If we can accept that there is such a thing as a “chick flick,” a film that appeals most strongly to the female population, then there’s no reason why there can’t also be a “chick concert.”

The ideal candidate to put on one of these shows would be a tall, young, good-looking crooner who specializes in sensitive singer-songwriter material, exudes just enough sex appeal and strikes the right balance between self-effacing humor and undeniable confidence. John Mayer can check all those boxes, which is partly why the ladies love him so.

The 30-year-old idol has seemingly gone to great lengths to try and break free of the stigma that comes from being a dreamboat pop star with principally a female fan base. He went so far as to turn his back on pop music for a period, while leading his own blues-rock trio. He also established himself as a first-rate gunslinger, one who made the cover of Rolling Stone’s “New Guitar Gods” issue.

Yet, none of that has really accomplished the trick _ and for that Mayer should be thankful. His concert on Saturday night (July 26) at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View drew some 21,000 people, which ranked as the venue’s biggest turnout thus far this year, topping even what the Police, Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder drew for their respective Shoreline shows.
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John Mayer is a talented songwriter. He can also carry a tune and play a mean guitar. None of those things, arguably, is what really makes him an A-list celebrity.

It’s his extracurricular activities _ all the stuff that he does when he’s not making music _ that really keeps him in the headlines of newspapers and on the covers of supermarket tabloids.

Blame the media, if you want, for redirecting the focus away from Mayer’s sizable musical achievements and toward his high-profile relationship with “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston. Yet, please note, there has been no outcry from readers demanding a front-page review of Mayer’s new live disc, “Where the Light is.”

In 2008 _ for better or worse _ most people aren’t all that concerned with how the track “Daughters” translates in concert. What they really seem to care about is where Mayer and Brad Pitt’s ex, Aniston, had dinner in Hollywood or what Caribbean island they might choose for a vacation. That’s the kind of gossip that fuels not just mainstream media but blogs and Internet chat rooms.

Mayer is set to perform at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View on Saturday night and promoters are expecting huge numbers. Indeed, the prediction is that it will be the 22,000-capacity venue’s biggest crowd thus far in 2008, surpassing even what the Police and Stevie Wonder drew for their respective Shoreline shows.
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It’s a pretty dead weekend for live music around the Bay. The place to be this weekend, musically speaking, would be the Rothbury Festival.

That festival features such awesome acts as Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews, Phill Lesh, Modest Mouse and Medeski Martin and Wood. It also features such less-than-awesome (but still pretty good) acts as Widespread Panic, Thievery Corporation, John Mayer and Slightly Stoopid. No stinkers in the bunch, though.

If you’re like me - staying by the Bay for the Fourth - you might want to check out the video web stream of the Rothbury Festival. If you only have time to watch one artist’s set, make sure it’s Trey Anastasio’s. Trey’s a true guitar champion. Indeed, those who know music call Trey “the guitar hero equivalent of the Oakland A’s.”

Tune into the festival, July 3-6, by visiting www.iclips.net.

Amy Winehouse tried to go to the Grammys, but the government said “no no no.’’

Visa problems stopped the controversial Brit _ best known for living up to her hit single “Rehab’’ _ from actually attending the 50th Grammy Awards. Yet, nothing could stop her from having a huge night on Sunday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Winehouse nabbed the most trophies of anyone, winning five of the six categories she was nominated in, including a triumph over Oakland’s own R&B-jazz sensation Ledisi in the hotly contested Best New Artist field. Her song “Rehab’’ won for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Performance and its parent album, “Back to Black,’’ scored Best Pop Vocal Album.

Kanye West was the other big winner during “music’s biggest night,’’ an evening that some had speculated might be canceled due to the Hollywood writers’ strike. Fortunately, the writers agreed not to picket the Grammys and West was able to properly celebrate his victories. The hip-hop star aced four of the five rap categories _ Best Rap Solo Performance, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album. It could have been a clean sweep of the genre, but Rihanna and Jay-Z’s “Umbrella’’ beat out West for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

West, however, was once again shut down in the race for Album of the Year. He was the heavy favorite in that category, since he also lost Album of the Year in 2005 (for “The College Dropout’’) and 2006 (“Late Registration’’) and it was assumed voters would reward him for his continued excellence this year. Winehouse’s “Back to Black’’ was considered a strong contender as well. Instead, however, they gave it to Herbie Hancock’s “River: The Joni Letters’’ _ marking the first time in 43 years that a jazz artist won the top award.

West and Winehouse, however, did deliver two of the event’s best performances. West combined with Daft Punk to put on a visually stunning version of the Grammy-winning “Stronger,’’ during which the rapper wore a spacey suit with glow-in-the-dark sunglasses and sang amid bursts of pyrotechnics, and then followed with a touching take on “Hey Mama.’’

