John Mayer is part of a wonderland country
Mayer put on a killer show on the first of two nights at the Forum. "You're allowed to ironically celebrate your past," John Mayer told a sold-out crowd of around 18,000 at the iconic Inglewood, California.
By Dimitris (Bari) Polyzois
He brought in what is arguably his biggest hit, the college anthem "Your Body is a Wonderland." That said, the statement could easily apply to the whole of the first of his two Los Angeles shows. Not that there's anything wrong with putting your past on emotional, even display. And Mayer, though he's got an arsenal of hits, has no new music to play.
The show's aesthetic drew heavily from his 2018 single "New Light." The video was an ode to '90s fashion and technology. CD and floppy disk graphics, kaleidoscope patterns and Microsoft Windows '98 clip art images accompanied the artist. The fan-packed arena had huge age diversity. From groups of dads to college girls and kids.
Mayer was wearing a vintage raincoat
The night was built around simplicity and intimacy. That was clear right away when John Mayer, a virtuoso guitarist as well as a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter, opened with big hits. Like the dreamy "Love on the Weekend," "Who Says," "I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)" and "In the Blood."
Mayer was wearing a vintage raincoat and refused to take it off, sweating more with every song. The singer didn't do two sets with a 20-minute intermission. That was the format he'd gotten used to touring with Dead and Company these past three years. The production also dimmed the stage lights after each song. This gave the set the kind of effect you'd expect from a theatrical performance.
Mayer doesn't quite fit the crooner category, nor the troubadour one, even though he's often described that way. In his Dead & Co. performances, he dedicated his vocals to the songs rather than to the stage. Similarly, Mayer told the crowd: "I try to talk as little as possible, so we can play as many songs as we can."
That proved tricky in the second half, as he introduced "Body is a Wonderland" saying he'd been in love with the song for a few years now. It reminded him of an innocence that would never come back.
John Mayer also talked about the magic of California. He described it as a natural place. He couldn't imagine California without Tom Petty, he said, and led the crowd through a one-of-a-kind ode to Petty in LA, "Free Fallin'."
In 2008, Mayer played a show at what was then the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles (now Microsoft). The show still echoes thanks to the live recording of his song "In Your Atmosphere." During it, he vows never to return to Los Angeles, afraid of running into an old flame. That flame echoed in the sound of yet another doomed relationship in "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room."
His killer band – including David Ryan Harris on guitar, Pino Palladino on bass and Tiffany Palmer on backing vocals – threw their full weight into it. A riff going for almost five minutes as Mayer poured sweat and clutched at his chest, while the crowd cheered on.
His vintage raincoat might be ironic, but his appreciation was sincere.
