opening” for him. Although he immediately corrected his statement (since both Keith & John were headlining that show), I had a feeling John might “open” this year.)

Never looking quite the same, John tonight wore a fedora over his quite long hair all night, layered shirts and somewhat raggedy loose jeans. He played several songs that he identified as brand-new and just a few of his more familiar tunes. He does jam with abandon. His whole body gets into his rhythms and his whole face gets into his lyrics, so he is fun to watch. I was a bit disappointed though when he sang Gravity on his own. I do love him singing that song, but had hoped that Keith would be out to join him on that number like last time. But in fact John did not have Keith join him on any of his songs for some reason. At the very end of his approximately hour long set, John did bring out Keith and they performed Cripple Creek together (a bit of an odd song choice for the two of them, in my mind). It was a fun number, but it wouldn’t have been my pick for their first duet of the evening- especially to this Vegas crowd. Then there was a 15-20 minute break while they moved John’s equipment off stage and Keith’s equipment onstage.

It was a mixed crowd last night. No doubt there were fans of both musicians present but others may have been there primarily to support Tiger Jam and others may have just been Vegas tourists looking for a show. As a result there were some ‘standers’ and some ‘sitters’, some who sang and danced most of the night, and others that looked at us dancers a bit strangely. I was a bit appalled when I heard another woman in the bathroom saying “I think he is that guy who sings about cats and sweaters.” Harumpf.

I was surprised that the upper tier of seats was mostly empty - the Gorge show had drawn such an immense crowd to western Washington but this Vegas show did not appear to be sold out unless some folks bought tickets to support the charity and then didn’t come.

Keith has had his hair cut fairly short (for him). The front is still fairly long but the back no longer touches his collar unless he tilts his head back. It looks like the un-buttoned 3 button tee-shirt we have seen a couple times lately is going to be the shirt for this year’s shows. Of course he looks good in any kind of shirt! Tonight’s was dark blue - has that been the case each time this year?

Keith started out with a rousing (arousing?) performance of Put You in a Song. Then Better Half, which I believe he chose to get the crowd involved in one of his ‘echo rounds’ of singing “oo na na na na’s”. He was successful getting a good response from each area of the arena in turn and encouraged us along the way with “Hell yeah Vegas- sounds good!” and “Sounding pretty bloody good!” and finally cracking up the crowd with his deep baritone “oo na na’s”. He also did some nice jamming on the Better Half melody both before and after the sing-along.

Then three more songs from Get Closer (You’re Gonna Fly, Without You and Long Hot Summer. When Keith sat down on his stool for Without You he apparently got some “I love you’s” shouted from the front floor and commented “A dude just said I love you!” and, as Keith is wont to due, he said “I love you too” back to the guy. He then expanded on this “I’m in love with you brother.... What happens in Vegas.....” lol Without You was beautiful and Long Hot Summer kept the crowd clapping and dancing along.

Keith then paused and said “ I want to say a huge thank you to everybody out there tonight for coming out and being a part of this jam this year. We appreciate your support!” He then continued “ One of the most joyful things is to be able to play again with this guy - John Mayer.” So 30 minutes into Keith’s set John returned to the stage so they could play together some more. They had a great time with Sweet Thing, doing a full 3 minutes of melodic jamming after the lyrics ended. Then a seering hot Til Summer Comes Around where the 2.5 minute guitar solo (well, guitart duet I guess) had the audience screaming their approval. After that Keith garnered another round of applause with a parting “Mr. John Mayer” as John left the stage.

The seat that I got in the Monkeyville presale was pretty good - it was in the last row (row Q) of the lower risers closest to the stage, so I had a great view. I had chatted early in the evening with 2 couples next to me in Q. At one point they had walked down the stairs next to us to take some photos from a closer vantage point and then had stayed standing in that aisle when no one had chased them. It seemed some folks did not return to their seats after the break before Keith’s set (stupid people!), so eventually one of my new row Q friends came up and told me I should come down and take one of the vacated seats in the second row of the risers. So I did “Get Closer” for a few songs: ). Not only that - I was able to move to the first row when Keith came off the stage during his final song, You Look Good in my Shirt and managed to get me a little “vitamin K”, stroking his arm as he returned to stage. Normally that might not have been possible if he had returned playing his guitar, but he gave away the guitar when up in the stands, so had his arms outstetched and waving to his fans during his walk back. Some people think it is good luck to rub the belly of a statue of Buddha. I choose to consider a KU arm rub a good luck sign of a great tour to come!