Winehouse performed via satellite from London and wowed the assembled masses with renditions of “You Know I’m No Good’’ and “Rehab.’’ The British singer was originally scheduled to appear live in Los Angeles, but she was apparently judged to be a risk to national security. Her visa was denied, reportedly, for her “use and abuse of narcotics.’’ It was later approved, but not in time for her to make it to L.A. for the event. (Thank goodness that our government is spending millions to keep us safe from partying rock stars and juiced-up baseball players. We can all sleep safely now.)

Other notable winners among the 110 Grammy categories included Bruce Springsteen, who nabbed three awards in the rock field, and the Foo Fighters, who scored twice, also in the rock field.

In all, it was one of most diverse nights for music in Grammy history. This year’s batch of nominations in the biggie categories _ the four “general field’’ competitions _ drew from several major genres. Most significantly, the top prize, Album of the Year, was a fight between country (Vince Gill’s “These Days’’), rock (the Foo Fighter’s “`Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace’’), pop (Winehouse’s “Back to Black’’), rap (West’s “Graduation’’) and jazz (Herbie Hancock’s “River: The Joni Letters’’).

Interesting, all five of the Album of the Year nominees won in their respective genre-specific categories (Hancock’s “River’’ won Best Contemporary Jazz Album, Gill’s “Days’’ took Best Country Album, etc.).

As delightfully diverse as the Album of the Year category was this year, it would take some time for that kind of musical variety to have an impact on the actual show. At first, it seemed like we were just watching the Alicia Keys show.

The soul singer led off the show with her own performance and then stuck around to welcome the crowd and introduce the next act, Carrie Underwood. Prince was the third star to take the stage, wearing a decidedly un-purple red suit, and he gave out the first award, for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. The recipient was _ you guessed it! _ Keys. The show was barely 10 minutes old, yet Keys had already nabbed more Grammy airtime than some major acts score during entire careers.

To her credit, Key’s Grammy opening performance was one of the show’s finest musical moments. The vocalist-pianist performed a sentimental duet with Frank Sinatra on “Learning the Blues.’’ Keys performed in person, while the Chairman of the Board was shown via skillfully edited archival video footage. That technologically-enhanced trick is a Grammy favorite _ the most memorable occurrence came back in 1992, when Nat King Cole would perform a posthumous duet with daughter Natalie on “Unforgettable’’ _ and the trick still works in 2008. (Keys wouldn’t fair quite so well later in the show when she joined with pop star John Mayer on “No One.’’)

Overall, the performances were mostly solid _ and, at times, spectacular. On a purely musical note, nothing topped the dual piano work of jazz giant Hancock and classical child prodigy Lang Lang on George Gershwin’s epic “Rhapsody in Blue.’’ What a triumphant moment _ the embrace between the two men at the end of the piece said it all. The biggest crowd pleaser, however, had to have been the pairing of Beyonce and Tina Turner early in the show.

The much ballyhooed Time reunion, marking the first time the band’s original members had performed together in 15 years, also lived up to the hype. The old-school funk group was joined by new-school R&B star Rihanna, who added her vocal talent and other charms to the mix. Also, it was a nice bit of synergy to have a woman known for the song “Umbrella’’ perform with a band known for the film “Purple Rain.’’

The Grammys’ track record with Beatles’ tributes has been, to be generous, inconsistent. There have been some great moments (such as when Dave Matthews, Vince Gill, Sting and Pharrell Williams combined forces on a rollicking version of “I Saw Her Standing There’’ in 2004) and some shoddy showings (Jay-Z, Linkin Park and Sir Paul McCartney himself demolish “Yesterday’’ in 2006). The one early in the show that featured the combined casts of Cirque Du Soleil’s “Love’’ and the film “Across the Universe’’ (both Beatles-themed artistic statements) fell somewhere right in the middle.

Bay Area music fans are spoiled.

There were grumblings to be heard once again this year about how the Bridge School Benefit lineup wasn’t that strong.

Not that strong? The 21st annual Bridge, which went down on Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 27-28) at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, featured two of pop music’s greatest songwriters (Tom Waits and event founder, Neil Young), one of the founding fathers of rock ‘n’ roll (Jerry Lee Lewis) and arguably the most important metal band of all time (Metallica).

Toss in pop heartthrob John Mayer, indie darlings Tegan and Sara, vocalist Regina Spektor and alt-country rockers My Morning Jacket and you’ve got a lineup that, by any measure, qualifies as strong.

Like I said, Bay Area music fans are spoiled _ but that’s what happens when we get used to seeing such names as Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Phish, R.E.M., Sheryl Crow, David Bowie and Dave Matthews in the Bridge lineups over the years.

