REVIEW — John Mayer Brings “The Search for Everything” World Tour to T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas)

“I may be old and I may be young / But I am not done changing”
 – John Mayer, Changing

Seven-time Grammy winner John Mayer brought The Search for Everything world tour to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 22nd. Comprised of full band, solo acoustic and John Mayer Trio sets, Mayer and co. performed tracks from the recently-released The Search for Everything album as well as classic hits like “Your Body is a Wonderland,” “Free Falling,” and “Gravity.”

Mayer and band began the night with the mellow and jazzy “Moving On and Getting Over,” before moving onto the breezy “Queen of California,” the best song to invoke the feelings of its sunny namesake, then seguing into hit single “Love on the Weekend.” The first single off The Search for Everything, “Love on the Weekend” is the perfect introductory track to the album, which is as smooth and as dreamy as one would expect from the casual crooner.

The folk-inspired “Who Says,” one of Mayer’s older (and lesser) tracks, slowed things down, just for the rhythmic “Helpless” to rev things back up. The audience was, well, helpless against the song’s funky vibes, which — unlike most Mayer jams — inspires more movement than a slow and steady bobbing of the head. The acoustic set began with the unremarkable “Stop This Train,” giving way to the underrated “Neon,” nestled neatly before a pair of Mayer’s most recognizable tunes, “Your Body is a Wonderland” and “Free Falling.” The temptation to sing along to the latter was too powerful to resist. Few tried.

The John Mayer Trio performed “Jam in E,” “Wait Until Tomorrow,” “Vultures,” and “Crossroads,” the soulful and old-school-rock-tinged “Jam in E” displaying Mayer’s uncontested guitar skills. Backed by the band, Mayer and crew performed the smooth and sensual “Rosie,” the even sexier “Slow Dancing In a Burning Room,” “If I Ever Get Around to Living,” “Why Georgia,” and the bluesy “Gravity,” a requisite of makeout playlists for more than a decade.

The night concluded with a trio of tracks representative of The Search for Everything, birthed out of Mayer’s breakup with singer Katy Perry. Post-breakup “I’m Gonna Find Another You” gave way to the-reminiscent-of-a-Maroon-5-song (in a good way) “Still Feel Like Your Man,” with the bittersweet “You’re Gonna Live Forever In Me” closing out the show. It’s a song that would be perfectly suited to send off the tearful third act of a romantic indie movie, and it’s the best possible way to close both the album and the tour: with Meyer acknowledging his maturation (as both person and performer), the almost-mournful song is a testament to the lyrics of “Changing,” cited above — Mayer isn’t done changing. He’ll grow further, he’ll deepen even more emotionally, and those emotions will continue to be reflected in his brutally honest works.

Mayer will next appear in San Francisco, before moving on to Amsterdam, Denmark, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, and London. Mayer will return to Las Vegas on May 27th (with the Dead & Company Tour), which will make stops in Arizona, California, Utah, Colorado, and beyond. Visit the official John Mayer site for complete tour info and to purchase tickets. The Search for Everything album is now available on iTunes and wherever albums are sold.