“Keep me where the light is. Keep us where the light is”, John sings from the depth of his soul as he comes to the close of a song which he describes as one of the most important he’s written in a long time. Very important to him, and I suspect many others who deeply appreciate his music’s eagerly anticipated direction towards its “blues” roots. He segued into “Gravity” with a reflection about his rise to success and fame –how the higher up you go the thinner the air becomes. The more you want, the more the desire for more can bring, and has brought, even better men than himself to their knees (paraphrasing his lyrics).
Most know the plain and simple principle of gravity is that “what goes up,must come down”. Its relationship between this song and John’s life expresses a beautiful poetry because the kind of “coming down” in his song seems to be okay if you land and keep where the light is.
He modestly captured the dynamics of the rise from simplicity to “having it all”, or at least, appearing to have everything within the reach of a famous person who would really just like to continue being himself in spite of his celebrity status and its trappings. He told us that nothing has changed much for him. He just has moon phases on his watch now. The remarks were rather humorous and engaging. We all probably silently thought to ourselves, there has just got to be some qualitative difference between where he began and where he now is. After all, he is currently a three (3) time Grammy winner and a multi-platinum recording artist.
For a more in depth, I recommend listening closely to “Gravity” lyrics the next time you playback the song. If a picture is worth a thousand words, this song is worth a million of them. I chose it to sum things up because he ended the first set with…before the encore. Also, it gives a pretty good window into where his head seems to be now, musically and philosophically.
There is so much more to say about the concert,John’s amazing songs and the very interesting stories he shared behind them all. It was really like listening to music in 3-D, if that makes any sense. Not only did you hear the melodies and rhythms, but also relived with him the creative dimensions of each song i.e., where it fit chronologically as well as experientially in the soundtrack of his life. It was clear. the heart of the man is, was and will most likely always be found and expressed in his music. That was priceless.
The experience at Eddie’s attic was very warm,very exuberant. This is the place to visit whenever you hit Atlanta if you want to hear music as it was meant to be listened to. You could sense the snap and crackle of joy coupled with satisfaction filling the air in anticipation of John’s performance. It was good to see Dela and John together again musically as well. The place was abuzz with good old down home southern hospitality. The owners and staff were very friendly and made you feel right at home. In fact, one of the guys sitting at my table was so excited for having run into Mayer while in line outside the men’s restroom waiting to enter. That is how very intimate and low-key the atmosphere was. John is also always so very down to earth and approachable.
The acoustics coupled with the intimacy of the environment made it a singular listening experience. The light was definitely there during the opening show, and from what I’ve gathered, from the other two nights as well. Love was definitely “in the house”. One fan shouted out boldly in between songs, “We love you John.”
John, my request, continue to sing your plea…”Keep us where the light is. Keep us where the light is”, and let your light continue to shine…
The record of this and the other two Attic shows when released in their entirety are sure to be in huge demand by those who were in attendance and those who were not. Definitely a John Mayer essential…and for many, a collector’s item to be.
Written by Cynthia Wilson, the Chaplain of Pop after attending one of John Mayer’s 2005 special concerts at Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta, Georgia . This is the venue where he got his initial shot as a musician.
