
It's Another Jason Mraz Review!
by Lisa Turner, Groovalicious Editor
November 9, 2003 + San Francisco, CA
It's Not Just a Sex Article. Promise.
Jason Mraz is phenomenal in bed.
Ok, right, well, it's not like I have any hard evidence of this. Hee. Hard. I've never even met Mr. Mraz in person. I just saw my third live show of the year though, and if the way he moves and grooves on stage is any indication, then this guy could knock off anyone's socks, and pants, and even those bras with the difficult clasps that you have to sort of twist, then lift apart. Just try to follow along with the way my mind has tied this all together.
The Opening Act is Not Dating Oprah
Before getting to the intimate part of your evening, you sometimes have to meet up with your boytoy's friends. Enter the opening act. The Steadman guys were cute and British and made some fun jokes about the Queen, as cute British boys are keen to do. They did whip out a pretty decent cover of the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down", and I wouldn't mind hanging with these guys again, but they weren't who I showed up to see.
Give Me a Man With Confidence... and Sound Effects
The last two times I saw Jason, the show started with him casually walking onto the stage, picking up a guitar, and then easing into the music. I'm not sure whose came up with this new intro, but his show now starts with flashing lights and the sounds of a helicopter landing, played over various snippets of him talking and what sounded like lines from TV shows. Please correct me if anyone really knows what this was.
It was all a little tongue-in-cheek, but I feel like Jason's saying, 'I don't have to be shy about it anymore. I'm good at what I do, you're going to be thankful for what you're about to experience, so just hold on tight and let me ravage your body and soul with my vocal creations.' That's exactly how foreplay should feel, but with more touching.
Welcome to Jason's House of Style
Nothing's better than building up days or weeks of anticipation before a date, then finally setting eyes on the guy (or girl) you're about to go out with, and saying, 'Hells yeah, just as sexy as I pictured you.'
To that end, thank the stars above, Jason's nasty View hair has gone. I'm hoping it was just a one-time mistake, probably caused by an evil View stylist who thought that by poofing Jason's curls into a post-Slippery When Wet Bon Jovi fro, it might make Star Jones look just a little smaller. The baseball hat is back in place, and Jason was sporting a casual but always sexy black t-shirt over a long-sleeved orange shirt, with black jeans and some crazy looking orange/red sneakers.
I love the shaggy trucker-chic look (California is, like, totally turning me back into, you know, the anti-preppy chick I was before I, like, moved to Boston.) and Jason wears it well. But the clothes don't make the man nearly as much as the moves do.
Being groovalicious and all, I couldn't get enough of the way this boy moves his hips and feet and shoulders in a fluid, round-and-round we go, hop on my tasty merry-go-round pelvis sort of way. Girls, I've said it before and I'll say it again: musicians make the best lovers because it's all about rhythm. If a guy can read a time signature, he'll know just when to move to where and for how long. This doesn't mean all band geeks are Casanovas-in-waiting, but a man who can feel the music pulsing through his own body will be able to find the music in yours. Mmmmm.
My Man Mraz is Open to Change
A good lover also knows when a move is getting stale and when he has to add something new to the act. It may be to prevent his own boredom as well, but Jason kept me on my toes, trading in some of his old bits for fresher stuff. Gone is Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" from "I'll Do Anything", replaced with a chant of percussionist and bad-joke-teller Toca Rivera's phone number. "The Remedy" has been stripped down, sounding nothing like the radio version, and being performed by just Jason and his guitar during the quiet, intimate part of the show.
He performed "The Rainbow Connection" in the same way (adding that he hoped to someday be offered a duet with Kermit). Of course, some idiots in the audience, rather than appreciating this sweet moment, had to choose the times when Jason paused for breath to scream "RAND MCNALLY!" As Editor Steve pointed out to me, he's doomed forever to have that song be his "Free Bird". Honestly people, just let the boy sing what he wants to sing and be thankful for it.
If it Ain't Broke, Jason Knows Not to Fix It
Luckily, Jason hasn't tried to shake things up too much. I still love the disco ball coming out for "Sleep All Day" and the very long and incredibly sensual scatting and bee bopping of "Right Kind of Phrase". After one very impressive tongue-twisting stretch that was clearly all about wanting to dip someone in chocolate and swallow them whole, Jason translated, "That's kind of like going up to a girl and saying, 'Hi, I think you're really... neat'" See? He's talented and funny.
More than anything, the show has stayed simple enough that it revolves around one thing: Jason's incredibly strong voice. I was a fan of John Mayer when he started out, and I still like hearing his stuff on the radio, but when I saw him live I was disappointed to find out he has a pretty weak voice. Songs of his that I downloaded, uh, totally legally, also feature some real clunkers. Performance anxiety? Perhaps. In all of the live stuff of Jason's that I've heard though, he's never been out of tune or even out of breath. He puts out full, rich tones effortlessly, no matter how tricky the tune or the lyrics. Amazing.
Always Plan to Improvise
A man who can think on his feet is a man who can think on his feet while off his feet. Follow? Sure, some of this is rehearsed, but it's still inventive and keeps the audience with a big goofy grin on its face at how damn good he is. During "Phrase", Jason channeled local sex symbol Chris Isaak and, very subtly, threw in those haunting opening strains of "Wicked Game". He purred the first line of the song into his mic, then turned back to his own song, and I fell in love for about the eighteenth time that night.
To improvise well, you have to have a quick mind and a strong sense of humor. In between songs Jason was trying to thank people for coming to the show and participating in the food drive. (He's a humanitarian too, and all around nice guy... but not too nice, which is always the kiss of death.) Suddenly he got pegged in the stomach with a balled up t-shirt. Without missing a beat he looked down, put his hand over the wound, and fell to the ground. When he got up he looked at the shirt, and said "UCSB? I don't like them because they always win on the Price is Right." So true, my friend.
And the Things He Can Do With That Tongue
Jason can trill and roll and flicker that damn thing faster than Keanu Reeves can say "Whoa." And did anyone else think the new Matrix was kind of a big mess? I mean, Keanu was supposedly the answer to everything and he was hardly in the movie at all. Of course, when he was on screen, he was wet a lot, so that was cool.
But even cooler than a wet Keanu, would be a playful Jason Mraz, making his ay-yi-yi, ba-da-boom-bow, zah-dee-dum-de-da-do-lah sounds in my ear. And suddenly, this has nothing to do with a concert review, and everything to do with my personal fantasy life. Sweet.
Imperfections Make a Man Even More Perfect
Alright, so Jason may not be your typical rock god. He's a goofball. He's la la la lovely, but not in the same Teen Beat way as a Justin Timberlake or dark, mysterious way of my Dave Navarro. Although his set lists are usually impeccable, he chose to play "Tonight, Not Again" first, when I would have much preferred it as a huge climax at the end. I mean, after a beginning like that I almost didn't have enough left to last for another two hours. But that just goes to show how much stamina Jason has, which is key.
I'm sure Jason himself would say he has many flaws, but that's just him being humble. Still, just to make sure I've explored his many nooks and crannies, I'm going to keep up my research. Because when you write about your obsession you're a "journalist" and not a "stalker."
And Editor Steve, if you're getting tired of these Mraz love fest articles, just remember, it was your idea to make him the newmoanyeah Mrazcot. There's no stopping us now.
Get your Mraz CD covers here.
Read reviews of Jason's CD and his shows in Boston, Richmond and Sydney. We're everywhere you want to be!
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