After wrapping up a batch of summer tour dates with Dead & Company, guitarist John Mayer opened up his solo tour this past weekend, beginning with some Northeast dates in Albany, NY, and Providence, RI, the second of which featured Mayer covering a Grateful Dead favorite.
The tour kicked off Friday at Albany’s Times Union Center with Mayer presenting a two-set affair with his band, as opposed to last year’s tour, which saw him split his headlining shows into solo, band and John Mayer Trio sets. Friday’s performance opened with a 10-song set that included live staple “Vultures” and closed with Mayer’s newest studio single, “I Guess I Just Feel Like.” Set two began with a run of solo acoustic tunes, including “Daughters” and parts of Mayer’s songs “Something’s Missing” and “In Your Atmosphere.” After crowd favorites like “Why Georgia,” “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” (preceded by a bit of Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones”), “Waiting on the World to Change” and the set-closing “Gravity,” Mayer returned for an encore of “Born and Raised” and “New Light.”
The following evening at Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Mayer presented many of the same tunes at different times throughout the two sets, and the guitarist also fit in a couple of choice covers. First up was Tom Petty’s classic “Free Fallin’,” which came during the solo acoustic beginning to set two, and later in the set the guitarist nodded to his Dead & Co. connections by offering the tour debut of the Grateful Dead staple “Fire on the Mountain,” which came out of “Queen of California” and preceded “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room.”
Check out both setlists below, along with fan-shot footage of both of Saturday’s covers. Mayer continues his summer dates tonight in Philadelphia. See his full tour slate here.
John Mayer
Times Union Center – Albany, NY
Set I: Belief, Love on the Weekend, Who Says, Helpless, Moving On and Getting Over, Something Like Olivia, Edge of Desire, Vultures, Wildfire, I Guess I Just Feel Like
Set II: The Age of Worry, Emoji of a Wave, Daughters, Something’s Missing (first verse)> In Your Atmosphere (first half), Still Feel Like Your Man, Love is a Verb, Why Georgia, The Beautiful Ones (snippet)> Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Rosie, If I Ever Get Around to Living, In the Blood, Waiting on the World to Change, Gravity (w/ “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember tease)
Enc: Born and Raised, New Light
Source: setlist.fm
John Mayer
Dunkin Donuts Center – Providence, RI
Set I: Heartbreak Warfare, Love on the Weekend, I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You), No Such Thing, Waiting on the Day, Helpless, Who Says, Paper Doll, Changing, Dear Marie
Set II: Walt Grace’s Submarine Test January 1967, Your Body is a Wonderland, Free Fallin’, In the Blood, Still Feel Like Your Man, Dreaming with a Broken Heart, Queen of California> Fire on the Mountain, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Waiting on the World to Change, I Guess I Just Feel Like
Enc: Gravity, New Light
Source: setlist.fm
45 Comments comments associated with this post
Seeing Eye
July 24, 2019 at 3:34 amDead n’ Co will retire end of 2019, Mayer will return to his solo career with some mention of an “Awakening” to return to his original music and mission with it.
2020 will be the year the Grateful Dead manifests once again.
Wake-up people.
BP
July 23, 2019 at 4:03 pmMayer sucks. Poser. This version of fire sounds so Pop like. For the record, the Grateful Dead did not need saved. I think Dead50 showed how strong their legacy is, the fact of 1million ticket requests instantly. Their music and legacy will last forever. They changed so many people’s lives while Jerry was alive and after his death. Mayer brings nothing to their legacy. Dead and Co are soul less. It’s boring stuff. I’ve listened to Grateful Dead every day since I’ve been born.
Bob Hunter
July 23, 2019 at 1:52 pmYou shitheads who like Mayer… would you like Justin Beiber playing Jerry’s guitar? Would you clap to see Justin Timberlake sing Candyman? My guess is yes, you would… I can totally see Weir playing with these turkeys… Mayer is a poser and if you like him then you need to re-evaluate everything in your life.
You'll never know unless you already do
July 23, 2019 at 1:54 pm^ this
bodhi heeren
July 23, 2019 at 5:10 amHow utterly predictable the meaness and hatred expressed here. And how much ‘soul’ do the people have themselves when they claim that Mayer has none? Could it be that “the dark is from your eyes”? Mayer is just a world class musician who has brought new life to the GD legacy to the Joy of thousands open minded fans.
