mayer knows best

must retro live act: mayer hawthorne and the country at mercury lounge. the last time i saw mayer he was was behind the tables and only graced us with a short vocal set. i've always liked him more behind the tables than behind a mic, but my mind was changed after tonight's performance. he was charming and cheeky. he even presented a rose to a female admirer while crooning "when i said goodbye". throughout the night, he continued to ask, "do you feel the love new york?" mayer, when you are around we are always feeling the love.

he had the crowd eating from his hand, from requests to throw "L's" in the air for "love is alright" to orders to dance to "your easy lovin' ain't pleasin' nothin'". he threw in a nice cover of e.l.o.'s mr. blue sky into "one track mind" too.

the setlist to the best of my recollection (i tried to get one, but the boys have it memorized)

maybe so, maybe no
just ain't gonna work out
on track mind
green eyed love
your easy lovin' ain't pleasin' nothin'
i wish it would rain
when i said goodbye
the ills (encore)
love is alright

he did a similar set for kcrw


i broke down and got a strange arrangement on vinyl. i got the extra special, limited edition bonus 4-inch.