John Mayer Gig - Royal Albert Hall

Nice one Denis, thanks.

Thanks for that, Iam actually not working that eve so will book some tickets, have been waiting a while for him to come to the UK

Heard Mayer (and Ben Folds) a couple of weeks ago ... fantastic, both bands!

All best,
Fred

If like me you didn't get tickets for Mon 17 Sept, then good news is here

SECOND ROYAL ALBERT HALL SHOW ADDED ON SEPTEMBER 18.

Due to popular demand, a second show at London's Royal Albert Hall has been added on September 18.
The Local-83 presale will begin on Friday, July 27 at 1 PM BST (8 AM EDT.
Tickets will be available to the public on Friday, August 3 at 1 PM BST (8 AM EDT.

Denis

If the UK dates have the same band currently touring the US, a fella named Robbie McIntosh is playing "second" guitar behind John - I believe he is from the homeland.

You will enjoy JM live and expect to be stunned by the quality of live sound his engineer gets, apparently everywhere.

Jeff A

Denis,

Were there any to sell last time? We got through pretty early and no joy.

Steve

Steve,

I didn't try for the 17 Sept date as I am seeing David Sylvian @ RFH that night. I phoned RAH today and they are not on sale yet. I would phone RAH every day next week in case the tickets are released before the KM site advise. It looks like the scheduled date though is Fri 3 Aug. I have just registered for RAH events as my backup plan.

Jeff,

Good news about Robbie McIntosh as he appears with JM on The Village Sessions 6 song Acoustic CD. I prefer these versions to the Studio Continuum release.

Denis

quote:

Originally posted by DenisA:
KM site advise.

Should be "JM site advice"

Denis

quote:

Originally posted by DenisA:
Jeff,
Good news about Robbie McIntosh as he appears with JM on The Village Sessions 6 song Acoustic CD. I prefer these versions to the Studio Continuum release.
Denis

Apparently, he played with some guy known as Maca

I love the Viiage Sessions, but it has been a little while, I shall re-visit that today, thanks.

Jeff A

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Anderson:

quote:

Originally posted by DenisA:
Jeff,
Good news about Robbie McIntosh as he appears with JM on The Village Sessions 6 song Acoustic CD. I prefer these versions to the Studio Continuum release.
Denis

Apparently, he played with some guy known as Maca

Not just with Paul, but with The Pretenders as well.

quote:

I love the Viiage Sessions, but it has been a little while, I shall re-visit that today, thanks.

Jeff A

I like The Village Sessions, but to me Continuum is just about perfection as far as the ensemble arrangements, production, and performances of these songs. Always the right touch, never too much. I prefer these versions ... The Village Sessions sounds a little too bare, lacking color.

All best,
Fred

Tickets Update:

It looks like the 2nd gig will be on sale tomorrow here. I will start my application from 9AM just in case they are availabe before 1PM as indicated above.

Fred,

I have listened to Continuum again and agree with you that the arrangements & performance are 1st class. It's the production that seems to have removed spontaneity and atmosphere. That's what seems to be missing compared to Village, which I beleive was recorded 'Live'. It's all personal preferences of course and does not detract from John being one the best guitar/songwriters Iv'e heard in a long time.

Yours in Music

Denis

Steve S1,

Just booked my ticket on-line for Tue 18 Sept - Stalls Row J.

Good Luck

Denis

Denis,

Thanks for that, just got in - Circle Q6.

Steve

Guys, don't get me started on Robbie McIntosh - he's one of my heroes. Add Talk Talk, Rod Stewart, Tori Amos, Roger Daltrey, Tears for Fears, Daryl Hall, Eric Bibb, Kirsty MacColl, Thea Gilmore, etc. etc. to the list of artists he's supported. Terrific solo albums as well.

PS - John Mayer's no slouch either. :-)

quote:

I like The Village Sessions, but to me Continuum is just about perfection as far as the ensemble arrangements, production, and performances of these songs. Always the right touch, never too much. I prefer these versions ... The Village Sessions sounds a little too bare, lacking color.

All best,
Fred

Having now got "The Village Sessions", I'm with Jeff I think they are better versions (or should that be, even better ).

"Village" is so much better as a recording too. Continuum could, and perhaps should, have been a much better recording than it is.

Anyone got the earlier Live double? If so, what's the verdict?

Steve

Actually, DenisA gets credit for the "prefer" comment, though I often enjoy acoustic versions more than full production numbers - in this case, I am split as I love the acoustic versions but feel that Continuum is about as well-produced as a recording can be (I credit Steve Jordan, an artist of consumate taste). I think of it more as "fully realized" than over-produced.

Regarding the "Live double" comment, there are actually two - "On Any Given Thursday" on both double-disc and dvd, and "As/Is", a double-disc "limited" release (still available on Amazon the last time I looked) which is highlights of the summer 2004 tour with a band very similar to the current lineup. AGT is the more polished, but also includes more of the earlier "lighter" pop side as it is from around 2002 (but the version of Covered In Rain is spellbinding). AS was the first time I could have seen the Trio and Continuum coming. At times very bluesy but with the fuller sized band. A terrific Marvin Gaye cover with DJ Logic on disc 2. AS is lower fidelity but still much better than a typical bootleg, as these are "official" recordings probably by JM sound crew.

