John Mayer, Ben Folds show off their range at The Gorge

QUINCY -- The thousands of fans who packed The Gorge for John Mayer on Saturday night were told he dreams of "Saturday Night Live" alumna Tina Fey and was inspired early in his career by opener Ben Folds.

And Mayer showed fans he can rip Stevie Ray Vaughn-style guitar licks as easily as most people play an A chord -- even on the pop songs that made him a household name.

"Who's sleeping in my tent tonight?" Mayer asked thousands of bikini-clad 20-somethings when he took the stage about 9:20 p.m. Acknowledging the raucous cheers, he started his 11-song set with "Waiting on the World to Change," the track that earned him a best male pop vocal Grammy earlier this year.

He used a Fender Stratocaster on "Belief," another song off his most recent, Grammy-winning release, "Continuum." Promising fans a mix of old songs and new, he picked the opening notes of "No Such Thing," the song Mayer said made him big from his debut full-length disc "Room for Squares."

The six underrated musicians who backed Mayer, including guitarist Robbie Macintosh, made fans forget how much they had to pay for gas to get there, adding well-timed accompaniment on originals and a cover of "I Don't Need No Doctor."

Folds' hourlong opening set included "Still Fighting It" -- a song about growing up written for his son Louis and daughter Gracie -- and a calmed, creative cover of an expletive-laced Dr. Dre rap song.

Folds had the audience sing in three-part harmony on the final song, "Not the Same," climbing on top of his grand piano and leading the audience with arm movements similar to Charlton Heston in "The Ten Commandments."

At least a third of the fans who packed The Gorge were too late for the first opening set by Rocco DeLuca and the Burden, a four-piece alternative rock band from California.

Similar to Folds, Mayer acknowledged the amphitheater's beauty -- and the sun-drenched drives fans made to get there, playing until about 11 p.m.

"This is a song I wrote about places like this," Mayer said, launching into "3x5," the first of three acoustic encore songs.

Mayer switched back to a Fender, ending with a full-band rendition of "Why Georgia."