Desire Can Cause Heart Attacks.

And I had a million close calls over the weekend.It was Jason Mraz weekend after all, and I can't begin to explain the many, ahem, as Rissee would call them, "orgasmic" moments of his two shows. Hehehe. I will try, however, so here goes.
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Friday Night, January 20, 2006, Rockwell Tent
I had about an hour's sleep the night before as I tried to prepare the slides for a presentation we were going to have. For some reason I was really into making this particular presentation so it took me the whole night to complete it.
Anyway, other than this presentation I also had this incredibly long accounting homework which I ended up making Friday morning. But before that, I got to chat with this guy on the Jason Mraz forum who claimed he knew Jason Mraz and had actually played with him a couple of times at San Diego. I've no idea as to the truth of his claims but in any case, I thought it was a rather coincidental occurence at the day of Mraz's concert, and took it as a good sign.
The day flew by really quickly, and pretty soon we were in our last class of the day, where we were to do our presentations. The class was supposed to end at 7:30, which left me, Rissee and Tiff very little time for going to Rockwell. Luckily our professor announced that once a group's presentation was over, the members could leave. The class drew lots to see which group was going to go first. Unluckily, my group was last to present, while Ris and Tiff, who were in the same group, were the FIRST to present! Ah, the irony of life. I had to endure their taunting and teasing about how they were gonna leave me behind, although it was pretty hilarious too. While I was itching to report Ris and Tiff hung out and had dinner. Also, Tiff made sure to make Ris uncomfortable (that's as far as I'm going to say...hahaha!).
So our report finally ended. I rushed to Rissee's flat to change with Tiff, and we were out the door in minutes, on our way to Rockwell. Surprisingly I wasn't particularly giddy, nor was I hyperventilating at the idea that in just a few minutes I was gonna watch Jason Mraz live. We threw witty lines at each other on the way to Rockwell and attempted to take a picture of the massive billboard promoting the event, as we tried to "document" our whole concert experience. Good luck was on our side as there was hardly any traffic, and in minutes, we found ourselves walking towards Rockwell Tent.
As the inevitable disease of Filipino Time would have it, we realized that we were actually one of the early ones at the venue. Very few seats were already taken by the time we entered the Rockwell Tent. It was my first time there and I was surprised and largely excited at how freakin' small the venue was. My stomach did a sommersault as we entered the place.
While waiting the three of us entertained ourselves with a little activity that IMC students always enjoy, known as camwhoring. To all my youthful readers (if there are any), don't be alarmed - it's just a funny way of saying we took tons of narcissistic pictures of ourselves. We also chatted up a storm, as what usually happens when the three of us get together.
Soon enough the lights went out and the opening act, none other than Paolo Santos, went on stage. He performed a number of cool songs, including his rendition of Radiohead’s “High and Dry”, which rocked. I thought of Mom and Kyle – they’re big fans of his (and for that, I give him props – my Mom’s in her mid-40’s and Kyle’s 11; in marketing terms, a target market that goes across the board like that is a feat only managed by the massive brands. Paolo Santos is a Coke and a Jollibee in the Philippine music scene for sure.) I was a bit restless as he performed though. He’s great and all, with an amazing voice and he’s a rather skilled guitar player, but the idea of being minutes away from catching Jason Mraz live was a persistent, even nagging thought that continuously triggered my brain cells, making me as anxious as a 5 year-old. Are we there yet? It’s like one of those moments when you’re in class or at an important meeting and you so desperately want to pee but can’t, so you squirm in your seat and pray “please, please, please just get on with it so I can go to the loo!” Speaking of the inevitable call of nature, I caught an early glimpse of Jason as he took two trips to the comfort room while Paolo Santos performed.
Minutes that felt like forever went by and soon, Paolo Santos waved his goodbye, and a booming voice called out Jason Mraz to the stage. Oh. My. Gawd. He was in what I imagine to be his usual casual getup – a black baseball cap worn backwards, covering his curly locks, a pink shirt with a bicycle drawing in front, jeans folded out at the bottom, and sneakers. He was tall but not as lanky or thin as I thought he would be – they say the camera adds ten pounds, but I swear he looked beefier in person. He was the epitome of The Boy Who’s So Dorky He’s Cute, You (or at least I) Can’t Help But Love Him For It. As he came to the stage a wave of collective sighs and “oh my gods” (including ours) swept through the audience. I imagined myself in one of those taped performances of the Beatles which I used to watch with my Dad when I was a kid. I didn’t faint nor hyperventilate too much, however. Rissee went crazy though, crazier than I had expected she would get, which got me thinking, “Hey! I thought I was the fan?!”. Hehehe. Tiff shared my liking for geeky boys, so she was flabbergasted as well. May I just say that I so loved that they were with me that night. It would’ve have been the same without them.
