I had my suspicions...

So, I'm thinking: John Mayer might be a "furry." That's him, up there, in the bear suit. Not familar with the term? Allow Wikipedia to explain:

Fursuits are animal costumes associated with certain subgroups of furry fandom. They range from simple tails and ears to full costumes cooled by battery-powered fans. Similar to mascot suits, they allow the wearer to adopt another personality while in costume....A portion of the furry fandom exists that considers a fursuit a sexual item. Some fursuits are sold with or modified to contain provisions for sexual activity, such as openings, removable panels, and anatomically correct artificial genitalia.

Why have I come to this conclusion? Well, were it for the above picture alone, I would have thought -- Hey, it's a gimic. He showed up on stage in a bear suit. Hah. But then, this isn't a one-time only gig... it's something he does on a regular basis...

John Mayer Has A TV Show features the Grammy-award winning platinum musician as host of his very own talk show....Shot during Mayer's most recent summer tour, the show gives us a glimpse of how John spends his day when he's not singing to sold-out crowds....He disguises himself in a bear suit costume to get a fresh perspective on how his audience preps for his concerts in the venue parking lot. [VH1]

...and from Mayer's site:

I Like Cross (Species) Dressing
Posted Sep 25th 2006 8:50AM by JMZ Staff
Filed under: Stupid A**hole
What the hell is wrong with me? On a rare leisurely day at the venue in Portland, I decided to bring out the bear suit that was featured in"John Mayer Has A TV Show", a pointless and insipid 22 minutes that could have been better spent getting a closed MRI. Here's a shot of me [below] rolling around in the grass while dozens of other hardworking crew members break their backs all day just to stage another show for my overprivileged self.

I rest my case.