Photo via John Mayer’s Instagram

Last night, John Mayer played the final show of his Madison Square Garden Sob Rock tour stop in New York City. The evening featured an acoustic set from Mayer and his band, tracks from across the guitarist’s discography and late into the set, a multi-song sit-in by Questlove on drums. The Roots drummer joined last minute as Mayer’s touring drummer Steve Ferrone and vocalist Carlos Ricketts both tested positive for COVID-19.

Mayer opened the show with an acoustic solo rendition of his beloved 1999 hit, known for its percussive fingerpicking and difficult chord shapes, “Neon.” Next, he was joined by his band to share songs off Sob Rock “Last Train Home” and “Shot in the Dark.” The rhythm continued to flow as he moved into “Belief” off of 2006’s Continuum. Mayer then hopped around his discography, playing “In the Blood” off of 2017’s The Search for Everything and “If I Ever Get Around to Living” from 2012. Mayer then continued to share premium content off of Sob Rock, with a paring of “New Light” and “Wild Blue.” They then moved into longtime fan favorites “Your Body Is a Wonderland” and “In Your Atmosphere” followed by a snippet of “Something’s Missing.”

Mayer continued to dish out favorites as he moved into “Daughters” and a cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’.” After, the guitarist and his band moved seamlessly into another Sob Rock single “Carry Me Away” which was followed by the easy listening self-love song “Who Says.” Mayer then played “Stop This Train” which was appropriately coupled with an outro by what very well could have served as inspiration for the song, “Homeward Bound” by Simon & Garfunkel. Next came “Til the Right One Comes,” another song off Sob Rock that featured another snippet from Paul Simons’s songwriting book, “You Can Call Me Al.”

The set continued as the band welcomed Questlove on stage to take control of the drums. With Questlove in the seat, Mayer and the ensemble played “Vultures” from his work with the John Mayer Trio. Next, came 2005’s “Clarity,” followed by 2012’s “Something Like Olivia.” A cover of Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” featured guitarist Dan Ryan Harris on vocals served as the set’s penultimate track. They closed the performance with the sultry and emotionally driven “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room.”

Mayer wrote of the performance on Instagram saying, “My boundless appreciation goes out to the legendary @questlove, who stepped in on an hour’s notice to help end the show on such a powerful and definitive note. The brilliant musicians in this band stepped up in ways that I will never forget, and will bond us forever.”

Mayer returned to the stage and delivered a semi-acoustic encore with “Gravity.” After the show, Questlove took to Instagram to share some thoughts on the last-minute and well-received request, during which he called Ferrone his hero and said he “is literally WHY I drum.”

See Questlove and Mayer’s Instagram posts below:

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Questlove (@questlove)

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by John Mayer 💎 (@johnmayer)

John Mayer – Sob Rob Tour
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Feb. 21, 2022

Set: Neon, Last Train Home, Shot in the Dark, Belief, In the Blood, If I Ever Get Around to Living, New Light, Wild Blue, Your Body Is a Wonderland, In Your Atmosphere, Something’s Missing (snippet), Daughters, Free Fallin’, Carry Me Away, Who Says, Stop This Train, Til the Right One Comes, Vultures*, Clarity*, Something Like Olivia*, The Beautiful Ones*, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room*

Enc.: Gravity

*with Questlove