By Joanie Cox-Henry
Photos By: Chris Allmeid for Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
John Mayer has been known to have a slew of famous celebrity girlfriends but he revealed in an MSNBC interview his first love was his guitar. His solo tour is putting a spotlight on his original passion and Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla., was packed Sept. 27-28 with thousands of fans eager to see the seven-time Grammy winner returning to his roots. Soul-folk act JP Saxe opened for Mayer with a lively solo set that included "If The World Was Ending," which he penned with his ex-girlfriend Julia Michaels about an earthquake that ironically ended up foreshadowing the pandemic.
John Mayer opened his Sept. 27 with "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room" and his sophomore song of the night "Shot In The Dark" off his 2021 album Sob Rock. The thought-provoking tune about wanting to take a chance on love even though it might not work out, was even more compelling in the acoustic version Mayer delivered. Throughout the evening, the multi-faceted musician hopscotched through notable moments and milestones of his career. He proudly shared the time Family Guy razzed him for the way he says "body" and the 2005 clip playing with renowned bassist Pino Palladino.
One of the things that surprised me about him is how funny and authentic he is. When a woman in the front row declared her undying love for him, he retorted "You're way out of my league!" The crowd naturally roared at that one.
The night rolled on with John Mayer and his dozens of guitars including a Dobro and an extremely rare double-neck Martin acoustic guitar which features six-string and 12-string fretboards. Mayer delighted with his signature bluesy licks and triad chords.
Showgoers at the Sept. 27 performance got to experience Mayer covering Beyonce's "XO," "Queen of California" "Your Body Is A Wonderland," and "Love Is A Verb." Mayer moved from playing in a seated position to standing and playing guitar for a portion of the show. While the major of the night was acoustic guitar, he did hop behind the piano for "You're Gonna Live Forever In Me" and "Changing," in which he played a looped piano part while he shredded on electric guitar. It was a nice segue in the show to see Mayer demonstrate his plethora of talents.
"I started this way," Mayer said of performing solo. "A great guitar player named Charlie Hunter had some bass strings on his guitar and I thought if I could lower just this string then I could have some new sort of relativity to the rest of the guitar neck."
Mayer's encore was his highly desired, breathy rendition of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" which appeared to leave the crowd on a high note. Throughout John Mayer's career which has spanned more than two decades, the guitarist still seems eager to connect with fans and showcase his diversity as a performer. With no other bandmates backing him, this tour is a unique opportunity to see John Mayer in his purest form. He may or may not ever tour this way again so catch Mayer solo while you can.
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