That just happened.

So remember that second to last post about attempting to sneak a peak of John Mayer and freaking out when I could hear Daughters from outside of the coliseum ?

Well.

Things got serious, ya'll.

So I was real ready to do intense studying, probably about 5 hours worth of reading. A real snazzy / "famous" scholar is coming to my 9:05am Renaissance Lit class tomorrow, and we're supposed to be ready for him. I pull into a spot in the garage next to the library, am about to turn off the car when I heard the WXRY DJ announce that John Mayer is letting students in to a free concert; you just have to pick up a ticket at the Russell House.

He fails to mention that there is a limit to how many tickets they are distributing. Anyway, so I grab my purse and get out of my car, start walking real fast to the Russell House, see these other kids walking really fast, at which point all of us break into a RUN down the stairs of the parking garage. We get there, and there was a HUGE line and everyone was saying they had run out of tickets. So we're all bummed out, but I'm thinking, "John Mayer doesn't just give out semi-private concerts everyday," so I get my little butt over to the coliseum anyway, so I can maybe hear him from outside. I brought my bag with my books in preparation for a night of sitting in the cold just to listen. As it turns out, about 200 other people without tickets decided to do the same thing (I feel real bad for those poor girls who bought tickets for $30-60 dollars off of people who didn't actually want to go that badly). So my same friends who I ran with to the Russell House are in line and we decide we're just not going to give up so easily.

After they let everyone with tickets in (and it seems like a small amount of people), we were left waiting, but the guard kept saying "just wait a minute," and we started getting hopeful. AND THEN we got let IN. The security guys were scaring the bejeezus out of us, saying if we were "out of order" for a second that we were going to be kicked out. So 150 college aged students were standing in a line, waiting to go into the actual coliseum, and shushing each other, terrified that we were going to get kicked out. They were real daggum serious about turning off cellphones - absolutely no photography or recording was allowed because ya'll, NO ONE has seen this tour yet. We were the FIRST EVER people to see the Battle Studies tour.

It was amazing. I really wish that he had played one of his Jimi Hendrix covers, Bold As Love or The Wind Cries Mary, because they are my absolute favorites, but no such luck (there's still next Monday!!!). However, John Mayer is down right hilarious. Like, almost pee in your pants hilarious. Kind of crude, but, so quick witted that you just kind of forgive him because oh yeah - he just let you into his "secret" rehearsal.

He kept screaming "GAME!" so the crowd (all USC students) would reply "COCKS!", and I know he just got the biggest kick out of that. Who wouldn't? You just say one word and then 300 people scream "cocks." Ohhh the power. One of my favorite moments was when he started going on and on about how his clothes smelled funny - he was talking about how sometimes you put your clothes in the washing machine and you feel so proud of yourself for having started your laundry, but then you come back a week or two later to do laundry again and you remember your clothes are there. So then they come out of the dryer and they smell "sour and putrid," like "the smell of self-dissappointment" because of your lack of responsibility. Oh it was great. Someone offered that he should take his shirt off. I was okay with that- it would have solved his problem. Alas, that was a no go. He later had this sheer screen up around him while he played a song, and they had a video projected onto the screen. He asked us if it felt like we could still "connect", or if it was like a "stage condom." Bahahaha. When most of everyone yelled that they liked it (I did not), he said, "well it must have been sheepskin because sh*t got through." And then I died a little because I couldn't handle it. The man is ridiculous, but I love him for it.

After so many years of anticipation, and after reading certain Rolling Stone interviews, I started to get worried that the magic might not be there when it came time to finally see him in person, after 8 years of dreaming about it. I wasn't disappointed in the least. In fact, I felt all warm inside and just so grateful that he let us in and wasn't a jerk at all. On Storytellers, he talks about how he wakes up every morning and wishes that he was quiet and could control his mouth, but he fails every single day. I know that feeling. That is me every single day. I regret so much of the crap I say, but it just comes out. And then I get worried that if you don't know what is really going on in my heart that you might think that I'm arrogant or prideful or something, when really that isn't what is going on. So I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt, that he is cursed with communication (a phrase I've used before!), and despite him having a way with words, so many times they fail to actually convey what he means. Story. of. my. life.

So after tonight, I have nothing but an immense gratitude for and a certain understanding of this guy. I think his heart is broken; I think he's cursed with honesty; I think he is doing his best to be sincere through his pain. He is so amazingly talented, and what he shared with us tonight will be a memory that will last forever (unfortunately only in my head & heart since there was no recording...). I absolutely CANNOT WAIT until Monday (our tickets should be waaayyy closer) to experience that all again.