Project Description
JOHN MAYER
@ Rod Laver Arena
27/03/19
Reviewer: Kelsey Hentschel
Photographer: Lucas Packett
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It’s been five years since the legend himself John Mayer has graced us with his presence down under in Australia. Given the lengthy absence from our shores it comes to reason that the “No Frills” tour was to be bigger and better than anything we’ve experienced form the singer before, and boy did he come through for us!
The 2019 Australian tour was bound to be a special one. With the absence of an opening act, a very eager crowd poured into Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night for an epic three hour show. We were given little warning before the house lights dimmed and Mayer casually strolled up the stairs and onto the stage and into full view swiftly followed by his massive seven-piece band.
As the stage filled with moody blue lighting, John Mayer and his band and broke into the opening riff of ‘Queen Of California’. The Juxtaposition of Johns super relaxed, casual attire & attitude paired with the thousands of ecstatic fans was so wild. Mayer might be the world’s most laid-back star. Donning cream coloured cargo pants, a cut off sweater, and sneakers, Mayer was nailing the “cool dad” vibes. Mayer’s latest single, and arguably one of his best ‘I Guess I Just Feel Like’ followed, proving that this old dog still has a lot of new tricks still up his sleeve. As the band powered their way through the opening tracks, they truly set a modest foundation for the show. It is clear from the outset that John Mayer just wants to be part of the show and not the sole focus. Often stepping back behind his band mates to give them the attention they deserve.
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“Thank you for coming and good evening Melbourne” Mayer said as he graciously welcomed the screaming crowd. The singer continues to go on saying that they come out and try to build this air of mystery about them, and then it’s immediately ruined when he opens his mouth. “Hi Friends!” – he exclaims excitedly.
Leading into a slower pace of ‘Heartbreak Warfare’. It demonstrated Mayer’s diversity throughout his discography. Moving straight into ‘Waiting On The Day’ it became increasingly obvious that this crowd of thousands has been with Mayer for many years, especially being one of his lesser known works hearing so many people sing it back was lovely!
I think Melbourne really lucked out with the set. I had been keeping tabs on the set lists for the shows leading up to ours so I could gauge what to expect. Seeing the set list change every night was both nerve-wracking and exciting, what tracks were we gonna get! I was so surprised, in the best possible way, when I heard the opening riff to ‘Whiskey Whiskey Whiskey’ – my favourite John Mayer song! I was blown away that the singer managed to play massive guitar riffs without missing a note, while simultaneously playing the harmonica. That’s talent if I’ve ever seen it!
Taking us back to the beginning, Mayer played the iconic ‘No Such Thing’ complete with jaw dropping guitar solos. John wrapped up the first half of the show, with the increasingly relevant track ‘Waiting On The World To Change’. He took a brief intermission to grab some air while the crowd grabbed a drink, went to the loo, and hit up the merch stands. Returning to the stage by himself after the intermission he acoustically performed ‘In Your Atmosphere’, ‘Im On Fire’ (Springsteen Cover), ‘Daughters’, and ‘Neon’ which contained another unbelievable guitar solo from Mayer himself.
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The full band returned as Mayer introduced the next song “Im very lucky to have this song, I get to play it all around the world and dance like a schmuck! Its freeing! Im just very excited! This song still has new car smell…… Lets Dance” By this point the energy was contagious as ‘New Light’ played out. I’d have loved to see the hilarious green screen music video to the track, brought to life on the projector screens, however I was happy enough with the goofy dance moves from both the crowd and Mayer himself. It was nice to see some personality shine through. Mayer doesn’t take himself too seriously and it’s such a breath of fresh air in this industry.
Mayer is slick, effortless and certainly knows how to work a crowd. Being the social media comedian he is, I was not surprised by the hilarious interactions he had with the crowd. I will say in all my years of attending gigs, I have NEVER heard someone compare a setlist to a dessert platter. “You know when you have a plate of desserts and you have the chocolate one that’s everyone’s favourite and then that weird jelly thing that you eat first but no one really likes so you can savour the chocolate one, that’s what I’ve done with the setlist, They’re all chocolate from here on out!”.
Mayer goes on to introduce the next song by telling the story of re-discovering one of his older songs, “Well this is nice, this is very nice song, and if it’s not a vibe that’s okay it’ll be over in three minutes. But it will be a vibe. You’ll like it! Well…… You’ll hear it (laughs)”. The singer was referring to the track ‘Love Is A Verb’ off the 2012 album ‘Born & Raised’.
Crowd favourite ‘Rosie’ followed. This whole show was full of epic guitar solos but there was something about that song which was extra special. I couldn’t put my finger on it. The polished talent flowing through this man is so mesmerising to watch.
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“I wrote this song nine years ago and I had no idea that it would still be applicable, if not more so ten years later…” as he segue into ‘The Age Of Worry’. I think this has become a surprising favourite for me.
Closing up the main set with the 2006 track ‘Belief’, it wasn’t that much of a shock when the band swiftly returned to the stage for ‘Born & Raised’ and the song which Brisbane unfortunately missed out on, ‘Gravity’. It was a bittersweet goodbye. Even after a nearly 3 hour long set, We weren’t quite ready for it to be over, but maybe we never were going to be. It’s hard to pick a highlight of the night, but a track that really stood out to me was ‘Born & Raised’. The crowd and band really connected at this point. The arena was lit up from twinkling phone flashlights with people singing from the bottom of their hearts. It truly was something to behold.
This entire show was a spectacle of pure unabashed talent! Australia adored you John we just hope it’s not another five years until we see you again! Thanks for coming!
SETLIST:
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Check out LUCAS PACKETT’s gallery of this show HERE
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