John Mayer's bad mood proved to be good news for his audience Tuesday night (July 20) at Cricket Pavilion in Phoenix.

He took out his frustrations through intermittently aggressive and weeping guitar solos (proving why he is invited to so many guitar summits); smart-aleck, between-song banter; and such emotional vocals that it would make the biggest nonbeliever a Mayer fan. On the other hand, his followers were clearly in a good mood. His fans seemingly knew all the lyrics to his songs, even the most innocuous "oohs" in album tracks. That would be a pleasure for any artist.

After opening with the song "Clarity," Mayer admitted to the audience that Tuesday wasn't his day. He urged the crowd to meet him somewhere between a good and bad mood. For his first victim, "Bigger Than My Body," Mayer shed his "light college rock" label and kept a firm vocal and musical grasp on the song straight through a guitar solo. Fans overpowered Mayer's vocals, providing the bridge. With a look of satisfaction across his face, Mayer slowly ran his hand up the neck of the guitar to end the song.

"Your Body is a Wonderland" was an awesome, nimble-fingered salute to Eric Clapton. The music raised to a peak and then slowly faded as it came crashing down.

Backed by a horn section, Mayer's latest single, the seductive "Come Back to Bed," reverberated as a desperate plea. Mayer's guitar solo during the song wasn't the typical self-indulgence effort. It was rich, interesting, soulful and even inspirational. Like a date armed with self-esteem jokes, Mayer predicted that the solo was going to make it in "tomorrow's papers" as self-indulgent. "Thank you for staying with us for that long. Sometimes things just got to go," Mayer said. Clearly it was his therapy.

Like openers Maroon 5, Mayer poked fun of the 100-plus heat that has plagued the Phoenix valley the last couple days. He mocked the audience's response to the obligatory heat cracks: "Yes, you bastard. We live here," he said cracking a rare smile. "If you guys can handle it, I can handle it," Mayer added before delving into "Covered in Rain."

He dedicated "My Stupid Mouth" to his newfound manners. "I'm 26 and beginning to use them now."

Mayer's set took another sarcastic turn when he introduced "Come Back to Bed." He said it's one of the rare times listeners will hear the electric guitar on radio right now, "unless your name is Santana."

His attempt to be political fell face-first. (Sorry John, don't mean to make your day worse.) Very fervently, he said that he is backing John Kerry. However, when he reiterated his beliefs, he said he was going to start "pushing the Bush-Kerry ticket." Even the most talkative folks in the audience stopped speaking and repeated, "a Bush-Kerry ticket?"

The speech was a segue to Marvin Gaye's hit "Inner City Blues," which he performed with his band and opener DJ Logic. It was one of the most stunning renditions of the night. During a break in the song, DJ Logic's scratches and Mayer's guitar chords seemed to sing to each other.

Those holding tickets to Mayer's future performances should pray that Mayer has a bad day on their night.

While Mayer possessed a subtle sexuality, openers Maroon 5 flaunted it with their lyrics and body movements. Serving up his muscular vocals, lead singer Adam Levine pressed forth with his presumed wish to become a sex symbol. He ran his palm along his fitted tank top. He acted out and thrust his hips to the sexually charged lyrics to his hit "This Love."

Levine was out to squash those who doubted his talents. He displayed his wide vocal range, but did so without it being showy. Vocal solos--all in record-ready key--were subtle in songs like the new single "She Will Be Loved." After an extended vocal solo, Levine put his hand up to his ear to encourage fans to cheer.

If there was one downside to Maroon 5's performance, it was that the background vocals--the hooks--during "This Love" were missing, rendering the song empty.

Drummer Ryan Dusick said in a recent interview that his band wasn't ready to take on the full-production responsibilities of a headlining tour. But judging from Tuesday's performance, Maroon 5 is more than prepared.