MANILA, Philippines — Give Jason Mraz a black and empty space and he’ll conjure a rainbow. Place Raining Jane next to him and you’ll get a star-filled universe — shining, shimmering, splendid — even when in reality, they’re just on stage, raw and unplugged, with just talent in their pockets and music in their soul.
On November 27 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Raining Jane opened the show for the 37-year-old music virtuoso, Jason Mraz, who’s doing a concert in Manila for the fourth time.
It was a delight watching the girls — Becky, Chaska, Mai, and Mona — perform “The Opposite of Blue” and “From Me to You,” among others. They made head-bobbing folk-rock sounds out of their instruments and were grooving and having fun while sounding perfectly in sync with one another.
Mona, the graceful, popping girl by the drums, said Manila might just be her favorite crowd because of its “nice and warm culture.” She said that she’s “thankful to be here” though people are celebrating Thanksgiving back home.
Shortly after setting the mood for a long night of melody and harmony, Raining Jane called the lyricist-singer-songwriter on stage.
The first song Mraz performed was “Life is Wonderful.” When he came out he had an acoustic guitar, and though he stood by the mic stand most of the time, Mraz didn’t fall short in delivering his distinct beat and wit which made the crowd groove, laugh, and sway the entire night.
After the opening song, Mraz and the band performed “Everywhere”, and then a medley of the 1980s song “Sweet Dreams” and “The Dynamo of Volition.” They also performed Mraz’s 2008 track “Lucky,” which he recorded with Colbie Caillat.
Mraz delighted the fans when he showed off some of the Tagalog words he learned. “Masaya ako sa aking pagbalik (I am happy to be back), that’s true,” he said.
The singer continued to treat the audience with fine music, singing “I Take the Music,” “Hello, You Beautiful Thing,” “Make It Mine,” and “Quiet.”
This was followed by “A Beautiful Mess,” a track from Mraz’s third studio album “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.” which he recorded with Raining Jane. He then shared “3 Things” he does when his life falls apart, before going “Back to the Earth” with some nice images of nature as background.
For “Mr. Curiosity,” Mraz sat down by the keys and belting out high notes.
After the ballad, Mraz introduced the song, “Bottom of the Sea.” Mraz revealed that when he and Mona went down south to shoot the video, the entire crew that was with them was Filipino. This made the crowd cheer even louder for the ensemble.
Halfway through, the Smart Araneta Coliseum audience heard “Love Someone,” “Only Human,” “Long Drive,” and an acoustic and very soulful rendition of “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry),” “Browntown,” “93 Million Miles,” “Shine,” and another iconic Jason Mraz track, “I’m Yours.”
The show was supposed to end with “I’m Yours” but the crowd at The Big Dome seemed to have had the same thought running in their head, “I can’t get enough of Jason and Jane” and so they cheered and screamed for “More!” with matching extra loud feet stomps.
Fortunately, Jason and Jane went back on stage and erenaded the Philippine crowd one last time with “I Won’t Give Up” and “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,”
Mraz, before ending his November 27, 2014 set in Manila, said “Paalam! Kitakits!” and “Salamat po!”
Jason Mraz is music
Given the genuine talent and fine music quality that Mraz and his girls brought to stage, it is but right to say that these musicians are definitely worth their fans’ time and money. And even if you’re not a fan, shelling out a generous amount of bucks for their show should not be a problem because once it is done, you’ll eventually come out as one.
Moreover, the concert was more of a music feast. Truth be told, it didn’t matter whether you’re into ballad or blues, or pop or rock, simply because Jason and Jane was a perfect music match and that will swiftly and seamlessly do the trick for every concert crowd.
The best thing about their show? There was no trickery in it, only real talent and good music.
The Jason Mraz and Raining Jane Live in Manila concert was organized by Music Management International and Ovation Productions.