Matt
July 23, 2019 at 1:31 pmBodhi nailed it. Mayer nails the music, understands his place/role in the band, and the experience is great. I’ve seen about 40 D&C shows so far and if the fall rumors are true I’ll be seeing 8 more soon.
I have about 8 Mayer bootlegs and I can’t listen to them as it is just not my thing. But no other guitar player since Jerry passed has devoted so much energy and effort learning to really understanding why Garcia did what he did and he takes it a step further by adding his own incredible technical virtuosity to it. You can hear it in the playing. It is the little things that few guitarists have bothered learning that give authenticity to the entire experience. All this other subjective crap about Garcia versus Mayer, Bob, etc., is worthless noise. Does he rock it when he steps up on stage with D&C? Yes. What else is there to say other than be kind.
TennesseeJed
July 24, 2019 at 5:59 amWell said Matt!
JackStraw
July 24, 2019 at 5:57 amYou have to have pity for the folks whose lives are not in a place that allows them to accept differences without completely trashing others with name-calling. The feeling of cutting someone else up for their taste in music must be extremely fulfilling for them?
BlueSky07
July 22, 2019 at 10:30 pmSaw Dead & Co. with Mayer. Saw The Dead with Warren Haynes. Never saw Jerry. I prefer Warren… Trey was solid too.
Passenger
July 22, 2019 at 11:13 pmHaven’t seen Dead&Co but saw all the others, including my dear beloved Jerry many times. I liked Warren too and Trey held it down strong at FTW I thought. I have heard Dead&Co online though and I can’t really hear how Mayer is part of the equation. Dare I say I don’t think he’s very good, whatever ‘good’ is, and I realize that it’s subjective. I’m not one to throw insults but I have to admit that I understand what others here are saying, and I agree w/ CR that Mayer knows all the licks, but there’s nothing there. In that respect he is the anti-Jerry. Dear Jerry could play something so seemingly obvious and simple but there was just so much more ‘there’. I think that’s the real impasse when talking about Jerry vs. others and especially Mayer. It ultimately devolves into cosmic speculation. I saw a lot of Dead shows. They were high on cosmic speculation. Nothing I’ve ever experienced in my life is comparable. Still, glad folks are playing the tunes!
NotFadeAway
July 24, 2019 at 5:48 amHaynes was great, however, I was not impressed by Trey’s sit in. It seemed like he hadn’t rehearsed anything and the fit just wasn’t there (for me anyway). The Phil & Friends shows he did in ‘99 (I believe) were excellent, and I was expecting more of that. Mayer is probably their best choice, for lots of reasons, it’s nice to see the music being kept alive and being brought to a whole new generation of fans.
Sigmund
July 22, 2019 at 7:25 pmI don’t know that quote but here’s another from Mayer circa 2008 that seems to capture something you may have in mind, that he does seem not to understand art: “I’m actually into Neil Young lately. Big time. Early Neil Young. I like the simplicity. His music was not designed to impress, it was designed to inform. You know what I mean? I like that idea.””
Shooter is the man!
July 22, 2019 at 7:29 pmHere’s Shooter Jennings on the Mayer-Young connection:
“I love how the ‘neil young of our generation’ self-naming king douche grows his hair out + buys a place in Montana just to do [Rolling Stone] article.”
“Claims he’s ‘done w hollywood game’ and has ‘roots’ and then immediately cuts hair, goes back to hollywood clubs + starts banging Katy Perry.”
And let's not forget the one that nailed it on the head...
July 22, 2019 at 7:40 pmChris Robinson on the Howard Stern Show: “I’m not a big John Mayer fan. Jerry Garcia is a hero of mine. Everything that Jerry Garcia ever talked about or stood for – John Mayer is the antithesis.” When Stern tried to rebut Chris’s take, Robinson offered, “he knows all the licks, there’s nothing unique about his playing. Jerry was one of the most unique musicians in the world. Jerry never played anyone else’s licks and now here’s John Mayer playing everyone else’s licks.”
mb
July 22, 2019 at 8:36 pmTo his credit, Robinson realized that he was being a total douche and proceeded to walk it all back. It’s a lot easier to be an asshole when there is no face attached to the snark. Go figure…
Bowel Movement
July 22, 2019 at 10:49 pmYeah, that never happened. Robinson walked back nothing, you lying sack of possum grits. So Trump of you just to write a lie and throw out a feeble little smear, hoping that it sticks. You are a dick, a remhod, you are non-Bob, you have no slack and you will die without a ripple in the universe. Like Mayer, you promote evil and sully everything pure around you to compensate for guilt. Robinson equated Mayer playing GD with Trump being POTUS. It stands, you are on the wrong side and no amount of wimpering will fix your limpness. Go vote for Trump or Biden or Harris, you useless robot. The douche is strong with you.
