Jason Mraz takes Manila fans on an interstellar musical trip
Sing along time at the Big Dome
I've always liked Jason Mraz.
Not in the rabid fanboy way, though. But he was at least respectable for me, and he sure didn't seem to put on airs. And to my knowledge did not get involved in high-profile celebrity relationships or trash hotel suites. He just seemed chill. Maybe even too chill for my typical taste in music. But there I was at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, waiting for the show to start.
I profile the audience. They looked nice. Too nice, in fact. Too pleasant to be merely nice. I was not sure what to make of them.
Introspective
Mraz's voice boomed from the speakers: “Mah-gahndahng gah-biii! Ma-haaal kow kayoww.” The audience starts cheering, and the seemingly-disembodied troubadour introduces the opening act, his backing band and current collaborators Raining Jane.
I wasn't aware that the singer was working on music with the all-girl group until I saw the music video trilogy “We Can Take the Long Way” off his new album, “YES!” Raining Jane has apparently been working on Mraz since 2007, having co-written the platinum award-winning “A Beautiful Mess” with the latter. The entire new album was basically the Mraz and Raining Jane Show, with the band backing him both on record and tour. “I've always wanted to be in a girl group,” the singer-songwriter later says jokingly. “Ever since I was a little girl.”
After a few songs, the group's sultry percussionist Mona Tavakoli introduced Mraz onstage, where they proceeded to do “Life Is Wonderful.” It wasn't a grand entrance; Mraz entered the stage in his laid-back, low-key manner (if not for the glaring lights behind him). “Wonderful” may be celebratory in its lyrics, but the feel was not. If anything it was quite introspective. And that set the tone for the night's set. But Mraz and Raining Jane picked up the pace with “Everywhere” off the new album, which had the audience clapping along. Nicely.
Unpretentious
People were probably expecting more of the old Mraz—the whimsical guy next door from 2002—but they were probably surprised (and not in a bad way) as he treated them to more of the newer material from the last three albums, especially “YES!” for obvious reasons.
He did treat them to reworked versions of some of his older popular material though: he sang “Lucky,” with his bandmates all filling in for Colbie Caillat, and a stripped-down version of “The Remedy” (and I thought he couldn't rework that song further after the many renditions he has done with it).
What struck me about the show was how unpretentious it was. There was no pomp and pageantry involved. Just a guy with some friends playing together, and we were all welcome to join them.
Interstellar
Everyone was treated to two and a half hours of easy listening music which, if you think about how much problems Filipinos are being subjected to every day, was something that everyone definitely needed. But the concert was not escapist fare, as Mraz talked about tree planting and paying tribute to his Filipino fans' efforts at planting trees in Manila.
A bit hippie for some people, but Mr. Chill had a lot more things to talk about: going organic (“Back to the Earth”), marine life and saving the Antarctic (“Bottom of the Sea”) and the importance of love (see: every other song).
Transcendentalism was a key message, as the background graphics went all “Interstellar” on the audience as they did the epic mashup of “93 Million Miles” and “Shine.”
Sublime
My mind was blown, the message really hit home. And then he sang another old hit, “I'm Yours” as if to ease the audience out of the mashup acid trip and back into reality.
Mraz and company capped the night with “I Won't Give Up,” and a homey version of Boyz II Men's “It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.”
Seems like Filipinos will not get tired of the sublime musical experience that is Jason Mraz. Hopefully he will be back, and the audience will be as receptive to his new material as they were on the night of the 27th.
MORE MRAZ
STORY:
Meet Raining Jane, the back-up band
VIDEOS:
“Love Someone” with Raining Jane
Exclusive interview: Jason Mraz ‘lusts after’ the hidden beauty of the Philippines
