John Mayer at the O2 Arena

Tonight the O2 submerged beneath the waves of electric blue and hot pink neon followed swiftly by a blood orange skyline and city-lit backdrop that exhibited a wide spectrum of splendour. This was part one of four chapters in which Grammy award-winning John Mayer wanted to excite audiences with a dazzling light display mixed with the warm languid sounds of Moving on and Getting Over and Rosie, which lounged as comfortably as they would whirling round the luxury of your own home.

Chapter two stripped the set bare for an acoustic moment that whisked listeners away from the sultry scenes of California and projected onscreen the delicate intricacies of an oriental tea garden as Emoji of a Wave and Daughters gently plucked the acoustics like the cherry blossoms from the trees towering above and fell freely onto devoted ears. Though Free Fallin’, the fan-favourite cover and one that Mayer has undoubtedly made his own, didn’t flow as fluently as previous renditions, it was enough to spark aid from the harmonious crowd and carry it beautifully beyond the stage.

Fans were pleasantly surprised to see the third chapter bringing both bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan to the stage to form the prestigious John Mayer Trio. Their performance of Vultures and Who Did You Think I Was  was an exhilarating display of true craftsmanship, a kinetic force showing three artists both playfully and yet masterfully executing their field with utmost precision.

Between sets, speeches were a little too sickly sweet and slightly over rehearsed but final chapter let the music speak for itself as Slow Dancing in a Burning Room plunged the O2 deep within the depths of despair only to happily bounce back to buoyant sounds of Why Georgia.

Visually, tonight’s framework was a movielike masterpiece that could have been orchestrated by cinematic prodigies Spike Jonze and Sofia Coppla, and yet nothing proved more visually arresting than the audience’s participation transforming the venue tiers into a starry night sky that perfectly accompanied the blissful sound of Gravity, proving that musical moments, though fleeting, can make us feel momentarily infinite.

Jack Lloyd
Photo: Zeyi Fan

For further information about John Mayer and future events visit here.

Watch the video for Still Feel Like Your Man here: