Jason Mraz reminds me of Matthew McConaughey. He’s got a certain goofy, self-serious charm and laid-back manner that’s appealing without necessarily being intellectually engaging. After all, this is a fellow that rhymes “mystics” with “fish sticks” (“The Dynamo of Volition”) and showed up at Time Warner Cable Amphitheater in a feather-bedecked straw fedora and cargo pants.
Knee-length shorts would’ve better suited the island-y vibe of his set, which coasted from faux(k)-soul balladering to groovy jams with a little Latin and reggae thrown in for good measure. His cover of “Summer Breeze” pretty much sums up his appeal: sentimental lite-rock with a dash of hippie lassitude. He promised to “put some bounce in your knees,” which he generally did for the female-tilted crowd.
Mraz played “Anything You Want” — informing the audience he wrote it with the Wailers, though the generally young audience probably had little idea who they were — and dove into some dub for “Remedy (I Won’t Worry).” He hit the major stops with “A Beautiful Mess,” the bossanova-flavored “No So Usual” and the waltzy Beatlesque lubby dubby of “If It Kills Me.”
Almost every song featured a big, repetitive chorus with some epigrammatic line repeated as incessantly as a commercial tagline. Yep, you’re soaking in it. Of course, this makes it pretty accessible and that’s the point. It’s most evident on his hit “I’m Yours,” which garnered ear-piercing screams from the teens and tweens in the audience. (Likewise, the song titles are almost inevitably the choral line, presumably to ease their identification on iTunes.)
Backed by a saxophonist, two horn players, a drummer and bongo-pounding percussionist, bassist and keyboard player, Mraz produced a sizable sound, which more than compensated for the lack of electric guitar (other than on a couple tunes in the last third of the set.)
He rapped (poorly) on “Curbside Prophet,” demonstrating less flow than the Dead Sea, a fact made more evident when he invited onstage openers G. Love (who can almost rap) and K’Naan (whose rap skills suggested a Ferrari pulling up alongside Mraz’s station wagon). Generally, he stuck to his amiable baritone croon, playing off his winsome, easy-going manner.
Whatever his flaws, Mraz played for a long time (though maybe it seemed longer because of the choruses). This included a pair of encores — a three-song set from a small stage set up in the middle of the floor. This gave the back rows a bit of up close and personal, after which he returned to the stage for a couple more horn-fueled jams, whose loose spirit reflected the night’s attitude.
More than two hours after he started, Mraz was still going, the strains of the last song echoing over the Cuyahoga, fulfilling his promise in a thousand bouncing, swaying knees. —Chris Parker
This article appears in Aug 12-18, 2009.
This review is awful and is condescending to not only Jason but also to his fans.
“Without necessarily being intellectually engaging…” Wow. Really? I don’t even know where to begin with this one so I will leave it to the NY Times. Check out this wonderful review: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/arts/mus…
“I’m Yours” isn’t my favorite song but you have to give it props for holding the All-Time Record for Most Consecutive Weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Apparently people like a song with a ”big, repetitive chorus with some epigrammatic line repeated as incessantly as a commercial tagline.”
This was my 3rd Jason Mraz concert promoting his album We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things and I thought it was great. He sang fan favorites, he sang my favorites, and he got the crowd on their feet. I will say that I think that he had more energy the last time he was in town (at Lakewood Civic) but he still sang his heart out.
Also, where is the love for the hometown boy, Bushwalla? He was an energetic MC for Jason’s show and sounded great singing “Fall Through Glass.” Where is your coverage of his late night show at the HOB?
And one last note, couldn’t you have used a picture from his current album instead of one from Mr. A-Z?
Was this reviewer even at the concert? Did he listen to any lyrics other than “mystics” and “fish sticks” (which are examples of Mraz’ occasional tendency to insert lyrics which are funny and/or self deprecating)? Mraz doesn’t take himself too seriously but he’s an intelligent songwriter whose lyrics, if you bother to listen to them, are thoughtful and witty (reviewer Chris Parker, can you say “Hal David Starlight Award”? Mraz was honored with it by the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year).
Lack of electric guitar? Mraz is an artist who appreciates the warmth and intimacy that the acoustic guitar adds, and has a separate bassist in his band who does play the electric guitar in the concerts.
Seriously, I get that this is an “alternative” news source and Mraz is pretty mainstream right now, but if the reviewer only likes one kind of music then why not just skip the others? The point of a review is for the reviewer to write about his opinion, but normally a decent publication (web or print) will have a reviewer who is able to set aside biases and write objectively. This reviewer obviously had a bias and a reasonable journalist wouldn’t let it show in such a snotty way.
Oh and by the way, the song is “Not So Usual” and Mraz is a tenor ( with great range that definitely leans toward alto), nowhere near a baritone.
Or maybe Chris Parker doesn’t know enough about music to know the difference.
This publication should move him to classifieds and get a journalism or music student to handle future reviews.
Have you heard Jason Mraz’s song I’m Yours has been the Hot 100 chart for 70 weeks?? I just read that he broke a Billboard record. http://www.billboard.com/#/news/black-eyed…