December 8, 2007. It was raining in Los Angeles—which, honestly, is usually a disaster for traffic—but nobody inside the brand-new Nokia Theatre cared. They were there for the Annual John Mayer Holiday Charity Revue. At the time, John Mayer was basically at the peak of his "Continuum" era powers. He wasn't just a pop star; he was transforming into a guitar deity right in front of our eyes.
Where the Light Is John Mayer live in Los Angeles isn't just a live album. It’s a three-act play. Most artists pick a lane and stay in it for two hours. Mayer decided to give everyone three distinct versions of himself in one night. It starts quiet. Then it gets loud and dirty with the blues. Finally, it explodes into a full-scale arena pop production.
The Acoustic Set: Just a Guy and a Martin
The show kicked off with Mayer sitting on a stool, alone. Well, mostly alone. He had his signature Martin OMJM and a couple of backing guitarists—Robbie McIntosh and David Ryan Harris—who are legends in their own right. If you’ve ever tried to learn "Neon" on guitar, you know it’s a thumb-shredding nightmare. Seeing him do it live, with that weird drop-C tuning, is still the gold standard for acoustic performance.
One of the biggest "if you know, you know" moments from this set is "In Your Atmosphere." Fans call it the "LA Song." Interestingly, he never did a studio version of it. It only exists in its best form on this recording. There’s a guy in the crowd who yells "Woooo!" right after the first harmonic. That’s actually a fan who recognized the song from early bootlegs at Eddie’s Attic. It’s those tiny, raw human moments that make this record feel alive 18 years later.
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The Trio: When Things Got Gritty
When the curtain pulled back for the second set, the vibe shifted. Hard. This was the John Mayer Trio. You had Pino Palladino on bass—arguably the coolest human to ever hold a P-Bass—and Steve Jordan on drums. This wasn't the "Your Body is a Wonderland" guy anymore. This was a power trio playing Hendrix covers and deep blues cuts.
They opened with "Everyday I Have the Blues." It was loud. It was distorted. Mayer’s soloing during "Out of My Mind" lasted over ten minutes. Think about that. Ten minutes of pure, improvisational blues in the middle of a "pop" concert. Most people don't realize that the Trio was actually a separate entity that had released their own live album, Try!, back in 2005. This set in LA was a rare reunion of that lineup, and they played like they had something to prove.
The Full Band Experience
By the time the third set started, the stage was packed. We’re talking horns, keyboards, multiple guitars, and J.J. Johnson on drums. This is where the hits happened. "Waiting on the World to Change," "Gravity," and "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room."
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The production was shot on Super 35mm film, which is why the concert film looks so cinematic and "warm" compared to the digital-looking stuff we see now. Director Danny Clinch captured the sweat and the dust in the spotlights. It felt heavy.
What Most People Get Wrong
There's a common misconception that every song played that night made it onto the CD and DVD. It didn't. Mayer actually played "No Such Thing" and "Bigger Than My Body," but they were cut from the final release. Why? Well, during "No Such Thing," John accidentally botched a lyric, singing "kings of the prom kings" instead of "dreams of the prom kings."
Also, on one track, his tech Rene Martinez brought out the wrong guitar. They started the song in the wrong key. John joked that it was "the most expensive concert blooper footage of all time." It’s a shame those didn't make the cut, but it shows how much of a perfectionist he was about the "Where the Light Is" legacy.
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The Gear and the Sound
The technical side of this recording is actually insane. They used Pro Tools to capture every single line—vocal mics, guitar lines, room mics—individually. This allowed engineers Chad Franscoviak and Ed Cherney to mix it with incredible precision later. While there’s always debate about pitch correction in live albums, the sheer musicianship on display is undeniable. His voice was in prime shape, pre-vocal cord surgery, and his phrasing on the Stratocaster was at an all-time high.
Why It Still Matters
Honestly, "Where the Light Is" is the definitive John Mayer document. It captured a moment in time before he went down the folk-rock path of Born and Raised or joined Dead & Company. It’s the bridge between the guy who wrote radio hits and the guy who wanted to be Eric Clapton.
If you're looking to really dive into this performance, don't just stream it on Spotify. Find the Blu-ray or the 4LP vinyl box set. The vinyl, specifically the 180g Bernie Grundman mastering, has a dynamic range that makes you feel like you're sitting in the sixth row.
Ready to revisit the show? Here is what you should do next:
- Watch the film, don't just listen. The visual cues between Mayer, Pino, and Steve Jordan during the Trio set explain the "pocket" better than any audio-only experience can.
- Listen for the "Wherever I Go" outro on "In Your Atmosphere." It’s the best piece of songwriting he never officially released.
- Check out the credits. Look for Robbie McIntosh’s slide work on "Daughters"—it's the secret sauce that makes that live version better than the studio one.
The light is still there. You just have to listen for it.