John Mayer soars while Maroon 5 sinks at Cricket Pavilion

July 21, 2004

There were a lot of hormonal women in the packed audience at Cricket Pavilion Tuesday night when John Mayer and Maroon 5 shared a stage. Ear-piercing shrieks could be heard throughout both sets along with chants such as "I love you John Mayer!" and "Take off your clothes!"

But the most disturbing shout out came from a man who screamed "John, your body is a wonderland" referring to Mayer’s Grammy-winning single, which he later sang.

But there was more to Mayer – who was dressed in layers (a blue polo shirt under a white tee) and torn jeans – than his clean-cut, boy-next-door good looks. The 26-year-old can sing — and sing well.

"John Mayer could make a history lecture sound sexy," Leslie Goodman, 30, of Mesa, said. "His voice is incredible. Couldn’t you almost see him as a phone sex operator?"

If his performance Tuesday was any indication, Mayer certainly won’t be resorting to other work anytime soon. Throughout his hour-and-a-half set, the artist brought his sophomore album "Heavier Things" to life with the help of a seven-piece band that played everything from saxophone to bass to piano.

He performed songs such as "Clarity," "Bigger Than my Body," "Split Screen Sadness," "Daughters" and the sultry crowd favorite and new single "Come Back to Bed," which had couples swaying and Mayer confessing that he never played an electric guitar until he recorded that track. He stretched out the song and took time to improvise some new lyrics, such as ‘Why do I always go to jail for something I sing?"

Mayer also treated fans to songs off of his first album "Room for Squares," including "No Such Thing," "Why Georgia," "My Stupid Mouth" and "Back to You."

"His set was amazing," Christina Woolly, 24, of Scottsdale said. "His second album comes across really mellow so it was cool to see him make those songs really rock. I really liked when he sang "Come Back to Bed." I don’t think I’m getting any sleep tonight because of that song!"

Sadly, Maroon 5 – the L.A.-based band whose fan roster includes pop stars Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey and Mandy Moore – weren’t nearly half as good as Mayer, thanks to a lot of technical difficulties. The fivesome have rocked East Valley shows in the past, but clearly didn’t bring their A game with them.

Though he was the most charismatic of the group, lead singer Adam Levine’s voice appeared strained throughout their set. The remaining members often looked bored, especially bass player Mickey Madden, who seemed like he could fall asleep at any second.

Without a lot of momentum, the group delivered tracks from their platinum-selling debut "Songs About Jane" that included "This Love," "Harder to Breathe," "She Will Be Loved," "Sunday Morning," "Not Coming Home" and a new track, "Wasted Years."

"I’m a huge Maroon 5 fan," Jayson Gates, 27, of Tempe said. "I’ve been to many of their shows and this was the worst. The guys weren’t on at all. It sounded like it was the first night of the tour, but it wasn’t . … John Mayer blew them out of the water. He is really talented. I can see why the ladies love him."