Jason Mraz - Live @ the Apollo, London

5 April 2009

April 27, 2009, 09:13 PM

Views: 706   Comments: 0

“I knew it was going to be good, but that was amazing”

I think this quote from one raving fan after Jason Mraz’s sold out second London show on his most recent tour sums up the night at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo perfectly.

I had seen and heard how well his current run of tours dates had been faring all across Europe, so figured me and the thousand or so others packing the Apollo were in for a right treat…

Taking the stage first up, was opening act Two Spot Gobi, who I can only describe as odd. I really wanted to like them, but every time I got close to a feeling of abide, lead singer James Robinson did some weird dance or hand movement that made me cringe and fall straight back into a feeling of disregard. The 6 members of Two Spot Gobi could be something above weak, but they possessed nothing to make their set outstanding. The soul/reggae/funk band were like a watered down, lackluster version of The Black Seeds, and the inclusion of a cello was redundant and just plain bizarre.

After some weird intermission music (consisting of, amongst others: Blondie’s ‘Call Me’ and Kool and the Gang’s ‘Celebration’), the lights are dimmed and a figure in jeans, a white shirt and (of course) a fedora can be seen sidling in from stage right to his spot front and centre. “Welcome friends” is Jason Mraz’s appropriate introduction for first track of the night, ‘Song For A Friend’, one of only two songs tonight to feature from Mraz’s 2005 album Mr. A-Z. The song, originally written with the help of Semisonic front man Dan Wilson, is 8 minutes on the album and well over that live.

Those who were singing along to ‘Song For A Friend’ didn’t stand a chance when Jason Mraz began ‘The Dynamo of Volition’, with the lyrical speed tripling. All that was left to do was relax and take comfort in the first of many brass harmonisations of the night, as saxophonist Carlos Sosa, trumpeter Fernando Castillo and Regi Watkins on trombone, rip into an impressive jam mid-track.

During Jason Mraz’s cover of the Rick James song ‘Mary Jane’ the entire room can be seen swaying in time as Mraz encourages us all to “just flow outta here” like the mass choir we are.
Still living off the ‘Mary Jane’ high, we’re treated to a collaboration of ‘You and I Both’ and ‘Sleeping to Dream’. The two songs, both first recorded prior to 2002, were crowd favourites and didn’t sound out of place next to ‘Love For A Child’ and ‘Live High’ from the his most recent album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.

Beginning a run of tracks from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Jason Mraz brings out Marit Larson (“straight from Norway”) for third single, ‘Lucky’. She is a cute addition, and a hell of a lot more likeable than the irrelevant Colbie Caillat.
‘I’m Yours’ is the perfect platform for Jason Mraz’s side-kick Toca Rivera to bust out a chilled solo on his Djembe. Mraz then takes a short break (alluding to an encore, but not patronising us by pretending to be completely done for the evening) and leaving us with his band for a round of solos, with the most notable coming from, Bruce Hughes on bass and Castillo on trumpet.

Absolute highlight of the entire night, and something I must admit that I never thought I would see live, showing he’s more than just a pretty face and pop lay-about, Mraz sings the falsetto register opera in ‘Mr Curiosity’. There was a standing ovation and riotous reception from the crowd, who I’m sure, did not expect such an amazing display of vocal ability from someone with a Top 40 song.

Introductions of Mraz’s “debonair band” follow ‘Tonight, Not Again’ and a skat battle erupts between Mraz and the effortlessly talented Sosa on saxophone. ‘No Stopping Us’ weaves into the final track of the evening ‘Butterfly’, and after 2 hours of soulful musical brilliance, Jason Mraz takes a final bow with his band mates and disappears.

Having been a fan of Jason Mraz for quite some time now, I was expecting him to just play tracks from the most recent album and not really stray too far from there. But not only were just half of the tracks from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. but he played an almost entirely different set for the London show the night before, and indeed different to all other dates on this tour thus far.

A very successful evening all round. We sang. We danced. I swear I didn’t steal anything.


Jason Mraz played:

1. Song For A Friend
2. The Dynamo of Volition
3. Mary Jane (Rick James cover)
4. You and I Both
5. Sleeping to Dream
6. Love For A Child
7. Live High
8. Lucky
9. A Beautiful Mess
10. Make It Mine
11. I’m Yours
12. Three Little Birds jam (Bob Marley cover)

Encore:
13. Mr Curiosity
14. Tonight, Not Again
15. There’s No Stopping Us
16. Butterfly

#1 | Subscribe | Send to Friend | Print | Discipline | Report