Tour Is A Four Letter Word World Tour in KL

There aren't many musicians I'd pay to watch live (friends who are musicians don't count - I believe in supporting friends, and somewhat believe in supporting local performing arts). Sarah Brightman, definitely. Josh Groban, if only he'll come! Jason Mraz. Ah, Jason Mraz - the man who sounds better live than on records. There aren't many like that. 

The concert was on 19th June (Mee Mee's birthday!), and yes, I realise it's almost the end of August now. Mine isn't the most diligently updated blog, I know. Reader, if you want to skip this yesterday's-news post, I'd totally understand.

Still here, Reader? Well, you must remember the time I went for Jason Mraz's concert in 2009 - I went fully resolved not to scream, and came back hoarse from having screamed too hard and too much. Lesson learned. This time, I didn't even bother to try. Goodness knows I need self-control (a lot of it) in many aspects of my life, so no, I don't need it when I'm at a concert, especially not at Jason Mraz's.

I was about an hour early so there was no queue and not too large a crowd when I entered the stadium. I had numbered seats too. I'd cleverly (or so I thought) chosen seats near the aisle thinking I'd get a clearer view of the stage if I didn't have a gazillion rows of people directly in front of me. Theoretically, I know I was right, but practically, I got this -

I tried to talk the ushers into removing the divider gate thingy once the concert begins, but well, they didn't even want to speak to me. I conspired with another concert-goer, who had the seat next to mine, to move it aside ourselves when it got dark and the lights went out. He gleefully agreed. But no, we didn't do it. Part of the reason - the moment Jason got on stage, after waiting a while for the deafening screams to mellow (but no, they didn't, so he shouted right over them... he had the amps, though, so it was fine), greeting everyone and telling how the humidity was making his hair big (it really was pretty big and unruly, and he wasn't wearing his hat... yet), he invited all of us to get on our feet. So, of course we did! I'm not tall, but being on my feet, my view was no longer blocked by the offending gate thingy. Later in the evening, I figured I could actually put it to good use -

I know I'm accident-prone, and was absolutely asking for trouble pulling stunts like that, but I managed it well. Came out unhurt. Must be all the yoga and climbing, eh? *Ahem!*

The concert was more than awesome! I can't, obviously, remember the exact setlist (this'll teach me, to procrastinate this long to write a post), but I remember there wasn't a single instant I wasn't enjoying myself. He performed most of the songs from his latest album, plus a whole bunch of older favourites. Each piece was accompanied by stunning visuals projected as the backdrop of the stage. The crowd was so alive, crazy, and exuding generous amounts positive energy all the way. We cheered. We danced and sang along on cue, and I was very near to tears at the beautiful A Beautiful Mess and Mr Curiosity. 

(My roomees and I were talking about how we find it hard to cry in front of people, no matter how angry or bitter we feel, but it seems I can always recall moments I get moved to tears - a beautiful song, a wistful tale, a heartbreaking scene, my bestfriend getting married...)

There were songs, other than those from Love Is Four Letter Word, that he didn't perform in his last concert in KL, including Mr Curiosity and Bella Luna. He accompanied himself on the keyboard for Mr Curiosity, saying it was a request so he hadn't practiced. But, it was perfect. Perfect! The concert lasted well over two hours (I think...!) including the several encores.

Pardon the lack of during-the-concert photos, Reader. Unlike some people who wouldn't stop taking photos and/or videos all throughout, I was more focused on enjoying each second. Each millisecond. Microsecond. Nanosecond... although I don't think I can discern a time period smaller than say, a third or fourth of a second... plus, it was really dark. Anyway, I took a shot shortly after he put on his hat, so I'd have something to remember the moment by. 

(That's him, projected on the screen... I don't suppose you can tell the "real" him on the stage at the right)

Oh, it's Monday already. Happy start-work-day, Reader! =)

My Absent Mind

My tendency to be totally lost in my own thoughts manifested itself in the one of the most annoying blunders (though I generally find all blunders arising from my innate clumsiness and/or carelessness very annoying), not once, but THREE times, in the past seven days! Five, if the weekend doesn't count.

You see, Reader, although I generally like to take the stairs when I'm going up, I definitely prefer the elevator for the opposite way, given my high likelihood of falling down when I'm going down. Last Friday, the elevator halted one floor above the one I was to go. Without so much as a second thought, or a glance at the LCD display on the panel beside the opened doors, I stepped out... only to hear a very sarcastic "We're not yet at the-destination-floor". I turned on my heel hurriedly, reentered the elevator, and did my best to ignore the smirking and laughing. In all my years taking that lift, it's never happened. Surely it's just a one-time thing.

