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Joined: 25 Sep 2005 Posts: 979 Location: safe in my frame.

John Mayer Trio tears up Tempe Music Festival

By Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out
April 2, 2006

John Mayer, we hardly knew ye.

After building his reputation as a pop idol singer/songwriter earlier in the decade, Mayer has completely made himself over - starting with his Trio's 2005 live disc "Try!" - as a blues/rock guitar hero of prodigious chops and a gritty, soulful vocalist.

Backed by studio legends Steve Jordan on drums and bassist Pino Palladino(who also performed with Jeff Beck, the night before), Mayer and his band seem intent on channeling the great power trios of the past, such as Cream and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, and Mayer proves himself to be more than capable of fleshing out the sparse sound with his blistering guitar work.

Kicking off with "Everyday I Have the Blues," Mayer, dressed casually in jeans, sneakers and a black T-shirt, put his Fender Stratocaster through its paces, whipping up a melange of fingerstyle blues a la the late great Howlin' Wolf's guitarist Hubert Sumlin, and coaxing out muscular riffs and tones that evoked Stratocaster masters Vaughan, Eric Clapton and Robin Thrower.

Highlights of the set included a new song, "Waiting on the World to Change," from the John Mayer Trio's forthcoming disc slated for a summer release, the
Framptonesque pop of "Good Love is on the Way" and the barnburning blues of "Who Did You Think I Was."

While fans hoping that Mayer would bust out his breakthrough pop hit "Your Body is a Wonderland" might have been disappointed by the omission, the
cheers from the large crowd told Mayer all was forgiven as he wrapped up his impressive set with his Grammy winning "Daughters" and the heavy rocker "Try."

This year's two-day festival at Tempe Beach Park featured a variety of alternative rock acts and, due to Scottsdale-based Fender celebrating its 60th anniversary as a leading guitar company, a bevy of guitar greats were on hand, most notably Jeff Beck and Eric Johnson on Friday night, with John Mayer and his trio closing the event the next day.

Found :http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=62350

Joined: 28 Sep 2005 Posts: 72 Location: Cardiff, Wales

Sounds like it was a great show! Wish I could have been there!

Thanks for posting Happy

Joined: 25 Sep 2005 Posts: 979 Location: safe in my frame.