aMRAZing!

Mar 5, 2009 was setting up to be a good night. I had my ticket to the second row of the second block from the stage. I’d done my homework, listening to every song in the 3 albums released by the American janitor-turned singer-songwriter that I could lay my ears on.

It wasn’t a good night.

…It was a great night.

The crowd was screaming in excitement as the lights dimmed. Then, the man himself walked out, sporting an unshaven goatee, his signature fedora, a white long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans. Unlike the elaborate wardrobe changes of some more flamboyant acts such as Kylie Minogue or Rod Stewart, the 31-year-old singer-songwriter stuck with this understated ensemble throughout the show.

The Good

Once he got on stage, the easily 8,000-strong crowd in the Indoor Stadium was instantly invited to “stand up, c’mon!” as the band burst into “The Dynamo of Volition”. Even this usually-straight-laced reporter couldn’t resist getting on his feet and dancing like it was Saturday Night Fever.

The repertoire for the night: a mix of songs from all 3 of the Grammy-nominated singer’s albums, although out of the counted 16 songs, a grand total of 8 tracks were from the latest album, “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.” alone. The album, released in 2008, was the prolific singer’s best selling and highest peaking album thus far, hitting number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.

One of the early highlights of the show (and I imagine this should be the case) was when Mraz performed “Lucky” with local Mandopop singer Joi Chua. With the big shoes of Colbie Callait to fill, Chua, 30, did reasonably well by sticking to the harmonisation of the original song.

Another highlight came during the song “I’m Yours” which in turn featured a segment of Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley’s song, “Three Little Birds”, during which the crowd was urged to sing the famous line “Don’t worry about a thing/ ‘cause every little thing is gonna be all right”. This was then followed by several musical harmonies voiced by Mraz, which the audience was encouraged to imitate. Needless to say, all present at the Singapore Indoor Stadium sang at the top of their voices, adding to the electric atmosphere of the night.

Though I believe Mraz could most definitely hold a performance simply with his voice, his guitar and another percussionist (as exhibited in the 2006 Mosaic Music Festival when he and percussionist Toca Rivera played a casual and intimate gig to a small crowd at the Esplanade Recital Hall), his band ultimately played a big part in complimenting and completing the concert experience.

Introduced right at the very end in the middle of the song “No Stopping Us” from Mraz’s first album, “Waiting For My Rocket To Come”, the band comprised such musicians as percussionist and back-up vocalist Toca Rivera and keyboardist Eric Hinojosa, who have been a part of Mraz’s gang of misfits since 2000 and 2003 respectively.

And much to the delight of the screaming fans, Mraz even snapped polaroids of his self-titled “Super Band” during the introductions and flung the pictures into the crowd.

The Not-So-Good

What was unfortunate though, was that with the large audience, the usually tongue-in-cheek Mraz had to hold back a little on the antics and jokes that were present in his previous live recordings, which meant he didn’t really engage the crowd in small talk, unlike his previous 2 performances in Singapore (Such as in Singfest last Aug). He did, however, manage a guitar change every time a song ended.

Also, with the constant buzzing during the electrifying concert atmosphere almost throughout the entire show, there was little time to sit down. And while some chose to do so during the slower songs and during the interval when Mraz was offstage, most of the attending fans (including myself) remained standing and clapping throughout the approximately-two-hour-long performance.

Even more apparent was what seemed like the lack of an encore. Although Mraz did run offstage after performing “I’m Yours”, and then came back for what was supposed to be the encore, few in the crowd picked up that the following four songs were the encore. This led to the crowd chanting “we want more” after the final song, “Butterfly”, only to be disappointed by the house lights coming on and the ushers motioning for people to start leaving.

Final Thoughts

All the stories I had heard and read about Mraz’s awesome stage presence and incredible live performances were indeed true and more. With lyrical and vocal prowess, he coaxed and charmed a usually calm and reserved Singaporean crowd into jumping, screaming and singing his songs like there was no tomorrow.

By the end of the night, my feet were tired from standing the entire concert and my throat was sore from singing at the top of my voice and screaming (yes, screaming) like a 16-year-old fan-girl. Thankfully, I didn’t let the fact that I had to write this article hinder my fun. It was an amazing concert and utterly justified every single one of the $148 I spent to go.

Song List

The Dynamo of Volition
Geek In The Pink
Unfold
Who Needs Shelter
Live High
Lucky (duet with Joi Chua)
Only Human
Make It Mine
A Beautiful Mess
You And I Both/Sleeping To Dream
I’m Yours/Three Little Birds by Bob Marley
Interval Instrumental

Encores:

Mr Curiosity
The Remedy/Wonderwall
No Stopping Us (with Super Band Intro)
Butterfly

Super Band

Percussion and Back-up Vocals: Toca Rivera
Keyboard: Eric Scott Hinojosa
Saxophone: Carlos Sosa
Trumpet: Fernando Castillo
Trombone: Reggie Watkins
Bass: Bruce Hughes
Drums: Michael “Leroy” Bram

Some Videos… Courtesy of Elaine Yang