crack a smile

November 1st, 2008: My first Jason Mraz Concert.


This concert was amazing. This man is brilliant, with his witty, meaningful lyrics and soulful melodies. The show opened up with two artists, the first one a band in which I didn't catch their names, though they had beautiful British accents. The other was from Dublin, Ireland (how cool!) Lisa Hannigan, who you may have already been introduced to as she has worked with Damien Rice. Her lyrics are really something and her voice, songs, overally haunting. It was beautiful, yet haunting. She reminds me of a younger version of Tori Amos, but better. Here is a song by her called Lille.


After her performance, we waited for Jason. My sisters and I were quite sick but didn't mind. The waiting between Lisa Hannigan's performance and Jason Mraz allowed me some time to absorb my surroundings. Driving to the Greek Theatre was long, tiring, yet adventurous. The theatre is pretty much right in the middle of Griffth Park in LA. As I sat there looking at the cloudy, dark sky, the scenery reminded me of Disneyland with the cool air and the lited trees. While I took pictures, the lights dimmed down. Jason Mraz was going to be onstage any minute.

Music started with the melodies of "Make It Mine" from his newest album "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things" ( Great title isn't it? :). In the background, where the projection screen is, a message comes up, stating : "Welcome. We Sing. We Dance. We Thank You for coming. Now Sing. Dance. And Steal the Show. Yours truly, Jason Mraz". Already I was swooned with the music and his message to his fans. Then words appeared again that made me smile : " Jason Mraz. Found of Hats, Cats, Hope, Love. Hugs...etc. " It ended up with "Fond of Los Angeles, CA". The crowd then goes wild as he finally starts singing with the words " Wake up everyone, how can you sleep at a time like this, unless the dreamer is the real you".

Jason Mraz then goes on to sing his hits of "Clockwatching" and a different verison of "The Remedy (I won't worry)" in which I looked up to the sky and thought this one is for you James. He also sings alot of other songs, but one that was really beautiful was " A Beautiful Mess". It wasn't until he sang it live that I fully understood the meaning of the song. Listen to it, it's amazing. Some comedic moments was during his "Live High" performance where he got the crowd wild with his Obama picture in the background and his message of voting NO on PROP 8. That Jason sure knows how to get the crowd wild. Oh, he also made us dance while performing "The Dynamo of Volition".


My favorite performance of the night was "I'm Yours" hands down. It also infused "3 little birds" by Bob Marley and was a beautiful performance with his scats and witty commands. The whole audience sang every lyrics, scatted every scat, and whistled every note. It was fun hearing everyone sing with him and once he started singing "3 little birds" there was a huge uplifting feeling . It was as if there was no care in the world, something that has made me smile, even days after the concert. Here is the performance and I hope you enjoy it. <3

He ended his concert with a duo with Lisa Hannigan with "Lucky" then sang "Butterfly" and "No Stopping Us" from his first record "Waiting For My Rocket To Come". Then with a final bow, he runs off, leaving his fans in awe of his beautiful voice, songs, and soul.
I really hope to see him again someday. Hopefully he'll keep writing songs that really reflects my life and my beliefs. I want to live life like the way he does through his lyrics. He makes it seem like love is the only thing needed in this world. Maybe it is.I want to see him in concert again. This concert was breath taking, mostly because Mraz's songs and performance. There was something about that night. Maybe it was because of his songs, or his performances, or his band, or his voice. Maybe it was because of the soulful tunes under a beautiful sky. Though it was rainy, his performances made it sunny, filled with love, laughter, and life.