Video: John Mayer Frolics on Maiden Voyage of "Mayercraft Carrier"

The first-ever Mayercraft Cruise Carrier sailed from Miami, FL to Freeport, Bahamas this past weekend, bringing with it John Mayer, his handpicked roster of singer-songwriters and a few thousand enthusiastic fans (ranging from the single twenty-somethings to families and aspiring Mayer clones). Despite recently shutting down his official blog due to being "done & dusted & self conscious & back to work," Mayer took every chance he could to show off for his fellow passengers during the three day cruise.

On Sunday morning, Mayer opted to don a Borat bathing suit and take a short jog around the upper level of the Carnival Victory's Lido Deck — much to the joint amusement and horror of the crowd of about fifty catching mid-morning rays.

The rest of the weekend's top five Mayer moments included:

• Sunday afternoon's acoustic set on the Lido deck: after admitting he had been drinking earlier in the day, Mayer took a bathroom break midway through the forty-five minute set and returned for a medley of "Sucker," "Love Soon," and "Man on the Side" — three older tracks that hadn't been seen on set lists for quite some time.
• Sunday's fan club Q&A session: between Borat and the acoustic performance, Mayer took time to answer questions from a few hundred fan club members, shedding light on some of his inspirations, his mother's influence on him and offering an impression of the vocal similarities between Janis Joplin and AC/DC's Brian Johnson.
• A surprise solo from Mayer during Colbie Caillat's Saturday night set, for which Mayer came on stage dancing before joining Caillat on "Battle."
• Mayer's headlining sets Friday and Sunday: since the largest performance space on the boat could only fit one half of the audience at a time, the headlining gigs were split into two sessions. For each, Mayer and his seven-piece backing band put on a two hour set consisting both of setlist rarities and standards, all of which had a fresh energy thanks to some time off the road over the last few months.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

More Song Stories entries »

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