Celebrity Tennis Night Out in NYC - Serving For A Cure

Last night, I photographed an amazing event, "Serving For A Cure," a charity tennis exhibition hosted by professional tennis star James Blake. The event raised money for the late Thomas Blake, Sr., Memorial Research Fund which James established to support cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). James Blake, Andy Roddick, the Bryan brothers, Sam Querrey and American tennis "it girl" Melanie Oudin were part of a tennis exhibition match followed by a fashion show by Fila and musical performance by Wyclef Jean. John Mayer paid a visit and hung out with the players and danced with fans.

John Mayer plays "Best Show of His Life"

Gal and I went to see John Mayer at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night - and of the nearly 22,000 fans in the sold-out NYC arena, I was a minority. I was one of 10% of guys who either came to the show because they were dragged to see him by their girlfriend or wife, or like me, truly appreciate and recognize witnessing the next "Eric Clapton" in the making. Let it be known straight up, Mayer is an incredible guitarist. He also happens to craft amazing songs.

After the show, the New York Post wrote that the show at the Garden was "career-defining." He knew it too. After every other song, the crowd's screaming adoration humbled Mayer, as he thanked the audience repeatedly for the success he's had and the things he's seen at such a young age.

Alicia Keys made a surprise guest appearance on "Gravity" which closed the show and the refreshingly sparse stage faded to black. The stage was setup to focus on him and the songs, without any fancy production - much the way "Continuum" sounds - sparse, yet perfect.

The New York Post also wrote, "Call it a matter of personal pride, taste or a willingness to risk a missed note while trying to reach greatness, but Mayer's performance was made compelling by his in-the-moment passion that went well beyond being warm, he was on fire."

Here are a few pix I took of Mayer when he made a surprise guest appearance of his own with Galactic in New Orleans during Jazz Fest last year. While he was down in the big easy, he must have been inspired by the swampy blues as he brought, "I Don't Need No Doctor" to the Garden and proceeded to tear it up. It was great to see him cover such a gritty song - perfect contrast to his own polished songs. Definitely catch him next chance you get.

Here's the link to the full NY Post article.