80/30

Once again, Mr. Mayer zigs when I think he's going to zag. Check it out:



(photo ruthlessly ganked from Perez.)


Apparently, the thing to do amongst celebrities nowadays is to have a huge, red-carpet, corporate-sponsored Event Birthday Party. However, I think JM did this one his own way- and here's my reasoning:

1. If you search for photos of this party, there are about six "red carpet" photos out there right now, and two of them are of Conan O'Brien. There aren't any other celebrities who appeared to do the red carpet thing, besides JM, his dad, and Conan. Very unusual for a "celebrity party" - there's usually a spate of who's who, along with red carpet interview clips and whatnot. Nothing of the sort here, and that's really quite refreshing.

2. Yes, he's got the whole "sponsored by Blackberry" thing happening...but he also shared this huge thing with his dad, who turned 80 years old two days before JM turned 30.

3. Rather than doing the stuntastic thing at Stereo or Butter, the event was held at the Rainbow Room- the epitome of four-star class and timeless elegance. Totally old-school New York style. Black tie. Big band orchestra. Freakin' Tony Bennett serenaded Mr. Mayer. E! had about 15 seconds of footage on the "Sightings" part of E! news tonight, and the best shot was of John and Mr. Mayer blowing out the candles on their cake, with John's two brothers standing behind them, applauding.

4. Look closely at that backdrop: all it has is an "80/30" logo (emblematic of their respective ages) and the "Blackberry" logo. No "JM," no pictures, no nothing- you'd probably assume it was just another corporate event if you didn't know better.

5. The Rainbow Room is on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and hence pretty easy to secure. I'm sure it was chosen not only for its elegance and sophistication, but also for its privacy. JM is a very private person when it comes to his family, and this event is as public as I've ever seen him with them.

He didn't have to do all that for his dad, but the point is that even though, on first blush, he's got the whole Hollywood thing happening, my perception is that he used his star power to do something incredibly memorable and beautiful for his family and his dad.

As if I needed one more reason to adore this man...