Managing to secure seats in the front block of the arena meant that I didn't need to watch the gig on the big screens behind, and the buzz in the seating area meant that there was mainly standing (and therefore, dancing) involved. Basically, they were very, very good seats - especially for such a giant venue. That said, I think the whole experience would have been extraordinary for every single ticketholder, even the ones at the very top which you can't buy if you have a fear of heights. I'm not even exaggerating; it was that good. It was also really nice to see such a wide demographic in the audience - children and their parents, teenagers, young couples, old couples, and everyone else in between.
Jason Mraz and his band delivered an intimate yet explosive set. I say "intimate" because the connection and chemistry within the musicians in the band meant they could play and bounce off each other (not literally speaking of course) and you got a sense that they, and the several thousand in the crowd, were all part of a close-knit show. This was shown by the performance of "I'm Coming Over", the hidden track on the latest album "Love is a four letter word", where the entire band joined a corner of the stage one by one until they were all huddled like a family with instruments so that if you really tried to block everything out, you could believe that they were sheltered in a barn simply jamming music. (See the last photo).
In particular, over the course of the evening, the female percussionist who can apparently play a million different instruments stood out playing a box-shaped drum with the most energy I have ever seen anyone with, and the instruments included to also a weird necklace-type bell thing...but hey, that's multi-talented creativity like I've never seen it before. There was also a support act in the form of the very man who encouraged him to pursue a music career which introduced the evening in a special and meaningful manner.
Then onto Jason Mraz, the leading man. In between songs, his observations on things and just life in general made you smile. He sung barefoot, drank from some mysterious brown bottle, and even featured the Youtube sensation Sexy Sax Man. (Youtube his numerous "Careless Whisper" covers if you dare...). There were crazy riffs and melodic introductions and dramatic outros, songs from earlier on in his career such as "The Remedy" and "Plane", and tracks from his latest offering including "Frank D. Fixer" and "The Woman I Love" which featured an actual proposal from one nervous audience member and a "yes" from the most emotional audience member. I think one half of the audience may have shed a tear ( - the females).
Other songs included "Make it Mine", "Butterfly", "Live High", "Only Human", and a heartfelt duet of "Lucky". Of course, he made a big fuss over the track which really put his name all over the global music - "I'm Yours" - merging it with a bit of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds". And the big finale was "I Won't Give Up" (what else?). Arms swaying, couples embracing (boy were there a lot of couples in that crowd...), and phone lights in the air... it was a perfect end to a perfect night. Speaking of perfect too, every single note was pitch perfect. Every. Single. Note.
So, to wrap it all up, it was quite simply the best concert I have ever been to. I've been to a fair few and I usually enjoy the smaller lesser-known artists in the smaller venues, but there was just nothing I could complain about even if I wanted to. One of my favourite songs of Mraz's is called "Life is Wonderful" and my-oh-my was the tour simply...wonderful.
Bev x
All photos featured in this post are copyright to Bev at Beview.blogspot.com and are not to be reproduced without permission.
- Wednesday, December 19, 2012
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