Without a doubt, John Mayer is, and has been for a number of
years, my favourite musician, so to say I was excited to attend his The Search
For Everything Tour would be an understatement. I’d first seen him perform in
2014, and three years later, I was back for round two.
I was attending the second night of his London gigs at the
O2 which had sold out shortly after release, prompting him to add another
London date for the previous evening. The night kicked off with Swedish
singer-songwriter Andreas Moe, who I was excited to see as he’d also opened for
John Mayer on the European leg of his World Tour in 2014. Moe started with his
most successful song Ocean which I
recognised from the last time I had seen him perform, which brought back
pleasant memories.
Like Mayer, Moe is a talented guitarist, and this showed in
the guitar solos he performed during Frozen
River and Free Fall. It’s clear
Mayer has been a big influence on Moe, as he recalled listening to one of
Mayer’s songs for hours on repeat before finally finding it in a record store
and starting his dream of one day performing on the same stage as John. I
particularly enjoyed Bus Stop, a new
song where the beat of the bass drum pounded right through your heart. Moe’s
songs to me seem like ‘road trip songs’ – the kind you can imagine listening to
as you roll down highways – think Family of the Year’s Hero. He finished his set with Calling
Out and This Year, before taking
a bow to the happy crowd to mark his final show on The Search For Everything
Tour.
Forty-five minutes later, the arena lights dimmed and the
stage screened welcomed to the crowd to The Search For Everything Tour. Mayer
didn’t make a grand entrance as many artists I’d seen perform on this stage
often do, instead simply walking on stage with his band, guitar in hand. The
entire show was very minimalistic, with a simple set using only the screen
behind him. He doesn’t rely on gimmicks, pyrotechnics or choreography, because
his incredible vocals and guitar skills do all the talking for him.
The screen behind him introduces ‘Chapter One – Full Band’
and we hear the opening chords of Waiting
On The World To Change. One benefit of John’s music is that each song is so
different it’s often easy to tell which song is coming up as soon as you hear the
first few notes. The show included a mix of tracks from both Mayer’s latest
album The Search For Everything as
well as old favourites, and Chapter One mixed new songs like Helpless and Moving On And Getting Over with older songs like No Such Thing. This Chapter ended with Changing, complete with a heart-rending
guitar solo that reminded the crowd that John rightly deserves his position as
one of the best commercial guitar players out there.
The lights dimmed for a moment as the set was changed and we
were welcomed into a completely different atmosphere for ‘Chapter Two –
Acoustic’. The band had left the stage along with their instruments, and all
that remained was John and a Japanese bridge in the middle of the stage,
accompanied with a stunning Japan-inspired backdrop complete with Mount Fuji
and sakura trees galore. I must say, the visual displays used during the
concert were almost cinematic in style and completely stunning, sometimes
projecting images of John on stage and at other times showing night time city
skylines, the inside of a ‘Fight Club ending’ style building or soft
Californian sunsets.
The crowd cheered as John began to play the recognisable
beginning of Dreaming With A Broken Heart
before subtly flowing into Walt
Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1967. This acoustic section was enjoyable
because absolutely nothing more was needed to enthuse the 20,000 strong crowd
than just John and his guitars (which he changed more often that you could
count). Again, it became clear just how talented John is on the guitar as he
extended songs to include highly impressive guitar solos, his face contorting
with passion and making it look like man and guitar really were one. After Stop This Train, John also showed off
his harmonica skills during Whiskey Whiskey
and Neon and it was hard to draw
your eyes away from his fingers picking at the guitar strings facing than our
eyes could focus.
The set went dark again but was swiftly replaced with an
introductory video for ‘Chapter Three – John Mayer Trio’ where John, bass
player Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan explained their decision for
including the jazz / blues trio as part of this tour. They presented a very
different sound to the previous chapter, going full-on rock during Crossroads and Good Love Is On Its Way with Steve going all out during drum
instrumentals, and John allowing his falsetto to shine during Vultures. I’m more of a fan of John’s
‘vibey’ tracks so this was probably the part of the show where I was less
engaged (although still very engaged) but appreciated the variety that the show
set-up allowed for.
‘Chapter Four – Full Band’ saw a return of all band members
who we were introduced to one by one, with John explaining that each were good
enough to play an entire gig on their own, and yet they chose to play with him
instead. This was highlighted when guitarist David Ryan Harris took over the
mic to sing the opening lines to one of John’s tracks, and automatically had my
money for any solo gigs he’d like to do in future. Again, the set transported
us to another visually stunning destination, this time the inside of a
candlelit barn as John played In The
Blood, one of my favourite lyric driven songs with honest lyrics like ‘How
much of my mother has my mother left in me? / How much of my love will be
insane to some degree? / And what about this feeling that I’m never good enough
/ Will it wash out in the water or is it always in the blood?’ Unlike many pop
artists, John’s lyrics tend to have more substance which, along with the vibey
style and incredible guitar skills, are what make him stand out to me.
The barn was replaced with dancing pandas for Still Feel Like Your Man where John put
us all to shame by reaching high notes that we can only dream of. Whilst not
replicating the dance moves seen in the music video for this song, John
endearingly shuffled around the stage which was certainly something that kept
me smiling throughout the concert. The tone was turned down a notch as he began
to play Slow Dancing In A Burning Room,
one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard which I think would be a
perfect wedding song, in spite of its subject matter! This section finished
with Dear Marie, a song John is
particularly proud of given it, and album Paradise
Valley’s, different style to his previous work.
The band exited the stage but the crowd kept singing parts
of Dear Marie and so they soon returned
for encore performances of Edge of Desire
and Gravity, during which phone
lights began swaying around the arena. The band left again and the set changed
to a single piano towards the front and a plain white background. Alone for the
final time on stage during ‘Chapter Five – Epilogue’, John played piano-led
versions of I Will Be Found and You’re Gonna Live Forever In Me before
disappearing through a door in the middle of the screen. The credits began to
roll on the screen as we were told ‘The End’, just in case any of us were hoping
for ‘Chapter Six’. I certainly was.
John played for a little over two hours, so I think we
certainly felt that we were getting what we paid for. My only qualm would be
that the set list changes every night, and I found myself almost wishing I’d
gone on the previous night instead when John played a number of my favourites
including Daughters, Free Falling, and Why Georgia. However, the fact that the set changes every night is
testament to John and his bands skill in performing a complete anthology of
songs. If I had it my way, I’d have gone to every night of The Search For
Everything.
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