Last week, John Mayer revealed he’d been forced to alter his guitar playing going into Dead & Company's final remaining shows in Las Vegas after injuring one of his fingers.
Footage from Mayer’s first three shows post-injury has now emerged online, highlighting the extent to which he’s had to shift his usual approach to fretting as a result of the incapacitated index finger of his left hand.
At the time of the injury, Mayer dubbed that particular digit as “the team captain of my fretting hand”, and he’d be without it heading into the supergroup’s final few shows, which kicked off last Thursday (August 1).
However, despite the setback, Mayer announced he’d been valiantly attempting to figure out a workaround that would involve him instead relying on the other three fingers to carry him through the shows.
And carry them they did. In footage from Dead & Company's triple-header of shows last week, Mayer’s middle and ring fingers can be seen working overtime to cover the extra ground, with his pinky also seeing more action than usual.
If you closed your eyes and listened to his solo effort in Bertha, or his rhythmic chordal contributions in Brokedown Palace, you’d be forgiven for completely forgetting that Mayer had an injury altogether.
Likewise, his snappy chops on They Love Each Other betrayed no sign of any potential discomfort despite the serious injury.
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Whatever he did in the week leading up to the show last Thursday seems to have worked wonders for Mayer’s playing, and his three working fingers were clearly well-oiled and well-drilled for what were three intense evenings of guitar playing.
Fortunately, those three digits had help: according to Live for Live Music – who attended the show on August 2 – Mayer delivered a “killer solo” on St. Stephen, which included a “heaping helping of clever tapping”.
What was rather interesting, as well as Mayer’s adapted playing style, was his guitar of choice. At least for the Friday and Saturday shows (August 2 and 3), the guitarist looked to have favored Brent Mason’s signature Fender Telecaster, which was drafted in over his PRS Silver Sky signature guitar.
Sure, the Silver Sky did feature – Mayer took it for a spin on Mississippi Half Step and numerous other tracks – but the Tele featured heavily across the band’s sets, and seemingly took preference.
Whether that’s because it’s a more comfortable instrument to navigate with just three fingers is unclear, but the Custom Shop version of Mason’s model – which looks to be the chosen guitar here, given its aged finish – also has a Joe Glaser B–Bender fitted.
That no doubt gives Mayer (who isn’t a natural B-Bender player by any means) even more options when it comes to squeezing out extra flavor while the team captain of his left hand recovers.
And, judging by the guitar’s strap position in Bertha, Mayer clearly did have the B-Bender on his mind while playing at certain points.
Though the Mason Telecaster has been used by Mayer before – most notably during the Rise for the River concerts back in 2022 – it wouldn’t be considered a Dead & Company staple, so it’s interesting to see Mayer bring it out for the group’s last-ever live shows.
Dead & Company will conclude their epic live career with three more shows later this week. It remains to be seen whether Mayer will have his out-of-action finger in working order by then, but even if he doesn’t, it doesn’t seem to be an issue.
If the shows last week were anything to go by, Mayer will have no problem delivering the guitar goods to help close out the residency.
