#albquerque

On Tuesday night, John Mayer & His Band brought The Search for Everything Tour to Isleta Amphitheater in Albuquerque, NM to kick off his summer tour.

Mayer & Company opened with the fun and Stones like “Helpless” from his 7th LP, “The Search for Everything.”  Up next was “Belief” from his fan favorite LP “Continuum.” One of my favorites from the night was “Heaver Things,” “Clarity.” I think it’s one of the ultimate summer songs, it’s airy and light and carefree. Larry killed it on the keys! Props to Larry who I just saw w/James Taylor on Wednesday night in Nashville, doing double duty, I like it! I know many of us want Mayer to expand his set list, but after seeing Larry w/JT, I realized he has so much music he has to learn, if Mayer has to do repeats, I’m okay w/that. You have seven members of this band who have to remember as much as Mayer. So I’m hoping with that Mayer can at least expand his acoustic set, which I’ll get into in a minute. 

“Moving on and Getting Over made an appearance. Mayer saw a sign in “bubble font” that said “Please sign my yearbook.” Mayer said he wished people had asked to sign his. “He’s turning pages, James Blunt is saved for page 24,” Mayer joked as he signed the fan’s yearbook. Turns out, after seeing a pic of it on Twitter, his senior quote was a Mayer lyrics. “Why Georgia,” a fan favorite from “Room for Squares” launched everyone into a sing along.

Next up was the Trio, which was the third set on the winter tour, so I thought that was interesting. The Trio kicked things off with a nitty-gritty cover of “Crossroads” then played Hendrix’s “Wait Until Tomorrow.” I’m still waiting to hear “Bold As Love,” John.  A rocking “Vultures” closed out the Trio set. I love watching Steve and Pino jam.

The solo acoustic was next, not featuring the red bridge and Japanese background Mayer had on the winter tour. This was replaced with wooded scenery and camp fire ashes flying in the background, true definition of summer. He was center w/his acoustic guitar. I saw Steve Jordan off to the side and knew he was going to sing “Daughters.” I was really surprised by all the people singing the hits, it seemed like the crowd didn’t know the new album. Opening night in Albany back in March everyone sang along to the new songs and I was amazed b/c the album wasn’t out yet. I was excited to finally hear “Emoji of a Wave.” Then of course, “Free Fallin’” was next w/DRH on vocals/guitar. Another sing along, but Mayer, you’re not Tom Petty, and I’d like original material in this slot. If people want to hear “Free Fallin’” go see Tom Petty or watch “Where The Light Is.” The Full Band came out again. It had started raining and someone yelled “Covered in Rain” which would have been perfect, Mayer thought the request was for “November Rain” then said “Did someone say ‘Queen of California?’” “Who Says” and “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room” were some more fan favorites. “In the Blood” is my favorite song off “The Search for Everything” and I was so happy to finally hear it live. My 100th show shout out was mentioned before Mayer launched into “Dear Marie” and all I could think about was “I hope he pays this in Sao Paulo.” Isaiah had a beautiful solo in it and I thought he shined on it.

The encore was probably one of my favorites ever. The screen was a wooded campfire scene and the chairs were all out in a circle and the band came out and they played “Stop This Train” and a beautiful acoustic version of “Edge of Desire.” Larry even played an accordion. Mayer took this opportunity to introduce the band during this little segment. I have to say that’s probably one of my favorite versions of “Edge of Desire.” As soon as I saw the setup it brought back memories to the 2004 Tampa, FL show when Mayer and Band w/Maroon 5 played Guns and Roses “Patience.” A beautiful lively version of “Gravity” closed the show.