Review: An Evening With Jason Mraz and His Guitar

A few years back I have discovered one of the greatest musical gifts I have ever received, because most of the artists I hold dear are the ones I discovered through an extensive period of trials and errors, and I must admit that Jason Mraz is one of them. I remember an internet cafe in my hometown, circa 2005, browsing Yahoo Music (remember that?) and stumbling upon Mraz’s Wordplay. I was so amazed by his flow, his witty lyrics and genuine feel good vibe, I became an instant fan.

After a few years, I moved to Bucharest and I had so many lows, with only his guitar and lyrics, as well as some Angels and Airwaves and Snow Patrol and Marilyn Manson to keep me warm.

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Last night I had one of the best nights of my life, no doubt about it. Jason Mraz finally graced us with his presence, an event titled „An evening with Jason Mraz and his guitar”, and (I might add) his keyboard and harmonica. Two beautiful hours of love, music and incredibile words, this is the only way I can describe Mraz’s live presence.

Jason Mraz’s good natured spirit transcends the language barrier, his voice carried us last night to the moon and back, it gave us dreams and reasons to live, it gave us love and sadness and grief and hope, and I will forever be greatful for this opportunity to see one of my favorite artists bear his soul in front of me.

Just a small snippet (from a different concert, I can’t be bothered to record live acts and miss the good stuff):

I was happy hearing Plane and A Beautiful Mess and Butterfly and Please (Don’t Tell Her) and Mr. Curiosity and Tonight not Again, and many more! I’m sorry he missed Wordplay and Geek in the Pink, but I’ll take what I can get:

And through timeless words in priceless pictures
We’ll fly like birds not of this earth
And tides they turn and hearts disfigure
But that’s no concern when we’re wounded together
And we tore our dresses and stained our shirts
But it’s nice today, oh the wait was so worth it

PS: I will not post a setlist for this concert, just because for this kind of event Jason Mraz does not follow a pre-established list of songs. He just goes where the vibe takes him. And also because this is more heartfelt than anything I saw in a long, long, looooong time…

Istoria muzicii in viata mea

Eram mica-mica, si sincer nu mai tin minte ce ascultam cand eram bebelus, dar pot ghici ca muzica din casa era un Beatles combinat cu o Janis Joplin si cu The Doors, poate putin de tot Led Zeppelin.
Am mai crescut si, in tumultul de cantece semi-comuniste, semi-ABBA-wannabe, de genul Dida Dragan, Madalina Manole, Catalin Crisan, etc (ascultate pe la TV, ca mama nu dadea banii pe ele), in tumultul, cum ziceam, format de aceste cantece, eu ascultam Elvis Presley si Pet Shop Boys, Michael Jackson, Sandra, Beatles (again), Elton John, Smokie, The Cure si multi altii pe care mintea mea de copil nu reausea sa-i distinga sau sa-i tina minte. Ah, si Queen. Cum am putut sa uit de Queen? Si AC/DC?

Mbuun… Anii au trecut, generala a venit si ea peste mine, cu generatia anilor ’90, cu blugi din ce in mai scurti, cu Coco Jambo si Spice Girls si mai ales cu blugi. De cate ori ma gandesc la perioada aia, observ ca n-am ramas cu mai nimic in urma, decat cu Tori Amos si cu Puff Daddy-P Diddy-Diddy. Cam atat. Am mai ramas cu vreo 2 formatii de baieti frumosi, ulterior dovediti gay (cel putin cate unul din fiecare formatie), cu Nirvana si cam atat.

S-a apropiat cu pasi vertiginosi capacitatea, cu senzatia aia de insuficienta pe care ti-o inspira trecerea timpului si faptul ca ajungi aproape de un sfarsit. Am avut-o pe Britney in viata mea, dar eu nu puteam decat sa fac misto de ea. Pentru ca Blink si Green Day si Offspring si alte formatii rebele isi faceau loc pe langa mine.

De aici totul pluteste in indecis, pentru ca am inceput sa ascult de toate, cu precadere, fara sa aleg. Au trecut toate prin mana mea, pana la liceu. Moby, Blink, Smokie din nou,  Elvis din nou, Pet Shop Boys din nou, am experimentat cu formatii din anii 50 si 60, fara sa mai retin nume, apoi m-am indreptat fara sa ma uit in reggae. Amalgam si poezie, in fiecare din ei era ceva frumos.