Here’s the night’s set list, with my various reactions and anecdotes in between:
You and I Both
Usual crowd favourite, and a great start for an amazing night. After slightly getting over the shock and excitement I phoned Nadine to make her hear it, but I was so flustered I doubt she heard a lot. Aww, sorry dude. I wondered what it felt like to have an entire audience look at you in amazement – it’s a great ego trip for sure. From the get-go his vocals were amazing – I swear, he sounds so much better live compared to his albums, which is a rare thing with artists, and which is probably one of the best things about him.
Wordplay
Expected to be in the set list, it was a joy listening to it live. I think it was before this song that he welcomed Toca Rivera to the stage. Introducing him as a “former backstreet boy”, Toca Rivera is no sidekick or partner in crime – he’s a man of his own, with his drum-thing instrument (forgive my ignorance; i’ve no idea what it’s called) and his constant companion, the gnome.
Geek in the Pink
This one had been constantly playing in my head for days prior to the concert. It’s such a fun song. I particularly like the line “She was staring through the doorframe, and eyeing me down like already a bad boyfriend”. I don’t know – it’s just fun to sing.
Clockwatching
I heard this on the record and was reminded of Barbie’s Cradle – it’s a track they could sing, if they were still together. But I fell in love with it when he performed it live. Interestingly enough, it was apparently the first time since he put the song in the album that he performed it acoustic. It was beautiful. I was particularly touched when Tiff pointed out to me the line that went “Lately we’re running out of time, aren’t we? Let’s forget we’re running out of time”. It hit our near-graduation blues like a bull’s-eye.
After an Afternoon
First major embolism of the night. I’ve always loved this song, and was hoping he would play it. I was beyond happy. It was amazing. Need I say more?
Sleeping to Dream
Now I really thought I was going to die! This one really almost gave me a heart attack. Not only because it’s my absolute, all-time favourite song of his, but because him singing it totally caught me by surprise. It’s such an old song that I didn’t think he still played it. Paolo Santos joined him on this one, and the harmonies were AMAZING. “Just a little lullaby to keep, keep...” By the way, props to Jerick for introducing me to this song. Oh, and I was also reminded of Carmz when this one played. She loves this too.
1,000 Things
I couldn’t believe my luck! Three of my greatest Mraz faves played back-to-back! Paolo Santos sang a solo for this one too. Super cool. The first note played and the crowd immediately went crazy. Really fun.
Unfold
Have a copy of this from his website but never really got to listen to it until that night. Love the lyrics on this one. Tiff loved it too.
Dreamlife of Rand McNally
Super fun song, where Jason was able to show off his improvisation skills. It was so funny when he said the song got longer and longer every year.
Burning Bridges
The song to which the title of this entry is taken from. I’ve heard about this song, but never actually heard it until that night. As an introduction to the song, Jason put on a disclaimer: “We’re gonna bum you out with this one”. But he also joked about how sometimes, the lyrics don’t matter to people, as long as there’s a good melody behind it. He sang about balut with ketchup and mayonnaise and made fake sobs with Toca, the way Tom Hanks did at Sleepless in Seattle. This reference is for Mabz in particular. She loved that part of Sleepless.
I’m Yours
I was hoping he would play this one, because I knew Rissee loved it. She totally flipped out, and she wasn’t the only one. Lots of people in the audience seemed to know the song, which surprised Toca: “You haven’t heard this one yet!” With the power of the Internet, of course we have. Oops. Please don’t hate me.
The Remedy
Bittersweet, this one, because I knew that the show was about to end when he played it. It is after all the song he’s most known for. He put a spin to it by singing some lines of Oasis’s “Wonderwall” towards the end. He also added a few lines after “When it all amounts to nothing in the end” that went “What’s the use of an end? It’s a beginning again”. Once again, a bull’s-eye to our near-graduation sweet spot.
Song for a Friend (Encore)
Slow and sullen, but beautiful that way. A great way to close the night. The concert was so worth every cent of the money I shelled out for the third-row tickets. And I had such a blast with Tiff and Rissee! I couldn’t thank them enough for going with me that night, as they made it more than perfect. Hopefully they had as much fun as I did.
As the night ended, I couldn’t wait to watch him again the next day. But that’s for a whole other entry – it’s past 1 in the morning and I promised myself I wouldn’t stay up late today. So in the words of Dr. K, bye for now, I’m sick and suffering from a cold and asthma so I should get some well-deserved sleep. Till next time.