My real love for JM came with AGT and has grown from there.

Jeff A

for something from the current US tour, authorized amatuer bootlegs don't get much better than this:

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=508764

quote:

Originally posted by Steve S1:

Continuum could, and perhaps should, have been a much better recording than it is.

How so, Steve?

All best,
Fred

The CD mastering of Continuum is a bit hairy, IMHO. Not as bad as the new McCartney album, though...

quote:

Originally posted by fred simon:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve S1:

Continuum could, and perhaps should, have been a much better recording than it is.

How so, Steve?

All best,
Fred

Hi Fred,

Given how well recorded RFS and "Village Sessions" are, it mystifies me as to why Continuum didn't get the same attention.

The music deserves it. I have US copies of all of them and Continuum is bright and compressed compared to the other two.

Steve

quote:

Originally posted by Steve
Given how well recorded RFS and "Village Sessions" are, it mystifies me as to why Continuum didn't get the same attention.
Steve

Conceding the fact your system would be substantially more revealing than mine, I, for one, will take the opportunity to listen to the three recordings in sequence, ie: RFS followed by TVS followed by Continuum.

via hard disk > Cary Audio CAI-1 > Beyerdynamic DT770.

I love all of them, so consider it a labor of love on a quiet Sunday morning (5:30 am PDT).

Jeff A
p.s. as qouted from aced on another thread:
"The thing is I know intellectually that the merits or otherwise of any music does not exist from its own side, that is to say and quality or lack of quality does not exist from the side of the music or we would all experience it in the same way - but we don't do we? Some of us love something and some of hate it right? Our musical tastes say nothing about the music and everything about ourselves as individuals."

I think it might be reasonable to say we could replace "music" with "production" in the above quote and have it apply to this debate.

and the live show will be anything but bright and compressed - other than crowd size, I am jealous of y'all seeing him live (again). I passed on the show in Pdx area because of venue choice and crowd size. It was a hard decision, but I will never forget the Trio show two years ago.

Steve,

I am two songs into Continuum, after complete listenings of the other two, and I think I hear the difference you note - but, for whatever reason, it is apparently less of an issue with me and in no way diminshes my enjoyment of Continuum.

As an experiment, I switched from the Beyerdynamic to Grado 325i headphones and certainly made gains in "clarity and detail" and pace. I can still hear the "warmth and smoothness" (compression?) I heard with the Beyerdynamics with Continuuum compared to the other two releases.

If I was being CDO (similar to OCD, but in alphabetical order, as it should be) I would listen to RFS and TVS with the Beyers and C with the Grado. It is rare for me to revel in that kind of detail (notwithstanding the OCD) and don't mean to imply that you do.

I love the production of Continuum (as it stands alone) but think I can hear the differecences you note, though I am less sensitive to them.

For me the epitome of ensemble in this genre is James Taylors band, especially as realized in his live dvds (I, unfortunately, have not seen him live). At times, Steve Jordan is a part of that JT ensemble, and I was delighted when he and JM connected, I believe during the recording of Scofield's Ray Charles tribute. To have seen JM, Steve and Pino live was nothing short of a privilege for me - I was, and am, in awe of their work together.

I know you (and Fred) enjoy all these recordings, some more than, and in more ways, than others.

best regards and good listenin'

Jeff A

just the rambling musings of an old man on a Sunday morning

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Anderson:
Steve,

I am two songs into Continuum, after complete listenings of the other two, and I think I hear the difference you note - but, for whatever reason, it is apparently less of an issue with me and in no way diminshes my enjoyment of Continuum.

For me the epitome of ensemble in this genre is James Taylors band, especially as realized in his live dvds (I, unfortunately, have not seen him live). At times, Steve Jordan is a part of that JT ensemble, and I was delighted when he and JM connected, I believe during the recording of Scofield's Ray Charles tribute. To have seen JM, Steve and Pino live was nothing short of a privilege for me - I was, and am, in awe of their work together.

I know you (and Fred) enjoy all these recordings, some more than, and in more ways, than others.

best regards and good listenin'

Jeff A

just the rambling musings of an old man on a Sunday morning

Hi Jeff,

The differences between the CDs are not small, believe me. But I didn't mean to suggest it diminishes my enjoyment of it as an album - it's great.

It's frustrating when you know it could be an even better package. It doesn't spoil the content but you know it could be really well done if they bothered.

As for JT, now you are talking. That is a fantastic live double album - and one of the best recordings too.

Steve

Warning - if y'all have tickets, you may just want to skip this and wait for the real thing. Or, go ahead and whet your appetite.

If you can't go and want a taste, try 'Daughters" here: http://entimg.msn.com/i/ExperienceData/p1-6/us/x.htm?sh=MIC&ep=JohnMayer&ch=3

note - several of these tracks would not load earlier today, but "Daughters" was working and features Robbie on acoustic slide.

Enjoy

Jeff A

Well, the anticipation should be building for y'all. I believe Sicey is goin' Mon night and Steve and DenisA on Tues. Best wishes for seeing terrific shows. Report back please.

Jeff A