15 years ago, my sister and a few high school friends trekked to the Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
They were going to see an artist who was on the rise and playing at college venues. His name was Jason Mraz. She came back from the show with rooster stickers, a homage to the rooster on the front of Waiting For My Rocket To Come. That CD played relentlessly in our high school vehicles.
Mraz’s rocket did come, fueled by hits like “The Remedy,” “Lucky,” and “I Won’t Give Up.” Those songs fueled fans as they braved the elements to his Good Vibes Benefit show by BRIC in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Bandshell on August 7th.
Despite a 30% chance of rain predicted by my iPhone (Thanks Apple weather!), a thunderstorm rolled into the park at the exact time of the show. It was as if “Thunder & Lightning” was the opening act to the Good Vibes show, an artist that upstaged the actual opener, Brett Dennen. Within minutes of his start, a set constantly interrupted by cracks of thunder and subsequent shrieks of the crowd, Brett simply pointed to the flashes across the sky and said “Rain.” A BRIC employee walked on-stage and asked everybody to exit. So would being a night of dualities amongst the symphony of Prospect Park bug sounds, the weather, and the chatter of confused patrons. May I present the dualities played out amongst those Good Vibes:
Should I stay or should I go?
Despite the fact that the worst part of the storm seemed to occur as we checked in, there were no indications that the show would be canceled or delayed. As we were ushered out after Brett Dennen’s short opener, we were told to check social media for updates. So, what do several rain slogged music fans do in this predicament? Find shelter! I highly recommend the Double Windsor for that. While there, I wrote my own version of “Escape (Pina Colada).”
Cancel or don’t cancel?
As we waited out the storm, we couldn’t help but realize that the most dangerous part, when lightning literally seemed to strike behind us, had already passed. So, how long would it be before an update? Would Brett Dennen get to play again? 30 minutes later, the gates did re-open for eager Mraz fans, including the NYPD officer next to me who seemed to know every single word to every Mraz song. Shout out to you, blue!
Recognizable vs. Unrecognizable Tunes
Those who survived the trek into the park were met with Mraz’s surf-inspired tunes and even a brief interlude by “sitar hero” Becky Gebhardt. Those fans were the answer to Mraz’s lyrical commitment: “I won’t give up when the skies get rough.” This was, after all, the Good Vibes tour, and Mraz delivered them. Like his new song “Love Is The Answer,” Mraz muses that our whole world would be better with a little more love. He proposed that we could, perhaps, change a swear word with the with word “love.” “Love yes!,” Mraz cried, “Go love yourself!” And while those loving fans were happy to sing along to “I Won’t Give Up On You,” the moment Mraz ventured into unknown material, from surf folk-pop to songs with a country flair, those fans seemed have a 10:00 p.m. exodus.
Team Tristan vs. Team Jason
For those who know their way around singer-songwriter culture, they know the story of Jason Mraz and Tristan Prettyman. The union of the two engaged songwriters ended with Mraz calling it off. That break-up inspired Tristan’s album Cedar+Gold, featuring the not-so-subtle “I Was Gonna Marry You.” Somehow, hearing Mraz chat about marriage at his Brooklyn show, defining marriage as a really having someone who “is going to be the person who is there for you” and saying we should remember “what you signed up for,” caused me to raise a curious eyebrow. As for Team Tristan, they’ve moved on: Tristan married and is recently “uncoupled” from (her word) from Bill Maris, and Jason Mraz has recently discussed exploring his “two-sided” sexuality (his word), yet another duality at play.
West Coast vs, East Coast
So we’ve come from California to Brooklyn, across 15 years and several albums of Jason Mraz. As for me, I couldn’t help but recreate the lyrics to “Lucky” on my way home:
I’m lucky that a good friend came…
I’m lucky I survived the Brooklyn rain..
Lucky to be singing home again…
Jason Mraz’s newest album, Know., was released on August 10th.