John Mayer brings ‘Sob Rock’ to Philly at Wells Fargo Center

Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center thousands of fans gathered to welcome John Mayer to Philadelphia for the second night of his Sob Rock tour. At the start of the show, the lights kicked out while a giant 80’s typography inspired “SOB ROCK” lowered onto the stage projecting the only lights in the building. Applause erupted as band members began to take their stations and started to play the intro to the first single off the touring album “Last Train Home.” The first strike of Mayer’s guitar illuminated the impressive full LED video screen providing stunning illusion-like visuals to support the curated setlist. Throughout the performance, fans were transported from trippy aura gradients to a penthouse view above the clouds, and (sticking with the 80’s theme) a room completely structured by neon down to the window, plants and paintings.

Mayer is joined by an all-star touring band of session musicians comprised of Lenny Castro (Toto) on percussion, Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) on drums, long time friend and guitarist David Ryan Harris, Grammy Award winning guitarist Isaiah Sharkey, Greg Phillinganes (Michael Jackson) on keys, Jamie Muhoberac also on keys, Tiffanty Palmer (Mary J Blige) and Carlos Ricketts Jr (U2) both on vocals, and the great Pino Palladino (John Mayer Trio) on bass guitar. Together, these musicians have an almost unbelievable resume of working with top selling artists, and they worked with Mayer through a setlist that spanned his entire discography.

True to the tour, six songs from the new album were performed including “Shouldn’t Matter But It Does”, “Carry Me Away”, and the hit single “New Light.” Notable up-beat performances also include old hits like “Queen of California,” a full band version of “Your Body Is a Wonderland,” and a special instrumental section breakdown of “Still Feel Like Your Man” off the RIAA Gold selling album The Search For Everything. The band also played slow cuts like “Edge of Desire” and “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room.” Guitarist David Ryan Harris even performed a solo acoustic cover of Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” to fans who cheered after every beautiful verse. The set had ended with “Waiting on the World To Change” followed by an encore performance of “Dear Marie” and a crowd singalong of “Gravity.”

Check out photos from the show below. John Mayer continues his tour Sunday Feb 20th for a two night run at Madison Square Garden and around the USA through April.