In the mood for love

Going to a Jason Mraz concert is a little like attending a motivational talk. And indeed there was much posititivity in the air at Impact Arena last Saturday where Mraz and the all-girl rock outfit Raining Jane staged their acoustic show. When the singer was not strumming his guitar and singing, he was busy preaching about his brand of fedora hat-flavoured happiness and organic farming.

Granted, Mraz mostly sang sunny, upbeat songs. His opening number, “Love Someone”, the lead single from his “Yes!” album, put the audience in the right mood for what was to come. Mraz shared the stage with Raining Jane, his collaborators on the “Yes!” album and the girls very much owned the show thanks to an impressively wide musical repertoire. Between the four of them, the ladies play the piano, guitar, cello, drums, keyboard, ukulele and sitar and were happy to show off their talents on Saturday night. The Los Angeles-based group is a Mraz long-time collaborator, having co-written his 2008 hit “A Beautiful Mess”.

Mraz’s motivational speaker mode was fully switched on during the third song “Dynamo of Volition”. Calling on the audience to join him in a little dance, he asked them to give him a “high ten” just like holding two pizzas. His adoring fans gladly obliged, and Mraz rewarded them with more positive quips. Mraz also offered concert-goers a piece of advice – on the days that you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, go back to sleep again. Mraz said he wrote the song “Hello, You Beautiful Thing” on such a day and went back to sleep after that.

The audience went wild when he sang “Lucky”, the famous duet that has been added to many wedding playlists since its release. Raining Jane filled in the female vocals for Colbie Caillat this time and their rich harmony a capella-style gave it a refreshing quality. Mraz underlined his camaraderie with the girls, calling them the “Girls to Man” group and goofing around on stage striking funny poses.

Not to be outshone by his very able collaborators, Mraz’s onstage antics showcased his dexterity with the guitar. He played the guitar backwards while holding it over his head and put his piano skills on full display during the song “Mr Curiosity”. The audience also discovered his operatic talent during that song, though he joked it had taken a long time to learn to lip synch the part.

Among the songs Mraz performed on Saturday night was a personal favourite, “The Remedy”, a number less known by the younger audience but an earlier work with a much more distinctive style than his current singles. Equally enjoyable and touching was the soulful “Frank D Fixer” off his “Love is a Four Letter Word” album, which pays tribute to his grandfather, the handyman of the family who emigrated from Austria to the United States.

In addition to his career as a singer-songwriter, Mraz is an avocado farmer and during his performance of “Back to the Earth”, showed the audience images of his avocado trees and the vegetables. He laughingly told the crowd that he did not have weed control problems as his roommate smoked all of it. The activist in him urged the concert-goers to adopt organic farming and reap the benefits of healthy eating. He later showed pictures of his 2012 Antartica trip with Raining Jane band member Mona Tavakoli.

After the intermission, Mraz was less about talk and more about music. He performed more singles from “Yes!” including “Long Drive” and “Shine” and honoured Raining Jane with “A Beautiful Mess”. The highlight though was “93 Million Miles”, which featured a sitar performance by Becky Gebhardt of Raining Jane that was positively electrifying.

Before closing out the show, Mraz delighted his fans with crowd favourite “I’m Yours” as a couple in full wedding attire ceremoniously exchanged their vows in front of the stage. 

Mraz responded with a romantic rendition of “Over the Rainbow” and wrapped the evening with a reprise of “I Won’t Give Up”.