click to enlarge Photo by Judie Vegh
John Mayer at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on March 25
If you missed John Mayer’s solo show Saturday night at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and are hoping I’ll tell you not to worry, that you didn’t miss much, stop reading now because you’re about to hate me (or yourself).
I’ve seen Mayer play several times across a handful of eras (Deadhead John donning the funky kimonos and headscarves, the I-live-in-Montana-now John in the big hat and drug rug, to name just a couple). This stripped-down, mainly acoustic show featuring t-shirt and jeans John blows his past Northeast Ohio performances out of the water.
He was the most at ease, confident, and playful as I’ve ever seen him. There was also a contagious peace about Mayer’s stage presence that I wish I could bottle (and sell at the merch tables).
Why a totally solo show now? Mayer’s tour announcement pointed out that he began his career with “only a guitar and a microphone,” so he felt it in his heart to do another solo run now, over two decades later.
Maybe it’s a cool flex before dropping a new album — no muss, no fuss, just vibes. Or maybe it's just easier to hit 19 stops across the country without an entire band that can test positive for COVID-19 at any point, throwing the whole thing off.
This would make sense since Mayer’s drummer tested positive last year before a Madison Square Garden show during his “Sob Rock” tour. Thankfully, Questlove swooped in and saved the show, given just an hour’s notice.
At any rate, Mayer will wrap up this solo moment by mid-April in Los Angles before hitting the road with Dead & Co. for the final time beginning in May (which he’s done to great acclaim for nearly a decade now).
Cleveland’s show opened with Joy Oladokum, whose first name is incredibly fitting. Aside from being wickedly talented, she was funny and sweet, laughing at her own jokes every few minutes. “I have a deep obsession with white guys who can play the guitar,” she said about Mayer.
She also shared moving stories between songs about being a Black queer person from a small town. The crowd took to her quickly, and by the end of her set, the audience's warm response moved Oladokum to tears.
Some die-hards already know Mayer may take up to a few songs to fully loosen up during his concerts, with some nerves visible though his impeccable playing.
At the start of this show, however, Mayer strolled out on stage comfortably, jumping right into “Gravity.” When he finished, he laughed and told his packed house that it was the first time he’s ever opened with that song, and we bought it.
That’s the special thing about this whole show, actually — he made nearly 20,000 people feel like they’re old high school friends gathered around his living room. He often pulled the curtain back a bit and told stories that felt a little personal.
He also tossed in a couple of early 2000s clips of a baby-faced Mayer promoting his earliest work — creating a wholesome juxtaposition of a boy just beginning and a grown-ass man who seems pretty satisfied with himself.
Speaking of satisfaction, this is clearly a tour for the fans. Moments after finishing certain songs, Mayer reminded me of a great mom on Christmas morning, giving you every gift you wanted, even the ones she swore you weren’t getting.
Yes, this means we got the often-skipped “Your Body is a Wonderland,” his cover of Beyonce’s “XO,” and “Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967,” a beloved deep cut.
He also went electric a few times, played the piano — “New Light” sounded especially cool slowed down on the piano — and he pulled out his harmonica, of course.
If I had to pick one moment where everyone really lost their shit, though, it was when Mayer banged the hell out of “Edge of Desire” on an acoustic guitar to a strobing light.
He ended the night with “Stop This Train” before thanking us for giving him total freedom to play whatever he wanted (even though it was pretty much everything we all wanted too).
In a quick rant, it’s worth mentioning the annoying part of his story is that Mayer’s music has always competed against his public persona. He seems to want us to know he’s very aware of it too.
Last year, for just one example, in a SiriusXM interview with his real-life BFF Andy Cohen (the purest friendship you’ll ever see in Hollywood, by the way), Mayer referred to himself as America’s ex-boyfriend.
“I'm America's ‘I can't,’” he added.
He touches on this in “Drifting” (one of his newest songs he played and will likely land on his upcoming album), which has a line about putting “the jacket on to play the part of bad boy John.”
Honestly, tired headlines about his former flames seriously distract from what can only be described as stellar musicianship. If you were at the show, you know.
Coming soon: Cleveland Scene Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting Cleveland stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter