What a fool I'd be to start complaining now...
I saw Jason Mraz perform for the first time back in 2006. He played a tiny room at The Forum, a short-lived concert venue at Fox Studios, and despite the fact I knew only one song (The Remedy), he was one of the most charismatic, entertaining and talented musicians I'd ever seen.
Since then, I've also seen him play the Enmore Theatre (2008), and - in one of the best concert experiences I've ever had - at a mini festival at Bonython Park, Adelaide (alongside Missy Higgins, Bob Evans and Eric Hutchinson in 2009).
Each time he has blown my mind, so when he announced a two-man acoustic show at the Sydney Opera House with his longtime friend/band mate Toca Rivera, I was more than a little excited. On Sunday night, he took to the Concert Hall stage and he proved his prowess for music, melody, lyrics and live performance once again, but the set-list (a collaboration of covers, his recorded works to date and forthcoming material) made it hard for me to truly enjoy the concert.
Perhaps it was a set made for the truly diehard - some of the songs were chosen by fans after all - but it's not that I didn't know the songs, I just didn't care for them. For most of the concert I was sitting there, waiting with baited breath for the next song, hoping it could somehow redeem all the previous selections.
It seems like this was a respite for him and his longstanding fans - an excuse to step away from the conventional and expected song choices, I was just hoping for selections which married with mine (Sleeping To Dream, God Rests In Reason, After An Afternoon, Wordplay, etc.). Instead, he merged two great songs (Curbside Prophet/The Remedy) in a fairly under whelming medley for the sake of poor Sinatra and Beatles cover choices.
That said, he did make me appreciate songs I'd never really liked before. Love For A Child has always seemed a little trite for mine, but last night, the lyrics and the melody were just beautiful and I haven't been able to stop singing it since. In my placid state, I was also able to fully listen to and appreciate the incredibly cheeky and clever Butterfly.
Songs yet to be released like You Fuckin' Did It, Right Kind of Phrase, 93 Miles and Sail Away (complete with a whale song) definitely piqued my interest in his next album - they were brilliant! As was the opening song of the night - What Would Love Do, which featured nothing more than the beautiful vocal harmonies of Jason and Toca, using finger clicks for percussion...absolutely beautiful.
He worked French, Spanish and Japanese lyrics into various songs, as well as engaging all four sides of the auditorium in a sing-along which he orchestrated. And there was an all-out love fest throughout the concert hall for I'm Yours; it was pretty amazing being in a room with amazing acoustics as 2000+ people rise from their seats and clap/sing out every single word at the top of their lungs.
Apart from hearing my favourite Mraz song, You And I Both (I was devastated when he omitted it last time), my highlight was seeing him trade in his guitar for a piano and proceed to play a hauntingly beautiful classical piece, then sing operatically. This incredulous hush fell over the audience for several full minutes, then erupted into a roar of applause once it was over, it was that spectacular.
There is no denying that Mraz is a lyrical genius and a gifted musician, I just need to revert back to my mind-set for that first show, where I had no expectations, and just appreciate the wonder of him and the music he plays with such reverence, passion and gratitude.
What Would Love Do
The World As I See It
I Never Knew You
Song For A Friend
Fly Me To The Moon (Frank Sinatra cover)
Lucky
Halfway Home
Curbside Prophet/The Remedy (I Won't Worry)/Wonderwall (Oasis)
Little You And I
You And I
Right Kind Of Phrase
Make It Mine
In My Life (Beatles cover - considering he'd done Across the Universe, my all-time favourite Beatles song, the night before, I was pretty devastated he'd chosen this one)
I Won't Give Up
Butterfly
Absolutely Zero
You Fuckin' Did It
93 Million Miles
Sail Away
Love For A Child
Mr Curiosity
Plane
Only Human
0% Interest
ENCORE
I'm Yours
Life Is Wonderful
You Are Loved
Since then, I've also seen him play the Enmore Theatre (2008), and - in one of the best concert experiences I've ever had - at a mini festival at Bonython Park, Adelaide (alongside Missy Higgins, Bob Evans and Eric Hutchinson in 2009).
Each time he has blown my mind, so when he announced a two-man acoustic show at the Sydney Opera House with his longtime friend/band mate Toca Rivera, I was more than a little excited. On Sunday night, he took to the Concert Hall stage and he proved his prowess for music, melody, lyrics and live performance once again, but the set-list (a collaboration of covers, his recorded works to date and forthcoming material) made it hard for me to truly enjoy the concert.
Perhaps it was a set made for the truly diehard - some of the songs were chosen by fans after all - but it's not that I didn't know the songs, I just didn't care for them. For most of the concert I was sitting there, waiting with baited breath for the next song, hoping it could somehow redeem all the previous selections.
It seems like this was a respite for him and his longstanding fans - an excuse to step away from the conventional and expected song choices, I was just hoping for selections which married with mine (Sleeping To Dream, God Rests In Reason, After An Afternoon, Wordplay, etc.). Instead, he merged two great songs (Curbside Prophet/The Remedy) in a fairly under whelming medley for the sake of poor Sinatra and Beatles cover choices.
That said, he did make me appreciate songs I'd never really liked before. Love For A Child has always seemed a little trite for mine, but last night, the lyrics and the melody were just beautiful and I haven't been able to stop singing it since. In my placid state, I was also able to fully listen to and appreciate the incredibly cheeky and clever Butterfly.
Songs yet to be released like You Fuckin' Did It, Right Kind of Phrase, 93 Miles and Sail Away (complete with a whale song) definitely piqued my interest in his next album - they were brilliant! As was the opening song of the night - What Would Love Do, which featured nothing more than the beautiful vocal harmonies of Jason and Toca, using finger clicks for percussion...absolutely beautiful.
He worked French, Spanish and Japanese lyrics into various songs, as well as engaging all four sides of the auditorium in a sing-along which he orchestrated. And there was an all-out love fest throughout the concert hall for I'm Yours; it was pretty amazing being in a room with amazing acoustics as 2000+ people rise from their seats and clap/sing out every single word at the top of their lungs.
Apart from hearing my favourite Mraz song, You And I Both (I was devastated when he omitted it last time), my highlight was seeing him trade in his guitar for a piano and proceed to play a hauntingly beautiful classical piece, then sing operatically. This incredulous hush fell over the audience for several full minutes, then erupted into a roar of applause once it was over, it was that spectacular.
There is no denying that Mraz is a lyrical genius and a gifted musician, I just need to revert back to my mind-set for that first show, where I had no expectations, and just appreciate the wonder of him and the music he plays with such reverence, passion and gratitude.
What Would Love Do
The World As I See It
I Never Knew You
Song For A Friend
Fly Me To The Moon (Frank Sinatra cover)
Lucky
Halfway Home
Curbside Prophet/The Remedy (I Won't Worry)/Wonderwall (Oasis)
Little You And I
You And I
Right Kind Of Phrase
Make It Mine
In My Life (Beatles cover - considering he'd done Across the Universe, my all-time favourite Beatles song, the night before, I was pretty devastated he'd chosen this one)
I Won't Give Up
Butterfly
Absolutely Zero
You Fuckin' Did It
93 Million Miles
Sail Away
Love For A Child
Mr Curiosity
Plane
Only Human
0% Interest
ENCORE
I'm Yours
Life Is Wonderful
You Are Loved