A venit liceul, cu putine dragosti de genul Backstreet Boys, probabil din dorinta de a  apartine, dar s-au dus repede scainteile respective. M-am reorientat spre folk, ba chiar am si cantat (am avut o tentativa, ce e drept esuata), in timp ce acasa ascultam Blink si Anouk si femei cu atitudine, apoi incet-incet Metallica si alte chestii mai „hard”. I wanted to be badass.

Au urmat o gramada de formatii suparate si mai putin suparate, a descoperit mama Nightwish-ul si Rammstein (eu le stiam, dar nu ma dadeam in vant dupa ele). Le ascultam pe astea pe-acasa, apoi tot felul de chestii dubioase, gen Apocalyptica, Ozzy, Children of Boddom, Cradle Of Filth, Sepultura, Samael, Slayer, Deftones, Korn, Disturbed, Evanescence, Mudvayne, Slipknot, System Of a Down, Moonspell, Amorphis, Anathema, The Gathering, Lacrimosa, Lake Of Tears, Katatonia, Paradise Lost, Sentenced, Tiamat, Lacuna Coil, Godsmack. My god, that was MANY.

Probabil pentru ca erau atat de multe, intr-un timp atat de scurt, am revenit la sentimente mai pasnice, foarte repede, si m-am reprofilat. M-am linistit, m-am calmat, l-am descoperit pe Manson, l-am ascultat foarte mult si ma linistea. Mamei ii placea si ei Mason, chiar foarte mult. Si mai mult decat muzica, ii placea persoana lui – mereu i s-a parut ca e un om care a suferit mult. Eu nu vedeam problema chiar asa, dar nu mai conteaza.  Crescusem, si se vedea asta. Mi-am dat seama ca unii artisti pot fi buni, chiar daca ei canta aberatii. Apoi am descoperit ca Pink are voce, Christina Aguilera la fel, Shakira imi placea de prin clasa a 7-a. Nici acum nu inteleg de ce ele canta niste porcarii, cand au voci foarte bune. Probabil la mijloc e banul. Se cam termina si liceul, se cam termina si inspiratia mea in materie de muzica. Pe la sfarsitul liceului, Madonna revolutionase putin situatia, dar n-a durat mult. Au mai fost cateva melodii pop si r’n’b, probabil din criza de timp. Manson. Elvis. Beatles. Queen. Red Hot chilli Peppers. Muse. Matchbox 20. Placebo. Stereophonics. Cateva balade folk. Cateva cantece de dragoste. The Cure. Ceva electronic. Faithless. Basement Jaxx. Moby. Hooverphonic. Cam atat.

Despartirea de liceu a fost brusca. Am intrat intr-o alta tonalitate, s-a dus totul foarte repede, a venit Maroon 5 si a facut ravagii. Inca mai fac, ce sa zic. A venit Natasha Bedingfield, care mi-a copiat coafura de atunci. Alte melodii r’n’b si pop, la un loc cu Guano Apes si Jason Mraz, recent descoperit pe Yahoo Music. Vreun an am stagnat asa, pentru ca aparuse bardul-soldat James Blunt, si eram indragostita de el.

Apoi am descoperit altii ca el, de obicei mai buni. Ma trezeam dimineata cu The Killers. God, ce bine era! Ma trezeam, ca doar la 5 dimineata dadeau aia de pe Atomic videoclipul la Mr. Brightside. Si dansam! Mama, ce mai dansam pe el! Some people called me „hippie” cause of that. Those people introduced me to Poets Of The Fall.

M-am transferat la Bucuresti. Greu, a fost greu cu adaptarea. Stateam in casa si ascultam Jason Mraz si Gavin DeGraw si The Killers si James Blunt si si James Morrison si Maroon 5 si Manson la maxim. Static X si Disturbed. Angels & Airwaves. +44. Se despartise Blink. The Fray. Missy Higgins si Paolo Nutini. Green Day – album nou. Snow Patrol – obsesie noua. Greu, nene. Greu. Mult timp am dus-o asa – pana la prima vara din anul ala. Si apoi a venit noul album Maroon 5 si noul album Joss Stone. Si Mika, sa nu uitam de Mika! Si era asa frumos, si aveam fuste lungi, si le taraiam prin praf. Era cald, ce sa zic. A fost concert cu Manson in anul ala. Anul trecut am fost la Depeche Mode. Am uitat sa zic, si mi-e lene sa editez. Foarte tari, profesionalisti amandoi. Am respectat cuvintele mamei: sa ma duc mereu la concerte.

