COUNTING CROWS, JOHN MAYER AND MAROON 5, USANA Amphitheater, Tuesday.
WEST VALLEY CITY — So young. So talented. So popular.
John Mayer, 25, is a pup in the music world. And one wonders if he has staying power or if he'll meld into the fold of such so-so musicians as bluesman Jonny Lang, who burst on the scene in 1997 — still but a teen — and immediately drew comparisons to Clapton.
At the USANA Amphitheater Tuesday night, even Mayer questioned how much luck has played a factor in his sudden success. He expects his new album, due in September, to clarify his place in a fickle industry. "I'll find the results of that test Sept. 9," he told the USANA crowd.
Mayer, clad in a black long-sleeved T-shirt and gray jeans, proceeded to pluck his way into the evening's sixth song — not yet sold in stores — called "Come Back to Bed." It was a well-received ballad that featured Mayer's immense talent on the electric guitar.
Watching Mayer perform was like peeking in on a man and his intimate relationship with a guitar. Listening was even better, as echoes of Stevie Ray Vaughan trickled in.
A sing-along crowd, well-educated on Mayer's lyrics, heard favorites from "Room for Squares," such as "83," "Why Georgia," "Back to You" and, of course, "No Such Thing" and "Your Body Is a Wonderland," which Mayer acknowledged is almost obscenely popular these days.
Mayer's three-song encore ended at 11:30 p.m. to a somewhat thinned-out audience, which had also heard from the Counting Crows and Maroon 5.
The Crows unceremoniously strolled onstage at around 8:30 p.m. to cheers from a crowd that, at times, took too much advantage of the open-air setting to open their mouths instead of their ears.
"It's an acoustic night tonight for us," Adam Duritz warned everyone. So, if the band's songs sounded a bit different, he said, well, too bad.
But it was so good.
The co-headliners of the night played an 11-song set, serving up "Have You Seen Me Lately," "Richard Manuel Is Dead" and "Mr. Jones" out of the gate.
The Grateful Dead and Joni Mitchell showed up via covers of their songs "Friend of the Devil" and "Big Yellow Taxi."
An encore ended with the title track from the band's latest CD, "Hard Candy."
Popular Crows songs were turned "inside out," as Duritz promised. Charles Gillingham, in particular, was able to shine on a beautiful brown grand piano. A few electric guitars slipped into the mix, but fans, for the most part, got a crisp-sounding acoustic treat that translated well in a place void of reverb.
The Hollywood 5, a k a Maroon 5, led things off with a generous set that included "Harder to Breathe" and "This Love."
According to Maroon 5 fan Dina Cook, lead man Adam Levine looked "hot" in his white shirt and ripped blue jeans. And the music?
"Awesome," Cook said. "It rocked."
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com