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Written by Jennifer Manjarez Sunday, 21 July 2013 15:07

Even with a lot of his older songs missing and his vocals in question, Mayer still gave a great performance that will keep packing the venue for summers to come. 

 

Photo: Christopher Renteria

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, St. Louis

The annual John Mayer show at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre feels like the traditional summer event in St. Louis. It’s the concert of the year that you never doubt; without even thinking about it, you buy a ticket knowing it’ll be a relaxing summer night amongst the stars. As usual, Mayer did not disappoint.

Serving as this year’s opening act, Phillip Phillips, winner of American Idol 2012, held his own amongst the crowd. His Top 40 hit “Home” could be heard blaring from truck speakers in the parking lot, and fans literally stood up and took notice the moment he walked onto the stage. While the song warranted a large reaction from the crowd, so did the majority of his set list, which included an almost unidentifiable version of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” If his stage presence doesn’t make you stand up and take notice, his clever and creative covers and heavy guitar work definitely will. Live, he comes off as very personable and a natural entertainer. During his performance I couldn’t help but think how Dave Matthews-esque his sound is, as well as how awesome a performance he had just given with John Mayer still to come.

As the second stop of his North American tour, Mayer opened his set with three songs off his 2012 album Born and Raised, also the title of the tour – his forthcoming album, Paradise Valley, is due out August 13. The first official tour since his recent throat surgery, Mayer was noticeably more laid back in his performance. A lot of his set list consisted of tracks off his Born and Raised album and didn’t highlight his once stronger, falsetto sound. In fact, a large portion of the performance was courtesy of the special effects that actually took place behind him. With a large screen behind him, Mayer performed to an ever-changing array of backgrounds, beginning with a dark blue, boulder riddled nighttime backdrop to a northern lights psychedelic collage of quick changing colors. Much like Phillips, Mayer rehashed a couple songs by other artists including “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel and “Gotta Drink” by Willie Nelson.

Sporting a long headband, Mayer’s style has become a lot more organic. His music has taken a more watered-down tone as well. Even songs like ‘Who Says’ were a lot more subdued. Nevertheless, even with a lot of his older songs missing and his vocals in question, he still gave a great performance that will keep packing the venue for summers to come. | Jennifer Manjarez

Photos by Christopher Renteria