Concert Review: John Mayer – Spark Arena March 23, 2019

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John Mayer and a phenomenal supporting band gave an intimate two-hour performance at Spark Arena on Saturday, showcasing both his songwriting history, and how far he has come as a man and a musician.

This year will mark the 20th anniversary of Mayer’s debut album, Inside Wants Out, and his Spark Arena concert last night made two potentially disastrous choices: performing a set covering the span of his career, and abandoning the need for an opening act.

The result could have gone either way but, with the support of an incredible band and a highly engaged audience, he somehow managed to balance the acoustic nostalgia of his early albums with the wholesome-but-gritty blues rock of his recent work. At times it was a little cheesy, and a little clap-your-hands-and-sing-along, but at others it felt like a live Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, and Santana hybrid. Ultimately, it was Mayer at his most earnest and impressive.

An opening rendition of How Great Thou Art, in English by Mayer and Te Reo Māori by a Māori choir, preceded a performance of a Haka which echoed through the stadium, soon followed by the undeniably catchy Heartbreak Warfare and his acoustic debut single, No Such Thing.

The supporting band playing with Mayer – including Isaiah Sharkey and David Ryan Harris on guitar – displayed wonderful chemistry and synchronicity, creating a steady flow of wailing, echoed guitar solos through Waitin’ On The Day, Changing, Queen of California, and Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, the last of which opened with a vocally powerful performance of The Beautiful Ones by Harris.

Deeper, heartbreak-blues riffs came through on In The Blood – the first of a few slow-sway, crowd-clapping numbers – and Helpless, while the first four songs of Mayer’s second set following intermission were almost exclusively solo, acoustic numbers. The first, XO, saw Mayer on an empty stage with his eyes closed and a harmonica, while Daughters, Emoji of a Wave, and In Your Atmosphere were a somewhat nostalgic reminder of the John Mayer we all knew 10-plus years ago.

When the rest of the band returned to the stage, however, we were reminded of how far Mayer and his musical talent has come from those early days, with If I Ever Get Around To Living mixing Mayer’s personal pre-song reflections on his life with a near-endless, howling guitar solo. Although the concert closed with the upbeat, disco-funk encore of Still Feel Like Your Man, it was the song two previous, Gravity, that made the night truly unforgettable.

With almost an entire arena of fans swaying their smartphone lights in place of traditional lighters, Gravity gave the crowd the phenomenal voice of support singer Tiffany Palmer, an intensely beautiful and dirty-blues solo finale, and a climactic burst of lights, drums, and guitar.

“This is the first time I think I’m standing on stage with all my mind and soul,” Mayer said to the crowd toward the end of his set – and last night he delivered an inarguably memorable catalogue of soul, blues, funk, and rock to his Auckland fans.

Oxford Lamoureaux

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Veronica McLaughlin:

John Mayer Set List:
How Great Thou Art (English + Te Reo Māori)
Haka
Heartbreak Warfare
No Such Thing
Who Says
Waiting On the Day
Something Like Olivia
In the Blood
Changing
New Light
Blues Run The Game (Simon & Garfunkel) / Queen of California
XO (acoustic)
Daughters (acoustic)
Emoji of a Wave (acoustic)
In Your Atmosphere (acoustic)
Helpless
Paper Doll
Love On The Weekend
I Guess I Just Feel Like
Rosie
The Beautiful Ones (Prince) / Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
If I Ever Get Around To Living
Gravity

Encore:
Heart Of Life
Still Feel Like Your Man

Oxford Lamoureaux
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