Liberty
July 22, 2019 at 7:20 pmJohn Mayer once said he wanted to be famous but also as someone respected like Neil Young, or something like that. Does anyone know that quote? It seemed weird to me at the time, like he was admitting what he did wasn’t very respectable but didn’t know what else to do, like a frustrated admission of a lack of depth, but also a vacuousness obsessed with fame.
Serio
July 22, 2019 at 7:09 pmJethro nailed it. Mayer guest-hosted the Late Late Show in Feb 2015 and arranged to have Weir on who at the time was promoting Fare Thee Well. When Weir was booked it was not a done deal that Trey would sit in and Mayer was auditioning by learning a few Dead songs, a band he had just recently discovered.He pursued it doggedly and Mickey loved the idea of pushing out John K from Furthur after the 50th and bringing back the sneakers-in-the-dryer stylings of the redubbed ‘Rhythm Devils.” Meanwhile Phil said “fuck it”, Abe said “what?”, God said, “you can do what you want, Abe, but…”, and the rest is depressing, creatively uninspired history.
Kndd
July 22, 2019 at 5:25 pmHis band sounds good playing this. I’m Not to big on how he sings it here, but the playing is nice. And yes, the music does need to be played to the masses…he is doing it…Good on him
Wouldn't you like to know
July 22, 2019 at 4:16 pmWord is that Mayer payed them all to play initially in dead n co …
jethro
July 22, 2019 at 6:50 pmNot sure if any money was exchanged either way but it was definitely something Mayer planned out to try to win cred among people he saw as having souls (something he lacks.)
NotFadeAway
July 24, 2019 at 5:39 amDoubtful, payed isn’t a word… I think you were looking for paid, although it would still be wrong.
Just a humble Dude
July 24, 2019 at 11:28 amDefense is a sign of denial. Believe what you want. One in ten thousand done come for the show, get what you come for and you’re ready to go. Money money money folks, it’s the name of the whole thing here. If it were really about the music you’d be able to tell, dont let it fool ya’, lost her sparkle ya know she just isn’t the same. I believe I John, just understand he has not been alive and awoken his whole life, it’s been a fairly recent transformation. When you have all that money and fame, you can convince the masses into believing or perceiving anything in any way you’d prefer. The music is the truth though, and whilst it has resemblance, it’s just not the quite the same, how can you really play in the band if you have not made it your life or been open or opened up to it for a long time. I’m sorry, but it doesn’t just happen over night, you don’t just eat something and then go, “by golly, I’ve got it now”, no, it’s an inner transformation that occurs long before one ever steps foot on stage or even picks up an instrument or sits down at a kit or keyboard. He may be able to play, may be able to channel, but it’s not in his blood, not in his soul, not from the depths of his eternal life.. yet. It’s only been what 6-7 years? Since an interest in this music had been expressed? Give it time, but don’t hold your breath, and for now it’s more like Mayer n’ Co w/Friends, don’t intend to sound ego or crazy or out there, but it’s not of the same, get 5/6/7 or more people up there who have eat, breathed, slept, sweat, day in and day out the music, and you’ll see what I mean. As it is, it may work for some, and the music always healing and pure, but couldn’t you try just a little bit harder, couldn’t you try just a little bit more? Don’t mean to rag, only job is to shed light, not to master. Too much blue (in this case soul), and not enough red (blood) and cosmic energy, soul is important it’s half of it, but again soul in this case is from an entirely different walk of life. You cant hide your past, all you can do is change your relationship to it. Give it time folks, give it time. There is a way to directly tap the spirit, from the source. We are all so fortunate that there is someone who did so, and helped establish this for over 40 years, learn from the mentor, and believe in yourself, bring your own innate unlimited potential, yet don’t think for one moment your playing anything that hasn’t already been before. Gotta be humble, gotta see the light.
Nick
July 22, 2019 at 3:39 pmJohn Mayer saved the legacy of The Grateful Dead.