Sadly, only 52 minutes after coming on stage - at 11:30 sharp - Keith and the guys were taking their final bow and the old exit song Marley’s “One Love” was playing on the speakers. I can’t believe he planned to play only 52 minutes - I think either Tyler, John or the set-up crews must have taken too long and the venue had specified an 11:30 ending time, so Keith lost out. It was a great show, but 52 minutes (9 songs) (not counting Cripple Creek) is even shorter than the Houston Rodeo performance!

As long as I had traveled all that distance, I took advantage of my remaining time in Vegas - seeing the Cirque du Soleil “O” show and visiting the restaurants of a couple more chefs I had seen on the cooking shows. I even went to a very educational museum - type ‘show’ (they call everything shows in Vegas) Bodies - fascinating displays of all are various body parts, both in glass cases and in incredible preserved cadavers. Since I teach biological psychology courses including Neuroanatomy, think I can claim this as a business trip???

Videos to come as soon as I downlod my camera....

The Glorious Keith Urban/John Mayer Gorge Show

The start of fall semester is crazy busy and overwhelming on a college campus so normally I wouldn’t consider leaving town the first weekend of the school year. But how could I not take advantage of the amazing and probably once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Keith Urban and John Mayer perform together?? And at a venue in a spectacular setting at that?? So I tried my luck at the Monkeyville presale and got an excellent 4th row seat. Having been to Seattle a number of times and knowing its frequent traffic problems, I decided to fly into Spokane on the eastern border of the state instead  - a place that I had never been. The view from the plane was fascinating - the desert-y plains of Idaho and this side of Washington having a terrain and texture that was unique, and the golden-brown faintly hilly farmfields (hay? wheat?) looking totally different than the lush green of Iowa corn and soybeans. I picked up my rental car and continued to wonder at the new-to-me landscape during the 2 hour ride towards the Gorge. Not as flat as Nebraska but similar in its miles of open land with few and far-between signs of habitation. Those fields and prairies however had periodic spooky plumes rising straight up high into the sky - I passed a few dozen. I was so wishing I had a local with me to answer all my questions about the countryside. (Later at the concert a Washington woman told me these ‘plumes’ were dust-devils - like narrow little cyclones drawing the dry dirt straight up into the air!)

I checked into my hotel in Moses Lake and had an early dinner there before driving the remaining 20 miles to the town of George. (I can’t believe how long it took for me to realize why the town was named George. Funny name for a town I thought - maybe it was a variation on “gorge”? It wasn’t until Keith called out “Good evening George, Washington that the lightbulb came on in my head. Duh!) The gates at the Gorge opened at 5:00.  I arrived not too long after that and there were already long lines of cars pouring into the parking lots. Entering the venue from these lots puts one at the top of the natural amphitheatre bowl on the edge of the Columbia River Gorge - a gorgeous and inspiring view. I dilly-dallied at the top for a while knowing that I would be unable to see the majestic scenery once I was down on the floor. When I finally did head down to my seat I found it a rather scary experience, especially with a bum knee that might go out on me at any time. Even though the paths down are paved, the hillside is so steep that I just inched my way down, holding onto the fence whenever I could. I feared that if I toppled I would roll all the way down that long path, taking out the other pedestrians like so many bowling pins. And wouldl I ever be able to climb back out of the amphitheatre bowl at the end of a long concert??

At the Gorge only the center section of floor seats is truly in front of the performance part of the stage. I was in the righthand section, so there was equipment and speakers directly in front of me. But I was only 3 seats from the center aisle and at a great angle for seeing the center microphone. Both I and the KU fan sitting next to me bemoaned the fact that the stage had been set up with no room for the performers to walk to far stage right or stage left - Keith would not have the freedom of movement that he seems to enjoy. Surprisingly there were also no venue video screens to either side, just Keith’s big screen on stage. All those folks way off to the side or way up on the hill would not be seeing much of the performers!

The Avett Brothers were an energy-packed crazy-ass band unlike any other that was definitely fun to watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CTAgBRQ6aw . After their set, as the stage was being prepared for the headliners, I saw familiar KU equipment, so figured Keith or Keith and John together would start the show. I didn’t know what to expect in terms of the organization of their set(s). I did note with interest that, behind the fence set up in front of the stage, there was a pink-edged ramp coming off stage and heading in my direction. That looked promising!!