Alt timp, alta distractie. A trecut un timp, in care nu mai stiu ce-am ascultat, a fost o nebuloasa in mintea mea. Inca vreun an, dupa aia am reinceput sa redescopar alte muzici din liceu. Portishead. Hooverphonic. Moloko, cu Roisin Murphy. Pulp. The Verve. Oasis din nou. Muse din nou. Toate formatiile de brit pop uitate si aruncate prin fundul hardului. Ceasars. Liquido. Descoperiri relativ noi. Damien Rice. Rooney. Fall Out Boy. Sick Puppies. The All American Rejects. Apoi iarasi Tori Amos. Tracy Chapman pana la refuz. Three Doors Down. Velvet Revolver. One Republic. Matchbox 20 din nou. Vanessa Carlton. Vank. Travis, sa nu uitam de Travis. Descoperim side projects de la altii buni. Unele bune, altele nu. Bif Naked – din Buffy. Sarah McLachlan – tot din Buffy. Vega4. The Reindeer Section. Rufus Wainwright. The Knife. Stereophonics, uitati de prin liceu. Amy Winehouse si Duffy. The Darkness, Santogold, MGMT, White Lies. Mark Ronson. Kings Of Leon. The Cure din nou. Anouk din nou. Cate putin din fiecare. Si tot mult mi se pare…

Jason Mraz – A Beautiful Mess

Exista unii artisti care ma fac sa visez la cum ar fi daca ar canta cineva (cineva special, desigur, pe care sa-l cunosc si sa-l iubesc) cantecul acela si in fiecare vers s-ar simti si s-ar citi doar numele meu. Jason Mraz e unul din artistii aceia.

You’ve got the best of both worlds
You’re the kind of girl who can take down a man, (asta mi s-a reprosat, si nu o data)
And lift him back up again       (asta nu mi s-a reprosat, dar am vazut-o si observat-o eu)
You are strong but you’re needy,  (chestia asta n-a vazut-o multa lume… si e trist… unii ar fi trebuit sa vada)
Humble but you’re greedy     (da, sunt lacoma, pentru ca vreau din ce in ce mai multe de la un om (atentie, atentie, atentie))
Based on your body language,
your shouted cursive I’ve been reading (aici nu mai stiu daca e vorba de mine… :)))
You’re style is quite selective,               (pentru ca cica as fi pretentioasa…)
though your mind is rather reckless    (… dar tot mi se reproseaza ca nu sunt atenta….)

Well I guess it just suggests
that this is just what happiness is    (asta as zice si eu, draga Jason… dar cine e de acord cu noi?)

Hey, what a beautiful mess this is
It’s like picking up trash in dresses   (nu stiu daca as avea curajul sa fac asta, dar macar sa urc muntele intr-o rochie rosie… :))

Well it kind of hurts when the kind of words you write
Kind of turn themselves into knives    (multa lume (adica vreo 2-3 oameni) s-au simtit amenintati de cuvintele mele scrise…)
And don’t mind my nerve you can call it fiction  (been there, doar ca acum recunosc cand e vorba de „tine”)
‘Cause I like being submerged in your contradictions dear  (oh, please be! :D)
‘Cause here we are, here we are

Although you were biased I love your advice
Your comebacks they’re quick                              (oh… are they? :-s)
And probably have to do with your insecurities    (oh… do they? :-s)
There’s no shame in being crazy,                          (bine ca mi-ai spus :D)
Depending on how you take these
Words that paraphrasing this relationship we’re staging   (are we staging something here?)

And it’s a beautiful mess, yes it is
It’s like, we are picking up trash in dresses

Well it kind of hurts when the kind of words you say
Kind of turn themselves into blades                             (yes, it hurts… )
And the kind and courteous is a life I’ve heard
But it’s nice to say that we played in the dirt               (mai jos de dirt nu prea are cum sa fie… )
Cause here, here we are, Here we are
Here we are x7

We’re still here

And what a beautiful mess this is
It’s like taking a guess when the only answer is yes

And through timeless words in priceless pictures
We’ll fly like birds not of this earth
And tides they turn and hearts disfigure
But that’s no concern when we’re wounded together
And we tore our dresses and stained our shirts
But it’s nice today, oh the wait was so worth it   (and this is pure genius! I love this guy!)

Cine o sa scrie ceva despre mine?…