No, it isn't. On Tuesday, I made the exact same mistake, only this time, I realised it way too late, and the doors had shut before I could get back in. I had to take the stairs down, and slowly too, so to minimize the chance of running into the people walking out of the elevator which I'd quit a floor too soon. I had a long day that day; I was so tired I practically stood inside the elevator with my eyes closed, I reasoned.

Come Thursday. It happened AGAIN! No, I'm not going to describe my silliness a third time. Given that the floor I was heading, to exit the building, is the lowest there is, I really want to put the blame on the lazy bums who pressed the elevator button at the level right above it - I mean, how unfit must one be, to want to ride it ONE floor down? Right? Wrong - my opinion aside, they have every right. *Sigh*

What more was I going to write, actually? I can't seem to focus my mind enough to remember. I think I'd wanted to say that I'd been writing a lot, and yet I haven't been writing, and something along the lines of my journal weeping, for it wants a little attention. I had this post all outlined and properly organized in my head while I was driving home...

There is also a vague memory of the plan to briefly mention 23rd June being Jason Mraz's birthday, but it fails at how the idea relates to the one about my out-of-focus-ness. Surely they're not both meant to be in the same post? Well, anyhow, they are now.

I really should not blog when I'm so overwhelmed by exhaustion and experiencing temporary (I hope) senility...

Name This Song!

Once upon a time, whenever I heard something I really liked on radio, I could only hope that the DJ would, at the end of it, tell me its title and the artist performing it. I'd make a note of it - actual, physical note - if he/she indeed did. Thereafter, whenever I had the radio on, I would be ready with a blank cassette and patiently wait till I hear the DJ say that the song would be played next, and then record it. I remember one particular song which was so rarely aired I had to call in and request for it (during the 3am-6am segment, for it would have been almost impossible to get through during "normal" hours). It was My Sentimental Friend by Herman's Hermits. What good ol' (difficult) days those were!

In 2007, I offered to help make a slideshow for a dear roommate to be played during her wedding, and she requested that I use a song which she really liked. I asked her what it was, and she said she didn't know its name, but she could give me the URL of the website on which she heard it. Well, finding out the song title wasn't even a challenge, for it was an English song - all I needed to do was to catch a few words of its lyrics. Google told me what it was in 0.24 seconds. With the help of YouTube and an educated guess, I found out who performed the version I needed. It was A Lover's Concerto by Kelly Chen.

In 2008, I, after haven't done so for a really long while, developed a liking for a song which, at that time, got a lot of airtime on the station I listen to every now and then while driving. Perhaps it had got something to do with my advancing age - every time I heard it I made a mental note to look it up online, but when I got online afterwards I could never remember to do so. This exasperating cycle went on like an infinite loop for a few weeks, and would have gone on most gleefully, if not for that time when I was hitching a ride with Big Eyes, and the song came on. I asked her immediately if she knew it. Fortune must have taken pity on me, for since her sister loved it too, she did. It was I'm Yours by Jason Mraz.

Recently, I joined the increasingly massive group of smartphone users - those who can't be apart a single moment from work, those who can't be apart a single moment from social networking, those who can't be apart a single moment from the Internet, those who think carrying a smartphone makes them smart, those who must have iPhones because they're the latest cool thing in town, and those, like myself, who simply want to (and can) have one. Being relatively new to the smartphone craze, I have to admit I'm still learning the ways to fully exploit all that the powerful little device can offer (while bearing in mind the battery drains several times faster than my tough old Nokia). So, it wasn't until last month that it occurred to me, that the moment I heard a song I'd like to know the title and artist, I could immediately google it up using my phone (yes, google is a verb to me). It is a grand idea, except that it isn't exactly feasible if I happen to be driving - and I only listen to the radio, which leads to the possibility of hearing a song I find interesting enough to want to know it, when I'm traveling in the car. Sure, I could wait till I've stopped at some traffic lights, or reached my destination... if I could still remember to do it.

Then, a few days ago, I stumbled across this application. It claims to be able to identify any songs playing, just by "listening" to a part (any part!) of it, including the user's singing/humming! I just had to give it a try.

