Photo: Press
John Mayer's 2008 live album Where The Light Is is a staple in my music collection and over the years it's found an interesting range of fans. There's the OCD audiophile who usually hates live albums, those who originally dismissed him as a poor man's Eric Clapton before acknowledging his songwriting talent, and the guitarist of a rock band who loses his mind over the guitar tones. All of these variants of the John Mayer fan are present at tonight's show at London's The O2 (with the tech rock element represented by two dudes in Slayer t-shirts) and he caters for them all.
Much like 'Where The Light Is', the set is split according to style. Two full band sets bookend the acoustic and John Mayer Trio chapters, with the whole thing followed by an Epilogue. There are murmurs of expectation that he would finish on the final full band song, 'Gravity', and when he comes back for more you kinda get the feeling that John Mayer just can't let go. Interestingly, this is a theme in the last song, 'You're Gonna Live Forever in Me'.
Overall, John Mayer's choice of love songs effectively represent the theme of 'The Search For Everything' - bittersweet reminiscences over past loves ('Still Feel Like Your Man', 'Dear Marie') mixed with the uneasy optimism that he'll find a love that works ('Changing', 'Good Love Is On The Way'). If you're after cute, loved-up songs like 'Who You Love' or 'Your Body Is A Wonderland', this era is not for you. However, the mood is lightened in the acoustic set by John Mayer superimposing himself onto a hyper-real Japanese scene complete with falling cherry blossom. It's like he's taken the Meitu app one step further and it's so incredibly cheesy that we can't help but laugh. A few more moments of deadpan humour later on confirm suspicions that he knows exactly what he's doing.
On the flip side we see John Mayer's confidence in his music and professional decisions: "I come face-to-face with the music I've loved since I was a kid", he says proudly in the blues trio intro, and it's arguably the part of the set that feels the most alive. The cinematic slickness of the opening full band tracks, which makes 'Moving On' and Getting Over' feel like a La La Land outtake, is replaced with loud, raw, scuzzy sound. To see the John Mayer Blues Trio play for longer would be a joy.
The success of the chapters format is a testament to John Mayer's talent. Yet it's clear that he recognises the live show is about more than just him, and after 'Where The Light Is' it's thrilling to see Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino continuing to play alongside him. In a way, the live show feels like a chapter in itself - one that's about coming out of yourself and including other people in the music, whether it's seven people on stage or an arena of 20,000. Given such intensely personal lyrics, it's beautiful to see that balance.
