Vincent Mah's Blog

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

John Mayer Live in Los Angeles ( Where the light is )

I know i am supposed to post something on the cajon i built for vics but.. yeah.. haha.. kinda incomplete for now. The front tapa isn't working out nicely as i didnt get the size right. So, i'll owe that for now and review to you the JM's latest DVD.

Where the light is
John Mayer Live in Los Angeles

This DVD features John Mayer's Where the light is concert but not entirely just like any other guitar concert video. It's more, japanese in a way. The classy frontcover tells it all that this is not just about the concert, it reads "a film by danny clinch".

The video starts with John speaking about his ideas and stuff on Mulholland drive, opposite Hollywood. It's a great view and especially classy when you play a mixture of blues and jazz on that hill top with the big Hollywood signboard away in a distance and small moving vehicles down the hill. Of coz, here you'll see his famous "two-rock" amps. These are really really expensive amps that is suppose to be the main element for John's tone. What's Badcat, Fender and other stuff when Two-Rock is in house! hehe.

So the concert consist of 3 parts. The acoustic set, trio and the full band.

In the acoustic set, you'll see how amazing John is on the acoustic guitar. Largely due to his berklee teacher, Tomo Fujita, his playing style is definitely another class from acoustic master Tommy Emmanuel. I can honestly tell you, the stuff he is doing requires alot of thinking and the technique is a mixture of funk and folk!

In the trio set, John showcased his ability to rock like the late Jimmi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The playing style here changed from the funky acoustic to deep heavy blues stuff with emotions loaded. If you are generally a pop listener, you might just find this part abit too heavy to digest. But hey, if you've never watched a SRV or Jimmi Hendrix video then this is good to start your repetoir with.

Lastly, the full band set. This is by far my favourite section actually. I'm like you, lazy to digest complicated stuff at times. haha. The full band gives this perfect John Mayer sound you hear in the album Continuum. The nord's hammond sound, the slow reverbed drumset, the deep smooth bass plus John's voice. It all match up perfect.

I remember when i watch JM during his "Any Given Thursday" era, his expression is simply unacceptable and sometimes does leaves me question on why is this guy famous. I might be shallow back then but i'm pretty sure he himself don't quite like what he saw in the videos. His way of expressing changed alot in this DVD, for the better.

This DVD, he also speaks alot on paparazzi. I believe he is one of the top news creator in the states now. But according to a certain guitar magazine, he isn't quite as known in UK. So anyway, you'll see his hatred for paparazzi, there is even a song on it. haha.

Overall i rate this video 4/5 :)

I Like :
-the way the film is made
-the songs played for the concert
-the quality of the video overall
-the techniques John presented

I Dislike :
-the cheap way of packaging(hard paper cover instead of plastic jewel case)
-the booklet with little images, i'm an image craze


"Vincent's 2 years plan has officially started unknowingly!" Useful Links August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 February 2010	Tuesday, September 2, 2008 John Mayer Live in Los Angeles ( Where the light is ) I know i am supposed to post something on the cajon i built for vics but.. yeah.. haha.. kinda incomplete for now. The front tapa isn't working out nicely as i didnt get the size right. So, i'll owe that for now and review to you the JM's latest DVD. Where the light is John Mayer Live in Los Angeles This DVD features John Mayer's Where the light is concert but not entirely just like any other guitar concert video. It's more, japanese in a way. The classy frontcover tells it all that this is not just about the concert, it reads "a film by danny clinch". The video starts with John speaking about his ideas and stuff on Mulholland drive, opposite Hollywood. It's a great view and especially classy when you play a mixture of blues and jazz on that hill top with the big Hollywood signboard away in a distance and small moving vehicles down the hill. Of coz, here you'll see his famous "two-rock" amps. These are really really expensive amps that is suppose to be the main element for John's tone. What's Badcat, Fender and other stuff when Two-Rock is in house! hehe. So the concert consist of 3 parts. The acoustic set, trio and the full band. In the acoustic set, you'll see how amazing John is on the acoustic guitar. Largely due to his berklee teacher, Tomo Fujita, his playing style is definitely another class from acoustic master Tommy Emmanuel. I can honestly tell you, the stuff he is doing requires alot of thinking and the technique is a mixture of funk and folk! In the trio set, John showcased his ability to rock like the late Jimmi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The playing style here changed from the funky acoustic to deep heavy blues stuff with emotions loaded. If you are generally a pop listener, you might just find this part abit too heavy to digest. But hey, if you've never watched a SRV or Jimmi Hendrix video then this is good to start your repetoir with. Lastly, the full band set. This is by far my favourite section actually. I'm like you, lazy to digest complicated stuff at times. haha. The full band gives this perfect John Mayer sound you hear in the album Continuum. The nord's hammond sound, the slow reverbed drumset, the deep smooth bass plus John's voice. It all match up perfect. I remember when i watch JM during his "Any Given Thursday" era, his expression is simply unacceptable and sometimes does leaves me question on why is this guy famous. I might be shallow back then but i'm pretty sure he himself don't quite like what he saw in the videos. His way of expressing changed alot in this DVD, for the better. This DVD, he also speaks alot on paparazzi. I believe he is one of the top news creator in the states now. But according to a certain guitar magazine, he isn't quite as known in UK. So anyway, you'll see his hatred for paparazzi, there is even a song on it. haha. Overall i rate this video 4/5 :) I Like : -the way the film is made -the songs played for the concert -the quality of the video overall -the techniques John presented I Dislike : -the cheap way of packaging(hard paper cover instead of plastic jewel case) -the booklet with little images, i'm an image craze 11:41 PM · 0 comments.