 "Photo: Associated Press")
 "Photo: Associated Press")
Ten years removed from a lonely undergraduate life at the Berklee College of Music, John Mayer stormed back into Boston for a sold-out show in front of 20,000 screaming fans at the TD Garden on Wednesday night.
His custom set, adorned with white-netted curtains draped across the stage, included three high definition projectors and an incredible array of guitars for a variety of songs ranging from his early Room for Squares days to his latest album, Battle Studies, which was released last November.
Mayer opened with “Heartbreak Warfare,” the lead track on Battle Studies and a particularly tricky song to play live, before blasting through a two-hour set list complete with creative covers of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” and The Police’s “Message in a Bottle.”
He said the crowd had a “college vibe” and reminisced back to the days when he was a 22-year-old kid, out on Interstate 85 and driving down to Georgia to try and make a living as a musician.
“Just play your music, write your books, paint your pictures, write your screenplays,” he said. “Just love today. Before you know it, you’ll be 10 years older with a brand new set of problems.
“I hope you get my problems,” he said with a laugh, “because they are the world’s greatest problems. They are only of the ego.”
Mayer has faced criticism in recent weeks spawning from intimate interviews with Playboy and Rolling Stone that included everything from the inappropriate use of a racial slur to inane comments about searching for the “Joshua Tree of vaginas” and his chronic masturbation habits. He apologized with multiple tweets on his Twitter account – where he has over three million followers – and that was the end of it. In Boston on Wednesday, it was all about the music.
He played only five of 11 tracks on Battle Studies, compared to the seven of 11 he played at last Friday’s concert in Uncasville, Ct. at the Mohegan Sun Arena, but he filled in every gap with gems like “Good Love Is On the Way” and “Belief,” two crowd pleasers that he doesn’t play at every show.
On top of that, Mayer brought along Steve Jordan, one of music’s best drummers who co-produced both Battle Studies and Continuum with Mayer and records with him in studio. Jordan displayed his talents with a gut-busting drum solo midway through the set and kept in perfect rhythm throughout the show, even through Mayer’s many lengthy guitar solos.
But as much as Mayer would like to pass along the credit to his band mates, he was still the focal point of the show.
He had a different guitar for almost every song, and when he broke out his favorite Monterrey Fender Strat, a red and white blended model with rose and heart designs waved around its body, the crowd could only watch in amazement.
Mayer mulled over what to play for a moment before breaking into a wild, impressive solo that connected seamlessly with “Who Did You Think I Was,” the lead track off of “Try,” a live album he recorded with John Mayer Trio. He finished the solo electric special with “Neon,” an older single from his first studio album, Room for Squares, which showcased his impressive guitar skill set.
But whether Mayer had a guitar in hand or on his hip, as he did for much of “Assassin,” a dark sexy track from Battle Studies, the 20,000 plus in attendance screamed for their pop idol.
Mayer finished the show with a beautiful acoustic rendition of “Why Georgia,” another early popular hit off Room for Squares, before leaving the stage and returning for an encore of “Who Says,” the original single from Battle Studies, and the show’s concluding song, “Gravity,” a slow ballad that Mayer crooned for nearly nine minutes.
One of the world’s emerging musicians and celebrities, Mayer has become a cultural icon and never fails to put on a great show. He uses emotion and passion to connect with his audience, and it’s hard to leave the show without a wide smile and a stomach full of bliss. His concerts tickets might hurt your wallet – four tickets to the show in Boston cost upwards of $360 – but after two hours of Mayer in today’s age of one-hit wonders and senseless hip hop hits, you’ll know it’s a price worth paying.
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