Last night, my good friend, David, invited me to the Jason Mraz concert at the Rialto. The Rialto is an old theater in downtown Tucson that is reminiscent of the 1950s. It is a relatively small auditorium, which afforded everyone with a good view and most people could be close to the stage. The bottom floor was standing room only. There are benefits and consequences to this. One the one hand, if people are standing, there is more energy in the crowd and more people can be at the concert. On the other hand, this system is not the best for short people or people who have a fear of crowds.

Jason came out thirty minutes after the written start time. He came out with witty remarks, jokes, and an atmosphere of comfort, familiarity, and the attitude that it would be a fun night. His songs ranged from romantic and slow, to his rap, to fun, to sexual, to drugs. Unlike some artists that use a special microphone to correct their pitch in the studio, Jason Mraz hit all of his high note in perfect pitch, never shying away from them. His vocal quality was consistent throughout the night and the overall quality was great. The show included older songs, newer songs, never recorded songs, and improv throughout the concert. His lyrics are poetic and varied to the degree that everyone had to be moved at some point in the concert.

Particularly moving was an unrecorded song from his last CD, number 13, which was cut because he only likes to have 12 songs per CD. It was a romantic song about loving an imperfect person, but having a pure love for them. He articulates these feelings with concrete images that one cannot exactly pair with an emotion, except that the feeling hits the audience in the gut, just like a type of spanish modernist poetry.

His music evokes such powerful emotion that he leaves the audience feeling alive and inspired. Although he was only on stage for an hour and a half, his music stayed with me for the rest of the night, today, and surely tomorrow. If you have the opportunity to attend one of his concerts, it will be worth your while.