Packed house spends evening with Mayer, the next big thing

PORTLAND – If you didn’t already know, John Mayer is the next big thing.

The 25-year-old singer-songwriter, who gained heavy airplay earlier this year with his single “No Such Thing,” played to a packed house Friday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center, the only northern New England venue on this leg of his nationwide tour.

Mayer’s style is more Dave Matthews than Justin Timberlake, but the throngs of teenage girls in the audience made the show feel more like an ‘N Sync concert. Shrieks of “I love you, John” and “I want to have your baby” carried over the music, and fans with cameras kept the security guards busy as they ran up to the stage to sneak a pic.

It was a surreal scene, in part because I never thought I’d feel “too old” for a concert at the ripe old age of 27, but things were fine once I let go and let the music take over.

Mayer, who is sensitive and cute in that boy-next-door way, has a voice like satin sheets – smooth and a little bit naughty. And he sounds just as good live as he does on his two CDs, “Room for Squares” and the acoustic “Inside Wants Out.”

The Connecticut native, who studied at Boston’s Berklee College of Music before leaving for Atlanta, often has been compared with Dave Matthews. And the musical resemblance was uncanny when Chris Thile of Nickel Creek, the opening act, joined him on stage to jam with his mandolin on “3×5.” Though Mayer is known best for his mature, smoky voice, he can wail on the guitar.

The music lured the audience in, especially the sexy “Your Body Is a Wonderland,” “My Stupid Mouth,” and “Neon,” which closed out the show. But the crowd wouldn’t let him off that easily, and when he reappeared for a three-song encore, the shrieks began again.

For a man who has been swept off his feet by his sudden, if not overnight success, there is such a thing as the real world. It just involves thousands of fans hanging on his every note – and it’s probably way better than he ever imagined in high school.