Finally the lights went out and the familiar intro to Kiss a Girl began. When the stage lights came on Keith and the guys were in their usual spots and went through the setlist as they had all summer (KAG, DGB, SB http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctFE6A_TjNA , BH, ST, I’m In http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8WRPWmE-6A ). I was so grateful for the great view I had! Even once the night grew quite chilly, Keith kept me warm!! The acoustics and size of this amphitheatre bowl made it not ideal for most sing-alongs. Even though I’m sure the fans were singing their hearts out, their voices just seemed to disappear into the Gorge! Keith realized that early on and did not have the audience filling in lines in his songs like he usually does (some of those lines I hadn't heard HIM sing in a long time!). Naturally in WWWBM tonight “She was singing a John Mayer song to me  - Be Good to Your Daughters”.

It wasn’t until Til Summer Comes Around that Keith said that he wanted us to welcome John Mayer to stage. The 2 of them together on Til Summer (and the rest of the night) was just fantastic. John was deferential and hung in the background on this song while Keith was singing his verse and didn’t step forward until the chorus and then his second verse. His guitar playing complemented and intertwined with Keith’s, but Keith was still the star on the smoking hot solo. I think the vocal portion of the song may have been a tad slower than usual - see what you think - perhaps to allow even more nuanced plaintive guitar play. It was so fun to watch them watching each other during their musical communion!! What pair!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUp0V65ooeI 

Then a deviation from the summer set list for another song the 2 of them could rip into: Hit the Ground. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwzzoGVZNWk  Playing the intro side by side they looked like they were having lots of fun - like light and dark brothers. It was a little disconcerting to me during the evening that, with his headband, I kept getting a Keith Richards vibe from John : ). This time Keith hung back a bit to give John a little solo time. I enjoyed Keith keeping time with both feet, doing a little march-like dance toward the end of the song.

Did Keith and John do Springsteen’s I’m On Fire in the Crossroads episode? I didn’t remember it, so was surprised when Keith began his haunting rendition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNvUpDpJ9CA The row in front of me blocked my view briefly so I ended up having 2 different clips (beginning and end) of this one, on different cameras. Here is Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BNP0HZQDBg 

Then John left the stage for the time being and Keith and the guys returned to songs from the usual setlist, but minus MMOU and OYCLM. I was tickled that I had been right about the pink-edged runway just in front of me. Keith did come down it during YLGIMS and (quickly muscling past the guy between me and the aisle) I was able to grin goofily at him and give his back (or was it his backside?: ) ) a little rub. That’s been a rare opportunity at these big summer concerts.

           Even though I recognized the end of the usual summer setlist, I was surprised when Keith did his usual big finish, sing-alongs, and thank yous and the guys threw out their picks and drumsticks, almost as if the show was not going to continue. I guess this was the end of the evening for Brian, Jerry and Chris. I also didn’t expect the degree to which the crew completely emptied the stage of equipment to make room for John’s set up. I  guess every band needs their own stuff, huh?

When John came out after the break he began with such a long rocking intro with his band that I almost thought it was going to be a completely instrumental piece before he finally broke I'm On Fire.

John then said “It is an honor to be sharing the stage tonight with Keith Urban this evening. I’m having the time that I used to have at concerts when I was a teenager. I feel like a child at his first rock and roll show - there is so much great energy flowing around. Thank you Keith and thank you guys for making this a really, really, really memorable moment.”

I thoroughly enjoyed most of John’s set. He played some of my favorites and I loved his acoustic and softer numbers in particular http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxHTnmM3Pu4  (I am not quite as big on the “big-band” sounding songs). The only other time I had seen John live I had been in the top-most row of the nose-bleed seats of the big arena in St. Paul, MN and could barely see him, so being in up-close seats this time was really nice. One thing I had never realized before is the incredible number of faces that he makes as he sings and plays. Not just faces of intense concentration or funny faces like Keith may throw in occasionally. I think John’s faces are unconscious and perhaps reflections of the emotions of his songs.  But I was amazed that he has the facial plasticity of Jim Carrey and sometimes downright distorts his mouth in particular into mask-like visages. A few times he got a little verbose when talking about holding onto summer or introducing his numbers..

