A few weeks ago, I went to what was one of the highlights of my summer: the Jason Mraz concert. Nothing is better on a late summer night than live music under the stars! It was supposed to be a girl's night out with a bunch of folks from work, but things ended up going a little differently.
Lots of big family and personal issues kept three of my co-workers away. It ended up a smaller, cozier posse of J, Wheelie, and myself. The good news is that one of the truths I've learned in life proved itself, well, true. That being: if you have extra ticket to a concert, you can always unload them in the parking lot. (I think I really made somebody else's night!) Nothing is better on a late summer night than finding tickets to a sold out show under the stars!
Another unexpected perk of the night: a ticket upgrade! Since we had one person in the party in a wheelchair, we were upgraded to the handicapped section. Much closer to the stage than our lawn seats. (Of course, we were then under the pavilion and lost our view of the stars. Good trade off)
I have to confess, after this event, that I am a little bit in love with Jason Mraz. Not completely in love, mind you; that would be ridiculous. (I haven't actually met him) Just watched him perform on a stage and listened to him on my ipod while I run along the canal. So, a little bit in love.
And not just because I'm pretty sure I'm bigger than Jason Mraz. That doesn't happen very often when you are slightly under 5 feet tall! Oh, if I ever did meet him, we could play "Amazon Women on the Moon" together! I would be fantastic. (J vehemently disagreed with me, and said that he only looked small because the stage was far away. But we had that ticket upgrade! We were pretty close. So that wasn't it) So she was completely wrong. Or maybe just partially wrong. There's a good chance he's actually a little taller than me, but I'm pretty positive I weigh more than he does. Have you seen picture of him since he went vegan? He's teeny!
But, I digress. The point was my partial love for him was not because of his minuscule appearance. Rather, it was because I just like the way that guy thinks. I like the energy he puts out. And he just seems like a really good person.
Before that night, I have never been to a concert where the artist tells everyone to take a few deep cleansing breaths in the middle of the show and be grateful that we are all here together on this beautiful night. (nice) Or give a warning to parents who brought small children to the show that the next song or two have language that they might not want the kids to hear. ("It might be a nice time to visit our merchandise booths. There are seed packets there that the kids can have.") Or tell the audience to turn to the people they came with and give them a big hug. Then turn to somebody you didn't come with and give them a smile and introduce yourself. Then look at somebody a few rows away and make eye contact and send them some good vibes. (seriously, how nice is this guy?)
So nice that somebody proposed to their girlfriend in the middle of "I'm Yours". Pause the song, spotlight on the couple, lots of cheering, and a round robin sing along of "Oh, no he didn't, oh yes she did!" Also nice. I'm pretty sure that happens at every one of his shows.
Before that night, I'd never been to a concert where the artist gave everybody an assignment as they left: "Take all the positive energy you felt here tonight and hang onto it. Then go out and share it with the world. If you come across somebody who looks like they are having a bad day or are feeling down, then do your best to lift them up. Give them a smile or a kind word or a helping hand. Give them a little bit of the energy we generated here tonight. Let's all go out and together make the world a better place."
Admit it, you're a little bit in love with him now, too.
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