Holy hell, it’s been a while. It’s been more than two years, in fact, since I last saw a show. For a music nerd like me who considers live music vital to her mental health, that’s saying a lot. But as things slowly seem to be moving closer and closer to what we considered “normal” pre-pandemic, I’ve been missing the whole concert experience more and more. Fortunately, the arrival of John Mayer‘s Sob Rock Tour at San Francisco’s Chase Center arrived just in time – last Friday night, to be exact…
The night began with supporting artist Yebba, whose name I only knew from her work on Ed Sheeran’s No. 6 Collaborations Project. When Yebba (real name Abbey Smith) took the stage in monochromatic navy jeans and tee ensemble, I immediately liked her quiet, unassuming nature. She seemed both humble and a little shy. “Thank you so much to John Mayer for letting us come play a few songs,” Smith said after the first song or two. “Now we’re gonna… play you a few songs!”
Smith’s voice and presence made me liken her to Kelly Clarkson, but once she really got started singing, I found myself also making mental comparisons to Joss Stone. She was a nice, easy start to the night. Smith can definitely sing, and I’ll be curious to see what comes next from her. Favorites from her set included “One More Smile” and “Boomerang.”
Fast forward a little: it’s minutes before John Mayer is due to take the stage, and I start to notice the sensation of anxiety in my chest. At first, I was a little concerned, but it didn’t take long for me to realize why: IT WAS EXCITEMENT! As soon as I figured it out, I felt grateful to finally be back in a crowd to experience what we love most: the live music! How nice to feel that angsty energy and know that it was not a side effect of the toll COVID has taken on all of our mental health!
Moments later, Mayer had taken the stage, beginning with one of Sob Rock‘s most recent singles, “Last Train Home,” followed by “Belief” from Continuum. After “Who Says,” Mayer smiled at someone near him shouting for “deep cuts,” noting that such a request was “every musician’s dream.” It didn’t take long until the entire arena began chanting “deep cuts, deep cuts!” As he smiled and began “Changing,” I noted that Mr. Mayer seems to have come full circle since he started performing over twenty years ago.
Somewhere around the height of Mayer’s popularity, he earned himself quite a reputation (I’ve seen him called a racist, a misogynist, and of course many labeled him a “douchebag.”) Having been a fan since “No Such Thing” in 2002, it was hard to read all the negative press on Mayer at the time. I still distinctly remember the moment when Mayer felt it was time to quit Twitter and take a step back to focus on the music and what got him where he was. The man who remains seems humbler, less shallow (and less full of himself), much more grateful to the fans, and generally much more like the artist whose music I fell in love with all those years ago. This weekend, I had that same impression, but I was witnessing it in person. For example, Mayer kept inviting the crowd to sing along on the chorus of his songs. The first time he did it, the crowd was so loud, Mayer was beaming. He said “I love you” softly, and I believed it to be very sincere. I’m proud to still be a fan, and proud that Mayer was able to step back, see that changes needed to be made, and evolve into someone who’s hopefully closer to who he wants to be.
The evening continued with a short acoustic set including Mayer’s cover of Beyonce’s “XO,” after which the crowd’s chants for “deep cuts” resumed. Before beginning his first deep cut of the night, Mayer asked the crowd if his guitar was off, and quickly learned that we couldn’t hear it. “I don’t wanna be cocky, but I was like… they normally make more noise than that!” Mayer laughed. “Here’s what I was playing…” The song was “In Your Atmosphere,” and it was followed by “Neon” before the band returned.
As Mayer danced a little during “Still Feel Like Your Man,” I noted (lovingly) that he was doing a dorky kind of step-touch, but I loved it, because he was just himself, and that was enough. In fact, it was at this point that I finally noticed his attire: Mayer wore just a plain white t-shirt (he’d abandoned the jacket he wore at the start of his set several songs back) and plain dark pants with a cool pair of black and white Nike sneakers (which someone shouted out that they wanted, prompting Mayer to comment that he felt “incredibly lucky” that someone wanted his “game-worn shoes”). He was rocking a pretty nice watch, too, but mostly it doesn’t matter much what he wears, because he’s comfortable with himself, he’s exceptionally talented at his guitar skills and his brilliant lyrical mind… and ok, he’s got fantastic hair.
As the show progressed, I was impressed at how varied the set list was, not just because it included much more than songs from Sob Rock, but because there was quite a bit of variation from the previous night’s set list. When Mayer came to “Til the Right One Comes,” he mentioned that it was a “most optimistic” song, and one that he hoped would be “a true story.” I found Mayer’s honesty both refreshing and sweet as he essentially admitted to not yet having found the right person, and still holding out hope that he would meet her one day. After “Stop This Train,” band member David Ryan Harris sang a snippet of Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” in a goosebump-inducing falsetto that was truly perfection. Mayer called “Waiting on the World to Change” a “shallow cut” before thanking the crowd and enthusiastically introducing the members of his band. When he was finished, he said “I’m John, it’s nice to play for you. Thank you.” Again, I found him to be sincere, and it made me so happy that Mayer had been the one to safely see me back into the world of live music. He and the band then played the last song of their main set, “Gravity,” before returning for an encore of “Your Body is a Wonderland” and then “New Light.”
I’m surprised at how on one hand, I can’t believe how much I’ve missed seeing my favorite musicians play in person. On the other hand, however, it felt somehow almost like no time had gone by at all since my last show. Maybe it’s like riding a bike, and those of us who truly love live music will always return to it as soon as it’s safe to do so. Either way, I had an amazing time with the brilliant John Mayer, and I was so happy to be back. If you’d like to check out the full set list, I’ve uploaded it for you here.