St. Nick
July 22, 2019 at 6:36 pmNick – if you believe that, then you are a fuckn fool. Go to the mirror and repeat that.
john e cassimatis
July 23, 2019 at 2:12 amjohn mayer absolutely saved the dead. jerry wrote half the book, prob the best songs ive ever heard, but mayer is the guy that the band has clearly morphed around, a true star, who has respected the tunes but changed the feel and its amazing. Jerry is his biggest fan, the hate is such nonsense its almost sickening
Solly
July 23, 2019 at 2:35 amFuck you, you twisted little sucubus. Hate is appropriate for evil, wrong-headed, mean-spirited twits like you. The Grateful Dead family was an open, accepting tribe of love but we also had our eyes open for the kind of wickedness that you represent. Fuck. Fuck you. Fuck you. You will never be a part of us. Neither will that pinhead Mayer.
NotFadeAway
July 24, 2019 at 5:35 amOh but we are part of the scene… Nothing you can do to change that.
Change can be tough for those who aren’t able to come to grips with it.
deadman
July 22, 2019 at 2:22 pmDoesn’t matter if you got on the bus in ’65 or ’95. Mayer is a poser.
Tony
July 22, 2019 at 3:00 pmDeadman, sorry man but NFW brother. Mayer’s so totally accepted by Bobby and beloved by Heads everywhere. Not to mention the dude’s a musical virtuoso – literally – no matter what catalog he plays.
Dude
July 23, 2019 at 3:00 amBobby also recorded ” I want to Live in America” Watch it and weep ( or laugh, or both) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWscxdleZzI
Weir always wanted to be a rock star. Jerry and Phil kept him in check. They used to beat him and lock him in the broom closet. Now he’s old and in the way, a little less clever and living out his final vicarious impulses through Mayer’s mediocrity
Junior Fact
July 22, 2019 at 3:50 pm@DEADMAN – so sad…the purists – always going to shows and leaving disappointed because it didn’t sound like “Jerry.” The best thing to happen to their music was for Jerry to leave this world and open up the floodgates of creativity.
Helen G.
July 22, 2019 at 6:36 pmReading “The best thing to happen to their music was for Jerry to leave this world” made me cry.
Titan
July 22, 2019 at 8:01 pmUmmm, that’s some evil dark stuff you’re putting out there. And you don’t understand creativity, at all, you little dweeb.
Harry
July 23, 2019 at 3:06 amYeah, fuck you to deepest depths for that shit, you non-entity.
Trey
July 23, 2019 at 2:44 amThe notion that half the people complaining about Mayer never saw Jerry is ludicrous! THE ONLY REASON TO COMPLAIN ABOUT MAYER IS BECAUSE WE SAW JERRY! THAT. IS. THE. POINT.
Tenn Jed
July 22, 2019 at 1:30 pmYou naIed it Jim! This band rocks and I hope they keep going! Some of these people shooting it down – Half of them NEVER saw Garcia!! Got on bus in 84′ – This stuff still brings the Energy and fun!
Poor Sue?
July 22, 2019 at 1:20 pmNah, poor Jim. He really gets on here daily to save the world, but nobody really cares about his comments or those of the trolls he interacts with. Sad, really.
Jim? (or not)
July 22, 2019 at 1:18 pmJim missed the memo that most comments on this site are just to get others all worked up. They won, Jim! They got you to post a heartfelt comment. You Win Again. Congrats!
WELL SAID
July 22, 2019 at 11:35 amReally cannot top that…
Well....
July 22, 2019 at 11:25 amHearing all the middle-aged men at his show sing along to FOTM makes me wonder how many grandfathers are there with their granddaughters? But seriously, this makes me sad. This will surely bring many more idiots to the Dead and Co. shows. Have fun!
Jim
July 22, 2019 at 1:01 pmGee music being able to cross generations is such a bad thing. One hits middle age and should forget the words to stuff they have sung for years? Say the same thing about Garcia singing those old tunes of others he did his whole life? Dead & Co, granted not my favorite post GD band but so what. As if a few of those n the band don’t have the right to sing tunes they were so instrumental in making famous? These tunes never to be heard again or redone? Garcia dies and the music is suppose to die with him?
Tony
July 22, 2019 at 2:56 pmWith respect, couldn’t disagree more. The spirit and the music lives on. What more could anyone ask for?
Tane
July 23, 2019 at 2:38 amUm, soul maybe? Too much to ask? Nevermind. Just drink beer.
Yuko
July 23, 2019 at 2:46 amDead&Co shows are already overrun with idiots