John Mayer has it figured out.

Somewhere along the line of his career, he hit on the perfect formula of writing hooky, mass appeal pop songs while still being able to work out the neck of his Stratocaster to make the dudes in the audience almost pump their fist.

Last night, he and seven other top-of-the-line musicians stood on a pretty basic stage at Freedom Hall and lit up the night with a set replete with loneliness, soul, and the aforementioned guitar histrionics.