John Mayer Busts Out ‘Assassin’ In Los Angeles

John Mayer had a huge surprise in store for fans last night in Los Angeles, as the guitarist performed “Assassin” for the first time in nearly 12 years. The cut from the guitarist’s 2009 LP, Battle Studies, was played towards the middle of his second of three Sob Rock Tour shows at The Forum.

“Assassin” last saw action on September 7, 2010 in Decatur, Georgia as per Setlist.FM. Mayer was backed by his full band — consisting of vocalists Tiffany Palmer and Carlos Ricketts, guitarists Isaiah Sharkey and David Ryan Harris, keyboardists Jamie Muhoberac and Greg Phillinganes, bassist Pino Palladino, drummer Steve Ferrone and percussionist Lenny Castro — for the bust out. The guitarist started performing Room For Squares classic “83” a few songs later but quickly stopped and told the crowd he forgot how to play the tune that hadn’t made a setlist since 2017.

The rest of last night’s concert came in similar form to other stops on the tour. Sob Rock tracks “Last Train Home” and “Shot In The Dark” were played to open the show. Mayer and his band also performed “Carry Me Away,” “Wild Blue” and “New Light” from the LP. The guitarist went acoustic for the beloved “Neon” and “In Your Atmosphere” between full band portions of the evening.

John Mayer went with “Belief” to launch the second half of last night’s main set. The shocking “Assassin” performance followed along with Continuum standout “Stop This Train.” Mayer then played the “83” snippet before zagging into “Rosie.” The L.A. resident eventually closed the main set with “Gravity” from his John Mayer Trio days. Last night’s encore featured the tour’s second “Dear Marie” and the aforementioned “New Light.”

Watch fan-shot video footage featuring last night’s “Assassin” performance below: