John Mayer made the best out of a tough situation last night when he proceeded with his second of two shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City despite the absences of drummer Steve Ferrone and vocalist Carlos Ricketts, who each tested positive for COVID-19. Mayer presented the bulk of the concert in acoustic format and then enlisted special guest Questlove to get behind the drum kit to play four songs to end the main set as well as for the “Gravity” encore.
The guitarist took to social media a few hours before Monday’s concert to reveal Ferrone’s positive test and told fans he’d move forward “with a very special presentation.” Mayer opened with a solo acoustic “Neon” and stayed unplugged as the band filled in behind him for “Last Train Home” and “Shot In The Dark,” two of six songs from 2021’s Sob Rock to make the setlist at MSG.
Last night’s show featured a number of tour debuts in addition to “Neon.” Mayer presented the run’s first versions of “If I Ever Get Around To Living,” “In Your Atmosphere,” “Daughters” and “Something’s Missing” during the semi-acoustic portion of the evening. The latter, originally released on 2003’s Heavier Things, was only partially played as Mayer forgot how it went. The guitarist last performed “Something’s Missing” way back on August 8, 2010 as per Setlist.FM.
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The solo partial version of “Something’s Missing” was followed by the aforementioned “Daughters,” which saw Mayer accompanied by percussionist Lenny Castro. John was then joined by guitarist David Ryan Harris for the tour’s first take on the Tom Petty classic “Free Fallin’.” From there, the rest of the band returned to back Mayer on more acoustic gems including “Carry Me Away” and “Who Says.” John Mayer went on to tip his hat to Paul Simon by tacking a bit of “Homeward Bound” onto the end of “Stop This Train” and inserting a “You Can Call Me Al” snippet within “Til The Right One Comes.”
John Mayer introduced Questlove to the surprise of the audience and traded in his acoustic for an electric to start the final segment of last night’s main set with “Vultures.” Both “Vultures” and the “Clarity” that followed were tour debuts. Questlove was on drums for each as well as for the set-closing run featuring “Something Like Olivia,” a portion of Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” sung by David Ryan Harris and “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room.” The Roots/Tonight Show house band drummer was also behind the kit for the evening’s “Gravity” encore. “The next couple of tour stops will feature this format (minus the very otherwise-engaged Questlove) and I will devote every moment to making sure we bring you the best show we can,” Mayer wrote on Instagram after the concert.
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Watch fan-shot video footage from last night’s show below:
