John Mayer UK Tour - October 2019

O2 Arena, London - 13/10/2019
O2 Arena, London - 14/10/2019
Manchester Arena - 18/10/2019

On his latest tour, John Mayer took the unique approach of forgoing a support act in favour of delivering two full headline sets. This is a very exciting concept that more artists seem to be embracing. A gig without an opening act allows the artist more freedom to play what they want, while pleasing fans with a more varied setlist. In Mayer’s case, with no new album to support since 2017’s The Search for Everything, the setlist possibilities were endless, adding a further sense of excitement to this tour.

With this in mind, and as a fan of Mayer’s earlier work, I attended all three UK shows with the hope of hearing more rarities from his debut album Room for Squares and its follow-up release, Heavier Things to balance out his more recent material. The first of these shows at the O2 was solid; the overall performance showcased a decent mix of Mayer’s back catalogue, though the rarities that one would have hoped for in a gig formed of two headline sets were lacking. Mayer did touch upon his early albums with songs like ‘Why Georgia’ and ‘Daughters’, though a solo acoustic version of ‘Neon’ was the evening’s highlight.

Whereas the first gig at the O2 felt a bit unadventurous, Mayer’s second night at the venue really hit its stride with further acoustic offerings from Room for Squares, including ‘3x5’ and ‘Your Body Is a Wonderland’, in addition to a nostalgic, full-band rendition of 'No Such Thing'. Furthermore, Mayer played a generous seven tracks from arguably his strongest album, 2006’s Continuum, including the irresistibly groove-infused ‘I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You)’ and an emotionally-charged ‘Stop This Train'.

The amazing setlist of that second O2 show made it a tough gig to follow, however, there was a certain energy about Mayer’s final UK date at Manchester Arena that just about made it my favourite on the tour. The musicianship seemed bolder and more spontaneous, resulting in some much welcome extended jam sessions during songs. The most noteworthy examples of this came by way of Mayer’s later catalogue; on The Search for Everything's 'Rosie', Mayer masterfully steered an already satisfying guitar solo into Michael Jackson’s 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', while 'Queen of California', from 2012's Born and Raised, featured a gloriously mounting instrumental break that further demonstrated the talent and on-stage chemistry of Mayer’s band.

The standout moment of the Manchester gig was 'Clarity', primarily as it's my all-time favourite Mayer song, but also because this live arrangement with Jamie Muhoberac’s keys section was beautiful. Sadly, 'Clarity', along with 'Daughters', were the only two tracks to appear from the Heavier Things album across all three dates. Mayer’s seeming disregard for this album was frustratingly evident given that the generous set length of this current tour had the potential for a greater focus on material that would perhaps be overlooked on the more time-restricted nature of a standard tour. With Heavier Things being the most frequently neglected album of recent past tours, its absence here felt like a missed opportunity.

Despite not delving quite as far into the back catalogue as hoped, Mayer fully triumphed in breathing new life into much of the material he did play throughout all three gigs. While it was great to hear some of the yearned-for rarities, I also gained new appreciation for songs I’ve heard countless times at previous shows – songs like 'Slow Dancing in a Burning Room' and 'Gravity' flourished due to fresh arrangements, innovative guitar solos and general impressive musicianship from Mayer and his band.