The fans at Madison Square Garden didn’t let a little snow keep them from John Mayer’s sold-out concert on Thursday night (February 25). Mayer has also had some adversity come his way over the past few weeks, after the backlash from his controversial comments in Playboy magazine.

Mayer took a moment onstage to thank his fans for believing in him through the uproar.

“I hate to come off like an a–hole ever, and thank you guys for believing that I am not an a–hole,” he told the crowd. “Never, ever in my entire life did I ever think that it would be a good idea to be an a–hole. But you know what? There’s plenty of a–holes who think the same thing, so I have to thank you.”

Mayer said he’s ready for a fresh start: “It’s a clean me now, people, clean me.”

When Mayer wasn’t thanking his fans for braving the elements, he and his five-piece band were rocking out the stage to a set list of songs from his current album, Battle Studies, as well as hits from his past, including “Waiting on the World to Change” and “Your Body Is a Wonderland.” He even succumbed to a section of cheering fans calling out for him to perform “City Love” from his breakthrough 2001 album, Room for Squares.

Even if the public isn’t convinced by his numerous apologies, Mayer had the Madison Square Garden concertgoers on their feet from show-opener “Heartbreak Warfare” to his encore — snow boots and all. The singer/songwriter even checked in with the crowd on Twitter after the show: “MSG crowd, will you tweet me when you get home safe? It’s bad out. Oh and HOLY SHNIKES. You were unreal tonight.”

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