Monday, December 1, 2008

My Thanksgiving with Jason Mraz

Ok, not really.

Ken and I drove up to North Carolina for Thanksgiving and were met by his parents, his brother, and the cold. 

Boating? On Thanksgiving? In North Carolina??


It was a great Thanksgiving – lots of good food and conversation. And the scenery there is simply beautiful.

Ken and I were both amazed with just how quiet it could be at night. When we arrived, we instinctively locked the car door and could hear the echo for an astoundingly long time. In Tallahassee, the noise simply swallows the small squawk of the Fit.   

Dark


On Friday we drove across state lines to Richmond, VA. This is where the older of my younger brothers was born and also the location of my first concert at the tender age of 3 (it was John Prine if you’re curious).

Richmond: In all it’s overcast glory. 


Friday marked my second concert in Richmond: Jason Mraz.

He was playing a special acoustic set with much of his family in the balcony watching. This was the farthest I have ever traveled for a concert (14 hours!) and I would do it again in a heartbeat. His opening act was delightful – Lisa Hannigan. She had a great voice and had such an amazing presence on stage.  

Jason and Toca, doing it and doing it and doing it swell.

 

It was a great show though there was a particularly obnoxious, drunk couple right behind me causing a bit of commotion. I finally turned around and just asked them to be quiet – I don’t mind a bit of chatter at a concert but if you’re deliberately impeding other people from enjoying a concert, it is time to chill out. And at JASON MRAZ! I mean, seriously? How could you have anything but happy, positive vibes to share?

He didn’t play some of his more rockin’ -- rockin’? No, that doesn’t seem right…but the phrase is lost on me…-- tunes (read: Butterfly, Dynamo of Volition, Clockwatching) and those are the kinds of songs that I think would be most interesting to hear acoustically. They are songs that seem as though they would present a real challenge to Mr. A-Z … and who doesn’t love a challenge?


Jason Mraz: Man of Many Faces

 

I also saw the concert by myself. I mean, I shared the experience with the many, many people there but I had no one who knew me, who I knew, who could bounce the jokes and joy and know their timing and mine.

This was most evident when we were told to sing a lyric to someone we didn’t know and follow that with singing to someone we came with.


Every little thing is gonna be alright.


I raised my hands to the sky, sang to the heavens, and let the words fall on me.


And every little thing WAS all right.

And every little thing IS all right.


And so overall, the concert was a complete blast and I’m so incredibly lucky to have seen him in action again.

And I cannot wait to see him again (preferably with my mother or with Patrick).

And now I wait for the semester to come to a close.

-Bonnie

p.s. I didn’t know where to mention this but I was uber-amused with the fact that he started the concert with the song “Tonight, Not Again”. Not only is it my favorite but it’s funny to think of how bored he must get sometimes playing the same songs over and over again – probably best noted with the look he gave Toca right before they started to play “I’m Yours”.

p.p.s. All photos for the holiday can be found here and a video of him singing “Winter Wonderland” that I took with my little ol’ camera can be found here.

5 comments:

Alissa said...

I LOVE that picture of you and Ken! I don't love the Mraz so much (I'm ambivalent, really), but I know you do, so I'm glad you got to see him again and I'm glad you had fun!

terry said...

Just for the record, you were not 3 years old at the Prine concert, you were 9 months old! Rock on!

Bonicita said...

Thanks so much, Alissa! I was glad that Ken finally decided to smile...for once...

And thanks mom for introducing me to the music at such an incredibly young age. Who knows just how much that concert altered....my mind.

WildOpeneness said...

What a wonderful way to spend thanksgiving, and yes those drunk people can be rather abnoxious.

Bonicita said...

Yeah, I just don't get it. I like to actually remember concerts -- not push them into an alcoholic oblivion.