John did a nice merger of his song Why Georgia with his special version of Sitting on the Dock of the Bay where he incorporated “Watching Keith Urban play some crazy stuff” into the song  as well as headed for the “SeaTac Bay”. And then brought it back to  Why Georgia again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA22Q1XtX3w t After that John chatted a bit with the audience, checking in with how the people on the hill were doing, He then asked, by the way hill people, have you met the flatland people? Flatland people (on the floor) turn around and say hi to the hill people. I want us all to become one big copper wire - one big conductor of fun and funk.”

He then went on to say “ It’s hard to play guitar after a guitar player who kicks so much ass comes and kicks ass before you!! I’m going to try to find all the notes that Keith didn’t play tonight - there aren’t many of them - but I’m going to try and pick out all the nooks and crannies and make them my garden tonight.”

Having praised Keith multiple times I believe John was truly mad at himself a songs later when he mis-spoke and then immediately cussed at himself in dismay. It went something like this:

“You know I’ve got to be honest, when you’re backstage listening to the opener..”   and John immediately stopped and said “Naw fuck, oh shit” and turns to the side of the stage where Keith must have been standing, and begins carrying on this conversation with Keith: “Keith, why did I just say that??? Why does my mouth do that??? Why did I say the opener? The only reason that somebody had to go on first is because it would have sounded terrible if we went on at the same time. I think its because I was making this other point and so I go reach this other point and my mouth says don’t worry brain, I’ve got this, you go get that other point, I’ll say some shit. Keith I’m sorry!! Most of the time when someone goes on first it is not Keith Urban going on! Do I have a chance to get out of this hole or should I just play through? This will dig into my brain like a corkscrew for the rest of the night. Are you cool? I can’t tell - I can’t read you now - are you silently fuming “This motherfucker...” “  (all this time John is making I’m sorry faces and body language to Keith).

“Point being - if there is one left - was that I was listening to Keith Urban playing, the HEADLINER, and I believe his bass player played this song and so we looked at each other and said should we still do this song? It’s a little bit like watching somebody else wear the same dress to the party (hold on I need a drink). So technically this was approached musically tonight but we’re gonna do it in a different way. We’re gonna wear the same color dress. Its called Ain’t No Sunshine.”

The crowd really loved this whole exchange, so maybe it was planned, but I must say that John was quite physically expressive and he continued to look to and gesture at Keith at side-stage  (for forgiveness, approval, sameness of mind?) throughout the rest of his set.

Later on in the show John said this after thanking the audience for their enthusiastic applause: “I’ve had a career thanks to you guys for 10 years. And for 10 years I’ve been looking for a friend in this whole game. I’ve been looking for a friend. You meet people who are musicians and it is all self-consciousness. Its all people who are thinking that they shouldn’t be here. They don’t know if you are going to be here next week so they’re all defensiveness. It took me 10 years to meet someone I can finally call a true friend - the man of the night Keith Urban.” 

Once again I was thrilled by the two of them playing together - now performing a couple of John’s songs.

Perfectly Lonely http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kds3eIhpcI4 and Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kds3eIhpcI4 

They were obviously having such a good time that John said to Keith  “ What do you think - should we take this on the road across America?  And then, kind of answering himself “ You just don’t do that, man."  And then to the audience “ You guys are seeing something really special. This is the night that we decided we should just tour like this.” Meanwhile Keith is trying to respond to John’s original question and keeps repeating  “I’m available John. I’m available John!”  John finally picks up on what Keith is saying and jokes “You’re available for parties, weddings, bar mitzvahs...  And Keith says “Especially bar mitzvahs.” lol  Maybe they will play together again in the future!

Gravity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt7pkt6KZt8 ( I liked John telling Keith to “take your sweet time- take your time” with the lovely guitar solo). WOW! This song gave me chills!

 And then a surprise closing song - Dire Straits’ Money for Nothing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7EwuIMwA9k 

Keith even had fun capturing the vocal style of Dire Straits' lead singer. I know how much he thinks of that group.

What a magnificant night! I left with an Urban-Mayer glow with eveyone exclaiming how awesome a concert it had been. Happily I was rescued by the "handicapped bus" which gave me, with my end of the night limp, a lift to the topside parking lots or I may still be at the bottom of the Gorge in George!