John Mayer: Battle Studies

Monday, 08 February 2010 18:47

When John Mayer released Battle Studies last year, it debuted at number one. This year, John is taking the album on the road, including a show Saturday night at the Veteran‘s Memorial Coliseum in Jacksonville.

By John Davisson

The arena was close to full, with just a few empty seats here and there. Scanning the audience, I noticed a younger fan base, with a female preponderance.The staging was fairly subdued, with lights and a giant video screen behind the band. A wraparound sheer screen at the beginning of the set and the encore allowed for some projected images. “Gravity” featured John’s best guitar jamming of the night, with all the lights pointed at him as they slowly swirled around him on a circular track.

Helping John bring the music to life was a seven-piece band featuring bass, drums, keyboards, 2 guitarists, and 2 backup singers. One of the guitarists was Robbie McIntosh, who has recorded with a number of bands as a session guitarist and toured with The Pretenders and Paul McCartney.

The setlist did not feature as many of John’s hits as I figured it would, instead incorporating nine songs from Battle Studies. He opened with a cover of “Crossroads” and, although it was the only full cover, he also injected some of the Police’s “Walking on the Moon” into “Waiting on the World to Change.” Michael Franti, who opened the show, trotted out for a hippie hop verse in “Waiting on the World to Change.” During “Half of my Heart” (which featured help from Taylor Swift on the album) John injected a couple of verses of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” (not sure how this relates to Taylor Swift’s duet with Stevie Nicks, but it is out there now and probably on YouTube). A couple of the newer songs, like “Heartbreak Warfare” and “Edge of Desire,” featured textures that reminded me of the Police.

John was chatty with the audience, reading the signs that fans brought to the show and commenting on them. He volunteered to be our life coach and public servant in matters of the heart, and said he was tired of the tweeting and interviews and plans to focus on the guitar. Given his history with over sharing, I applaud the latter comment.