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Mraz show builds slowly but ends with a bang
By Leila Al-Qattan |
June 15, 2012, Friday
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Online Edition
Online Edition
For acoustic pop music lovers in Shanghai, last night was a big and much talked about show, with American singer Jason Mraz performing at Shanghai Grand Stage.
Mraz, best known for his acoustic-pop hits like "You and I" and "The Remedy," came to town to promote his latest album Love is a Four Letter Word, a heart-string pulling, love-inspired album of his most recent tunes (a word of advice: while the album is reminiscent of a sweet love, it is certainly to be avoided if one is reeling from a recent break-up).
Mraz opened the show by playing songs from his newest album along with several from his three previous albums, none of which reached the commercial success of Love is a Four Letter Word. Still, the albums boast tunes indicative of his ability to make fans swoon over his soft voice.
But it was a rather slow start to the show. It is difficult to imagine being at a concert and having an entire conversation without straining one's voice over the buzz of the amps or the cheers of the surrounding crowd. Unfortunately, whether due to the mediocre acoustics of the venue or the crowd's somewhat docile energy, one could almost hear a pin drop at times.
But it was from no lack of effort on Mraz's part to engage the crowd. He had a great, albeit slightly hippie-like, stage presence, often yelling quips in Chinese or encouraging his fans to "live in the moment" and "enjoy love and life." Furthermore, whenever he so much as muttered half a syllable in Chinese, the crowd went wild ("wild" being a loose term, here, the pin could still be heard dropping).
And though the show started off rather calmly, it picked up excellently towards the second half. The energy of the crowd could be felt much more easily (especially once Mraz started singing his more popular hits), and his fans were noticeably more relaxed and into the music.
Mraz ended the show with arguably his most popular hit, the Grammy-nominated "I'm Yours," and the crowd finally went truly crazy, as would be expected when an audience of hundreds finally hears that Billboard Top 100 that they clearly all came for.
In the end, though the venue was nearly almost full, Mraz is definitely more suited to perform on a more intimate stage. Between his personal, loving lyrics and his calming acoustic sound, his music just isn't suited for big venues.
So, besides the more than strange background videos accompanying the music (why exactly did they show images of African savannah animals flashing on screen while Mraz was crooning about a bad break-up is beyond logic), in the end, Mraz, as expected, did not fail to leave his audience wanting more. Let's hope that Shanghai left him with the desire to return soon to remind everyone that love exists in all places, even the hustling concrete jungle that we wake up to every morning.
Mraz, best known for his acoustic-pop hits like "You and I" and "The Remedy," came to town to promote his latest album Love is a Four Letter Word, a heart-string pulling, love-inspired album of his most recent tunes (a word of advice: while the album is reminiscent of a sweet love, it is certainly to be avoided if one is reeling from a recent break-up).
Mraz opened the show by playing songs from his newest album along with several from his three previous albums, none of which reached the commercial success of Love is a Four Letter Word. Still, the albums boast tunes indicative of his ability to make fans swoon over his soft voice.
But it was a rather slow start to the show. It is difficult to imagine being at a concert and having an entire conversation without straining one's voice over the buzz of the amps or the cheers of the surrounding crowd. Unfortunately, whether due to the mediocre acoustics of the venue or the crowd's somewhat docile energy, one could almost hear a pin drop at times.
But it was from no lack of effort on Mraz's part to engage the crowd. He had a great, albeit slightly hippie-like, stage presence, often yelling quips in Chinese or encouraging his fans to "live in the moment" and "enjoy love and life." Furthermore, whenever he so much as muttered half a syllable in Chinese, the crowd went wild ("wild" being a loose term, here, the pin could still be heard dropping).
And though the show started off rather calmly, it picked up excellently towards the second half. The energy of the crowd could be felt much more easily (especially once Mraz started singing his more popular hits), and his fans were noticeably more relaxed and into the music.
Mraz ended the show with arguably his most popular hit, the Grammy-nominated "I'm Yours," and the crowd finally went truly crazy, as would be expected when an audience of hundreds finally hears that Billboard Top 100 that they clearly all came for.
In the end, though the venue was nearly almost full, Mraz is definitely more suited to perform on a more intimate stage. Between his personal, loving lyrics and his calming acoustic sound, his music just isn't suited for big venues.
So, besides the more than strange background videos accompanying the music (why exactly did they show images of African savannah animals flashing on screen while Mraz was crooning about a bad break-up is beyond logic), in the end, Mraz, as expected, did not fail to leave his audience wanting more. Let's hope that Shanghai left him with the desire to return soon to remind everyone that love exists in all places, even the hustling concrete jungle that we wake up to every morning.
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