Concert Review: Jason Mraz @ Greek Theatre in Berkeley 02 Nov 2008

Last Sunday, Jason Mraz graced the Greek Theatre in Berkeley with a pitch perfect performance filled with happiness and love and sunshine (metaphorically). Despite forecasts of rain, Jason managed to “stop” the rain, saying that it never rains on his sunny fans. The enormous outdoor venue was PACKED, there were no free spaces. Every seat and every inch of space was occupied with Jason’s loyal fans.



I never realized how many people appreciated Jason, whom I like to call a pop princess (in the most endearing sense of the word). The concert was SUPERB, incorporating Jason’s eclectic range as a singer, from jazz to reggae to pop to rock. He introduced a cover of Rick James’ “Mary Jane” by saying “I hope you all love ukulele funk as much as you like ukulele light rock [“if it kills me”]”. The best part of the show was when Jason emulated the notes a bandmate of his played with a saxophone with his voice. It was amazing.



Jason encouraged everyone in the crowd to go out and vote, and endorsed Barack Obama with pictures of him on the screen while he sang the verse “Try to picture the man” in “Live High”.



He also reminded the crowd to vote no on Prop 8, which unfortunately passed anyway. He entertained the audience throughout the show, defining dating as “the act of making appointments to see one another again” (I swear it was funnier when he said it) and encouraging the crowd to participate in dancing and singing.

The only downside to the show was that the opening acts were on for way too long (the concert started at 3 and Jason didn’t come on until after 5), and neither of them were any good. His supporting bands were a UK band called Two Spot Gobi and an Irish singer named Lisa Hannigan who joined him for "Lucky"



Jason’s set more than compensated, though; my only complaints are that he didn’t play “You and I Both” or “I’ll Do Anything” (my favourites by him) and that his set was too short. Ok, so it wasn’t that short, he played for about an hour and a half but I wanted more! It was seriously one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to, and the acoustics were surprisingly good for an outdoor venue. Jason Mraz is one of the best things about pop music right now, and his live performances bring a sweet spin to his already wonderful songs. If Mr. A-Z comes by your town, check him out! He was worth every penny of the 60 dollars that I spent on my ticket, and then some. I couldn’t stop grinning for hours after the show. Now this may seem like a biased review, but in reality it is a very accurate review of a fantastic and talented musician who promised to be back next year. =)



4.5/5

Set List:

1. Make It Mine
2. The Remedy (+freestyle rap); got the guys in the crowd to sing along “Wonderwall”
3. If It Kills Me
4. Mary Jane (Rick James cover)
5. Life is Wonderful [mp3]
6. A Beautiful Mess
7. Live High [mp3]
8. Only Human
9. The Dynamo of Volition
10. I’m Yours/Three Little Birds/Every Little Thing Gonna be Alright (Marley cover)
11. 1000 Things
12. Lucky (with Lisa Hannigan)
13. Build Me Up Buttercup (The Foundations cover)
14. No Stopping Us
15. Butterfly

Mary Jane =) =) =)



The Dynamo of Volition:



1000 things:



just listen to how he holds that note at 2:18-2:26. chills.

Life is Wonderful:



seriously, this one got to me.

Build Me Up Buttercup:



I
<3
Jason
Mraz.