DellWorld 2015 kickoff party

DellWorld 2015 kickoff party

Bathed in a blue hue of light, DellWorld 2015 officially kicked off Tuesday night with a big party in the Austin Convention Center.

At the event, Dell brought in a variety of artists to entertain the crowd including a sketch artist. She drew people’s portraits on a tablet computer and then printed them out.

Another artist cut silhouettes out of black paper and then mounted them on a white background for guests.

A woman gets her picture taken in front of a beer can creation at DellWorld

A woman gets her picture taken in front of a beer can creation at DellWorld

Dell also brought in “The Bumbys,” performance artists who provide “a fair and honest appraisal of a person’s appearance” using nothing but their typewriter and their wit. They had one of the longest lines.

And throughout the cavernous convention center hall, Dell had various Austin-only food trucks supplying pizza, burgers, tacos, grilled cheese, Amy’s ice cream and Hey Cupcakes and plenty of beer and wine.

But the main attraction was Grammy Award Winning Singer, Songwriter and Guitarist John Mayer, who started performing at 8 p.m. Mayer did an acoustic solo performance with his various guitars and a harmonica. Yet he rocked the house playing many of his well-known songs such as Daughters, My Stupid Mouth, Your Body is a Wonderland, Neon and Waiting on the World to Change as well bantering with the audience throughout his set.

In 2000, Mayer said he was playing at Stubbs at South by Southwest when he got approached by a record label that wanted to sign him. The talent agent said he wanted to sign “the blind guy,” according to Mayer. He’s made a point of looking up at the audience since then. But he still likes to play with his eyes closed.

When Mayer played “Your Body is a Wonderland” he said he’s matured quite a bit from the 21-year-old boy living in a dorm room. He loved the song at 21, hated it at 31 and now he’s comfortable with it again at 38, Mayer said.

At the end of the song, Mayer said it went pretty well. It was a song sung by a guy with lower back pain, a 401 K and shin splints.

But Mayer, who wore blue jeans and a white t-shirt and olive colored jacket and an elegant watch, didn’t look like a middle-aged rocker with ailments. As one of the most talented guitar players alive today, he played with passion and experience.

His last song, “Waiting on the World to Change” is the one he has received the most flack from people on, he said. Perhaps, it’s because it’s upbeat, he said. A lot of people have told him that he shouldn’t wait for the world to change; he should go out and change it. And with his music, he has.