NINE MSN
By Alexandra Hahn
Jason Mraz - Enmore Theatre, 9 August 2008
There is always something about a Jason Mraz concert that leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Perhaps you could put it down to the catchy pop-jazz fusions that underscore soaring melody lines delivered with perfect pitch. Perhaps it's the multi-layered harmonies that Mraz and his irreverent, bongo-playing sidekick Toca Rivera pull off to spine-tingling perfection. Or perhaps it is Mraz's free-styling and improvisational antics that make each audience member feel as though he is performing only to them which makes this artist a force to be reckoned with.
The hatted and barefoot singer took to the stage to deafening roars, and within a matter of minutes the entire audience was swinging their knees and hips in unison and waving hands above their heads. Classics such as 'No Stopping Us' were performed with a sultriness and intensity that is only found in high-end jazz, heightened by solos from the brass section that would have had the most discerning Miles Davis fan quivering in their boots.
His more recent hit, 'I'm Yours', was performed to Bob Marley-esque reggae perfection. So much so that it had you convinced you were sipping rum on a Jamaican beach while swaying softly in a hammock in the warm summer breeze. When it transgressed seamlessly into Marley's classic 'Three Little Birds', the fantasy was complete.
Mraz's encore performance ended with the poignant and heart-wrenching acoustic tune 'You and I Both', quietly melting the crowd with airborne melodies and his penchant for minor keys.
With each performance, Mraz finds a new musical genre to pull inspiration from. While jazz and reggae are his current flavour, each performance cements his status as a true artist and all-round icon.
UNDERCOVER.COM.AU
By Paul Cashmere
Jason Mraz – Forum Theatre, 12 August 2008
Was Jason Mraz taking the piss out of Oasis or Jay-Z when he played last night in Melbourne' Either way, it was funny and extremely subtle. I don`t think the audience even knew what he was doing.
Mraz is back in Australia for his umpteeth tour and has developed into a totally relaxed pro on stage.
It was hard to tell if he was sending-up Jay-Z or Oasis last night when he morphed from his hit ‘Remedy’ into Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’. It mimicked Jay-Z’s pot shot at Noel Gallagher earlier this year at Glastonbury.
Mraz is touring off the back of his Top 10 album ‘We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things’.
For the first time, he is touring with a brass section, but it is his long-time buddy Toca Rivera who is the backbone of his sound.
Putting ‘Remedy’ at the start of the show was a brave move that paid off for Mraz.
He kept ‘You And I Both’ for his encore.
His cover of Seals & Crofts 1970’s hit ‘Summer Breeze’ deserves a mention. Mraz has made it his own.
Rarely do you see an artist grab an audience at the start of a show and hold them right until the end. Jason managed to pull that off last night at his Melbourne show.
Mraz is at his peak as a performing artist. If you ever questioned if you wanted to see Jason Mraz, now is the time.
THE COURIER MAIL
By Justin Grey
Jason Mraz – The Tivoli, 14 August 2008
BOOKED solidly for the bulk of 2008, busy San Diego-based singer-songwriter Jason Mraz wrapped up his second Australian tour of the year with a sold-out performance at The Tivoli on August 14.
The tour was Mraz's biggest yet in these parts and followed the recent release of his third album, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things.
A funky, escalating, call-and-response introduction set the buoyant tone for the night, before The Remedy truly got the ball rolling when Mraz sidetracked the song through a playful few bars of Oasis' Wonderwall.
Mraz was accompanied by a seven-piece band that included both a drummer and a percussionist and a red-hot three-piece brass section featuring trumpet, trombone and saxophone.
While he often meandered his way through songs and protracted their conclusions with his at times irritating improvised vocal scatting, the brass players provided carnivalesque flourishes that saved the performance from being a mundane affair.
The formation was stripped back to just Mraz and percussionist Toca Rivera for A Beautiful Mess, delivered impassionedly with an almost religious fervour by both performers. The full band re-emerged, racing through further new tracks including If It Kills Me, The Dynamo of Volition and feel-good crowd-pleaser I'm Yours.
Butterfly ended the set proper, before the jovial performers returned for an encore spearheaded by the gentle, Spanish-specked Life Is Wonderful. |
