John Mayer pauses first solo gig in two years to help fan in distress

John Mayer‘s first solo gig in two years was briefly interrupted this week when he was alerted to an audience member in need of medical attention.

On Wednesday night (February 9), the ‘New Light’ hitmaker took to the stage at the Hollywood Palladium as part of SiriusXM and Pandora’s ‘Small Stages’ series, ahead of his ‘Sob Rock’ North American tour, which kicks off next week in Albany, New York, in support of his latest album.

In a video captured by Hollywood Reporter writer Chris Gardner, Mayer can be seen cutting the music in the middle of performing ‘Slow Dancing In A Burning Room’ to check on a fan, who appeared to have fainted.

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“Stop the show,” Mayer said. “Are they conscious?” After medical staff arrived to attend to the fan, Mayer announced: “They’re conscious. Give me a thumbs up if they’re alert.” The audience member was then treated and taken out of the venue in a wheelchair, while Mayer and his band left the stage for a few moments.

“Anyone in the crowd who’s worried, I’m told that she’s up and waved goodbye, so she’s OK,” Mayer told the crowd. “The system works, thank you very much.”

When Mayer and his band returned to the stage, they played ‘Waiting On The World To Change’, taken from his Grammy-winning third album ‘Continuum’. You can see his setlist in full below.

‘Last Train Home’
‘Belief’
‘Love on the Weekend’
‘Wild Blue’
‘Shot In The Dark’
‘Who Says’
‘Moving On And Getting Over’
‘Shouldn’t Matter But It Does’
‘Helpless’
‘Slow Dancing In A Burning Room’
‘Waiting On The World To Change’
‘Edge Of Desire’
‘Gravity’

Encore:
‘All I Want Is To Be With You’ (live debut)
‘New Light’

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Since last November’s Astroworld tragedy, which left 10 dead and hundreds injured, artists have felt increased pressure to be mindful of fan safety during their concerts.

Earlier this month, Billie Eilish halted a show in Atlanta in order to have an inhaler brought out to a seemingly distressed fan in the audience.

“You need an inhaler?” Eilish asked someone in the audience, before turning to her crew and saying, “Do we have an inhaler? Can we just grab one?” A team member then went into the pit to deliver an inhaler, during which Eilish said, “It’s OK, we got one”, instructing the audience to “give [the fan] some time. Don’t crowd”.

“You need to come out or are you OK? You sure?” she asked, before mouthing “I love you”.






Meanwhile, John Mayer was forced to pull out of some Dead & Company shows last month after he tested positive for COVID.