Walking through London just last weekend, it was unfortunately another typically wet and windy October day… But not for me! Because I had tickets to see John Mayer at Wembley arena! Yay!
We arrived just after doors opened, which meant we just managed to catch supporting act, Gabrielle Aplin begin her performance. Aplin did a fantastic job opening the show, with her voice being a bot of a mixture between Birdy and Ellie Goulding, she was a great accompaniment/introduction to Mayer’s own, similar acoustical and blissful style.
But when it was time for the man himself to really kick off the show, it was immediately one of those, ‘Oh –my- goodness- I- can’t- believe –it’s- actually- them’ moments. Swaggering onto the stage in acid-wash jeans, a checked shirt and scruffy white trainers, the man we had all come to see just looked effortlessly cool and, of course, very handsome.
I myself had never really heard much of Mayer’s music prior to the show and having bought the tickets as a gift for my boyfriend, I wasn’t totally sure what to expect from the performance, especially after discovering that his style and performance was more like that of Ben Howard and Jason Mraz, than it was anything like the My Chemical Romance- style gigs I had been to up until this point. But Mayer catered to his audience really well, playing a range of old and new songs, all of which varied greatly in style and proved fitting to a variety of musical tastes.
Popular classics however like, ‘Gravity’ and ‘Slow dancing in a burning room’ were definite crowd pleasers, but even his more recent, country- style hits off new album, ‘Paradise Valley’, proved just as popular, and we all found ourselves clapping and stamping our feet to many of these more up –tempo, toe-tapping tracks.
More ballad-style songs like, ‘I’m on Fire’ for example, (a Bruce Springsteen cover and particular favourite of mine) were nonetheless as equally entertaining, and made all the more gorgeous by the amazing stage design. Various ethereal landscapes were projected behind Mayer throughout the performance, and included scenes of shooting stars across a night sky and the recreation of the Northern lights- beautifully suiting to the romantic styles of so many of his songs.
Mayer’s overall hold on the crowd was particularly impressive though, and he often took the chance to prove himself as a talented musician by showing off his jaw-dropping guitar-playing skills, and entertaining us without the need for his backing singers and band.
The whole night was a great success and Mayer was humbly grateful to return to the stage and entertain fans one last time after receiving an encore.
So even if you aren’t necessarily a fan of John Mayer, I can guarantee you will be one by the end of one of his shows, and if you already are Mayer mad, then I don’t think I need to say anymore to convince you to attend, just … GO GO GO!
Michaela Jewell
