John Mayer Electrifies Fans at Talking Stick Resort Arena

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John Mayer performs at Talking Stick Resort Arena on August 1, 2017 (Photo by Greg Cohen).

It’s the guitar playing.  For my money, I don’t think John Mayer gets enough credit for the qulaity of his guitar playing, which was on full display throughout the evening, but especially during the blues course (more on that below) and Slow Dancing in a Burning Room. He received plenty of compliments on his guitar playing during his recent supporting role touring with Dead & Company, but his talent and ability on guitar really stands out when he’s out front and on his own. 

John Mayer performed before a sold out crowd at Talking Stick Resort Arena on August 1 in a Live Nation produced show.  Mayer is touring in support of his album The Search of Everything, which was released in April of this year.

The concert was really well staged to show off all facets of Mayer’s talents.  He opened with a full band, went solo, performed as a trio and finished with a full band. Mayer referred to them as chapters but to me it was like a five-course tasting menu, with enough of each course to show off his talents and leave fans satiated.  

Early in the concert Mayer stated that he wanted this show to cover the favorites, but also take us down the path less trodden. Recording and performing for 17 years now, Mayer has a deep catalogue to draw from. Segmenting the show into five courses as he did gave him the opportunity to achieve that goal. 

Fan favorites included Your Body is a Wonderland; Tom Petty cover Free falling, which essentially became a sing-along; and Slow Dancing in a Burning Room (with David Ryan Harris singing Prince’s The Beautiful Ones as an intro).  Mayer used a video to introduce the third course and provide the origin story for the blues trio.  The intro was nice but unnecessary as the fans appeared just as familiar with the tracks served up during the blues course as they were with the other courses. (As an aside, I also loved the way he used lightening to great visual affect during the blues course as well).

It’s safe to say that whatever aspect of Mayer’s music a fan preferred, the five-course tasting menu Mayer served up at Talking Stick Resort included enough of it to satisfy them.