On Saturday night, nearly 20,000 fans turned out to Shoreline for the annual fundraiser, which supports the Hillsborough school for students with severe learning disabilities, and were rewarded with many fine moments. There weren’t enough of those to rank this concert among the Bridge’s best _ it won’t likely be remembered as fondly as, say, 1988 (Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia), 1998 (Phish, R.E.M.) or 2004 (McCartney).

That assessment would have changed, undoubtedly, if the one big rumor swirling about this year’s Bridge had turned out to be more than just a rumor. Alas, Bruce Springsteen _ who was in the neighborhood on Thursday and Friday for shows at Oracle Arena in Oakland _ never made the party on Saturday.

The seven-hour-plus mostly acoustic fandango got underway, as it always does, with a few lesser known acts. In this case, fans were greeted by Spektor, twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin and My Morning Jacket. And, as per usual, these sets were ignored by many attendees. My Morning Jacket _ a last-minute filler in place of the all-star trio of Eddie Vedder, Flea and Jack Irons, which canceled due to a private family matter _ did the best of the lot in trying to entice fans to stay in their seats.

The party really got going once Mayer took the stage. The 30-year-old pop idol is well known for his bluesy chops on the electric guitar. Unplug his instrument, however, and he basically sounds just like Jack Johnson _ which isn’t a bad thing. For many, Mayer was the event’s biggest drawing card. Those people had to disappointed that Mayer only performed a short five-song set, highlighted by a fine cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’.’’

The rest of us, however, were ready to see the crooner leave so that we could get to the good stuff.

That’s exactly what we got once Waits took the stage with the modern instrumental combo Kronos Quartet. It wasn’t the first time that this collaboration occurred _ it also happened in 2003 during a benefit concert in New York City for actor Richard Gere’s Healing the Divide Foundation _ yet it felt like we were witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. The ensemble produced utterly spine-chilling versions of some of Waits’ finest compositions, including “Way Down in the Hole’’ and “God’s Away on Business.’’

Young, our host for the evening, hit the stage next and delivered one of his least accessible sets in Bridge history. As the man himself put it, “I’m not doing any songs you know, probably.’’ Instead, he delved into the newly released “Chrome Dreams II’’ for “The Way’’ and “Spirit Road’’ and his back catalog for lesser-known cuts like “Winterlong.’’

If the crowd didn’t know those songs, they certainly could sing along to what Lewis had in store for them. The 72-year-old early rock pioneer, who also appeared at the 2005 Bridge, had the crowd shimmying to great renditions of such golden oldies as “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’’ and “Great Balls of Fire.’’

Metallica received, and deserved, the headlining spot. What the quartet did with it, though, was questionable. The group, a veteran of the ’97 Bridge, sounded great in the semi-unplugged setting, but it neglected the hits in favor of strange covers like Garbage’s “Only Happy When It Rains.’’ That meant that those hoping to hear, say, an acoustic version of “Enter Sandman’’ went home disappointed.

Also, those wanting to see the usual all-star closer _ and perhaps watch Mayer try to trade licks with a real axe-man like Metallica’s Kirk Hammett _ also went home unfulfilled. That was a disappointment, but not enough of one to put an overall damper on what was once again a mighty enjoyable Bridge School Benefit.

Local metal legends Metallica, rock pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis and pop star John Mayer are among the acts set to play this year’s Bridge School Benefit on Oct. 27 and 28 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. The lineup for the 21st annual event, which was announced today, also includes Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, eccentric songsmith Tom Waits, indie-rock darlings Tegan & Sara, vocalist Regina Spektor and, of course, Bridge founder, Neil Young.

Tickets run, per day, $75 and $150 for reserved seating and $39.50 general admission lawn seating. They will go onsale at 10 a.m. Sunday through Ticketmaster outlets. For more information, call (415) 421-TIXS, (510) 625-TIXS, (408) 998-TIXS, (925) 685-TIXS or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

The announcement of the Bridge School lineup is always one of the most eagerly awaited dates on the local concert calendar. This year’s bill, while strong, will be very familiar to concert-goers that have regularly attended the concert over the years. With notable exceptions of Spektor and Mayer, the majority of the acts are veterans of past Bridge outings. For examples, Metallica, Waits and Lewis performed in 1997, 1999 and 2005, respectively.

It’s really not a surprise to Vedder’s name on the list. He’s been a regular participant _ both with and without Pearl Jam _ since 1992. This year, however, he is bringing something new to the party. The vocalist will be performing in an ensemble with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and journeyman drummer Jack Irons (a veteran of both Pearl Jam and the Peppers). Not to be outdone, Waits also has something new cooked up _ he’ll be performing with the avant-garde classical music ensemble Kronos Quartet.

Proceeds from the concerts will benefit San Mateo County’s Bridge School, an organization that assists students with severe learning challenges.