"It's been a long night in [Charlotte]..."

I was catching up on the John Mayer message board “My Stupid Mouth” the other day and read a post claiming that Mayer recently said he feels rusty the first few shows of every tour. The person quoting him went on to say “I like to think of it as fresh.”

Well, the 2010 John Mayer Summer Tour began in Charlotte, NC last night, and it was EPIC.

Mayer came to the stage with several members of his Winter Tour band as well as a revival of the horn section seen over the last few years, including saxophonist Bob Reynolds. They stepped up to their respective instruments and mics and brought a swagger that was anything but “rusty”.

John kicked the set list off with a little blues groove of “Chest Fever” by The Band that got everybody into rhythm. The fans were swaying and gold guitar in hand, he jammed into “Vultures” to officially start the tour.

From there he swapped to his acoustic, and the bass and keys kicked off the booming intro to “Clarity.” You can tell he loves to play this one in the summer, and it was right at home with the hot night and the return of the horns.

After “Clarity,” he took us way back to “No Such Thing,” and at this point, I had no idea what to expect for the rest of the show. We were three songs in, and he was already continually surprising us.

“Ain’t No Sunshine” came next, with its slow bass line and Mayer making the guitar sing. It was the only full cover he played, and he definitely did the song justice, groovin’ with a gritty blues vibe that fits perfectly into the sticky summer weather.

He picked up the pace after this and completely ROCKED “Heartbreak Warfare,” singing louder and faster than other live versions. His head bobbed, he jumped up and down, and you could really FEEL the frustration and emotion the song sings about coming from the stage. He joked after the song that “that was the ‘punk’ version of ‘Heartbreak Warfare’, folks,” and it was high energy!

From there he went into “Perfectly Lonely,” saying it’s a great song for the summer, even though no one ever REALLY wants to be alone. Then he broke out “The Black One” to play “Gravity” in the middle of the set! Hearing this so early threw even more of a curveball as to guess what he might play the rest of the night, because it’s been more of a late song in the past. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if he opened with this track, because his heart pours out of the guitar every time he plays it. It’s his blues prayer, and we’re the eager congregation listening to and relating to the message. Gotta love it.

After “Gravity” he pulled a 180 and played “Assassin.” It was “killer” (pun intended, thank you), and I love how he fluctuates his song choices from slow and soulful to rocking and loud so well. He definitely knows how to keep everyone on their toes.

“Who Says” came next, where everyone freaked out when he sang “It’s been a long night in Charlotte, too…”

Then he put his guitar down for a UKELELE! Most of the band stepped back as he began to pluck “Do You Know Me.” The lights got dim, the mood turned mellow, and Mayer made the uke sing like a guitar. As the song progressed, the return of Bob Reynolds was truly felt as he and Mayer jammed together in what turned out to be one of the coolest moments of the night.

Mayer picked up the pace again when the song was done and played “Bigger Than My Body,” which always gets people on their feet.

He then went into “Half of my Heart” as the last song before the encore, saying that it felt good to have a big radio hit again. He talked about how before this song hit the charts, he was ready to move on to the next record, but then BOOM, “Half of My Heart.” Mayer explained it like an old race-car video game where just as the car is about to slow down to a stop, you hit a checkpoint and BAM, you’re moving fast again. That’s what this song did for him.

The groove was nice, and he teased us with “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac, as well as “Carolina on My Mind” by James Taylor, which really got the crowd going.

After this he thanked everyone and went backstage to prepare for the encore. The crowd rocked and clapped and screamed for several minutes, but he was nowhere to be seen.

And then the screams from the lawn burst open. He was on a platform in front of them and began to sing “Stop This Train.” Mayer has always made a point to thank the “lawn people” for their attendance at his shows, but this was something new, and a really cool gesture for the people in the back. You could hear their screams coming through his mic, but he kept playing and it was a really special moment.

“Why Georgia” came next, and the part that he gets the crowd to sing along to was louder than ever because he was swimming in a sea of fans at this point. As he progressed through the song, the rest of the band snuck back on stage, and he made it back to the front.

The crowd was still going crazy and the spotlight shone on Mayer again as he began the riff to “Edge of Desire”. The song picked up and the lights got bright again, and the band joined in for the final song of the evening. The longing and passion of the song poured out from the guitar, and Mayer adamantly thanked the fans as he walked off stage.

It was a great first night in Charlotte, full of energy and passion. While he played several songs from “Battle Studies,” he threw so many others into the mix that it will be tough to guess what he’ll play on any given night. If last night’s show was any indicator of how the tour will go, it’s going to be a great summer.

See you guys in Raleigh, and on the road…

D.