Sunday, March 19, 2006
Head over heels
Seeing Jason Mraz perform ‘live’ sent such an adrenaline rush through me that even now, two days after his concert, I’m still obsessing over him.Initially, I was rather disappointed because I expected an extravagant band playing behind him while he rocked the show. Instead, the entire stage was pretty much bare, with the exception of two chairs, two bottles of water, a bongo-bongo drum and a plain-looking guitar.
Of course, that wasn’t going to deter me from enjoying the concert. The moment Mraz set foot on stage, picked up his guitar and started whistling, I knew I was in for the time of my life.
Oh man, I’m still trying to grasp the beauty of his music. It’s so laidback, so pleasing to the ears, so spontaneous, so raw. Even when his guitar was out of tune, he turned the entire tuning process into a performance itself and made it such a delight to watch.
With a combination of jazz, hip-hop, pop, scat, rap and even opera, Mraz got the entire crowd hooked to his multi-faceted music. It’s fascinating how he is able to cramp a whole paragraph of words into a verse of melodious tunes.
He is the epitome of “Cool”. The way he strummed his guitar while he swayed to the beat of the music…It was so suave and so mesmerizing. I still have an image of him deeply imprinted in my memory and f.y.i., I intend to keep it there for a long time to come.
Credit also goes to his buddy-cum-percussionist, Toca Rivera. He looks pretty much like Stevie Wonder, with his funky hairdo and shades, except that he’s not blind of course. Even though he was a supporting musician, he brought along such a lovable personality which totally complements Mraz’s geeky yet expressive nature.
Gosh, I could go on and on talking about him. Truth is, I still have his tunes stuck in my head. It’s playing like a broken record, yes, even when I’m asleep. You’ve really got to hear him to believe it. He is the guy next door, the one every girl would like to bring home, the rising star with a divine voice, the talented wordsmith with a humbled appearance. Hmmm, I have the strangest feeling that he will be around for a long time to come. Amen to that!
Some facts about Jason Mraz
- His well-known song, the Remedy, was about his friend who survived cancer.
- He is 28 years old this year and he started learning how to play the guitar 10 yeas ago.
- He toured with the Dave Matthews Band last year.
Pictures!