In minutes, I'd had it correctly identify a contemporary pop (Terrified by Katharine McPhee), a relatively obscure oldie (Nothing Could Be Good by Bee Gees), a piano instrumental (The Sacrifice by Michael Nyman), an acoustic guitar instrumental (I Will by Ed Gerhard), a violin concerto (Chopin's Nocturn In C Sharp Minor by Joshua Bell), and even a Chinese karaoke favourite (无言的结局)! Amazing!

Of course, Reader, you wouldn't imagine I would test the app on only a small handful of songs, would you? Well then - I discovered that it couldn't identify any of the tracks from the album a Guitar for Elvis, and Warrior's Blue, from the soundtrack of Rurouni Kenshin. Out of sheer curiosity I had the app listen to Mamula Moon by Felix Mendelssohn and His Hawaiian Serenaders - but no, it couldn't find a match (not that I expected it to, but I had to know for sure!).

Needless to say, the next thing I did was to sing to it. I chose a song I had the accompaniment to - Dream a Little Dream of Me - and had barely sung past the first verse when a list of the closest matches was returned. In addition to the original version, the app showed several of the most popular covers of the song - the information given include the artist, the album, lyrics and the option to purchase the music.

"Try a Sarah Brightman song!" he said.

Being a little over my head with awe and delight, I overestimated my singing ability and launched into Think of Me. Three lines later, the incredible app identified the singing as that of Sarah Brightman, and the song from her album Encore. I felt absolutely flattered, though I am aware that Sarah herself would probably feel insulted if she knew.

Though this app undoubtedly made it that much easier for me to find songs out, it still remains that using my phone while driving isn't something I ought to do. But hey, maybe someone will write an app that would allow me to snap my phone out of its idle mode by shouting a preset password, and then let me scream my way through starting apps and getting stuff done (which includes "ID this song and bookmark it!")...

This is how far we've come!

Are You A Musician?

I wish I could say yes. I do. Alas, it wouldn't be the truth if I did. I can't create, write or arrange music. Heck, I can't even perform music decently on any instrument. Sure, they say the voice is also an instrument, and most of those who'd heard me sing would say I sing rather well; I think, though, the judges at the only singing competition I'd ever been in would disagree.

I guess I could say, like I always do, that I'd never been formally trained in music. Technically though, that's not completely true. When I was a little girl, I had several years' piano lessons.

My first teacher was a family friend. I was her very first student. I don't know how she did it, being so young and inexperienced that she was then, but she was amazingly patient and taught me very well. I lost her, however, when my family moved away from that town. The second teacher I had taught piano for a living, and made it so, extremely obviously. My third piano teacher was better than the second, though not much. She taught without passion, and frowned upon questions. I didn't like that at all. It was 5 or 6 years since my first lesson, when I stopped going for them (... and started writing my first "book"). I was somewhere between Grade 4 and 5, I think. Right now, I'd place myself at Grade -1.

I don't know how I fared as a music student - though I guess I must not have excelled, for I don't recall having garnered any praises from my teachers, nor admiration of family members and friends. The only thing I remember, is how my teachers always reprimanded me for banging too hard on their piano keys. I remember I learned The Blue Danube (an arranged-for-children version, of course) while with my second teacher, and once, when visiting, played it for my first teacher. She hid a smile while I was at it, and when I was done, told me that the beautiful waltz was meant for ladies in elegant ball gowns to dance to, not for stomping elephants. I was a little indignant; had I known then, how my final teacher would put it (= "STOP pounding on my NEW piano!!!"), I'd have appreciated the humour and sugar-coating a lot more.

I'd previously written a very brief note on getting my guitar (= here). Well, the Guitar Society was offering lessons at the time, and I thought - well, why not? I ended up going for 2 lessons in the span of a year, and only managed to learn ONE complete song (the easiest of them all, of course) before the poor thing was confined to its god-forsaken corner for years.

If it wasn't for my joining YKLS last year (and also being somewhat obsessed with Jason Mraz), and thus rekindling my yearning to play the instrument, it would still be in its solitary confinement.

So, yes, I can play a miserable couple of songs miserably on my miserable guitar; I can read a little music (though hardly enough to manage sight-singing); I believe I can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the piano...

But no, I am not a musician. I love music and would love to do more musically, but unfortunately, I am unworthy to be termed a musician. As yet.

And no, I couldn't tell you where you could get a decent guitar. I couldn't tell you where you could get affordable lessons. I couldn't tell if there are teachers who teach with patience and passion. Still, I wish you all the best in your quest.

Now, I should stop writing and go practice some...

A One-Minute Post

He sees a photo of a guy wearing a hat.

"Ooh, is that Jason Mraz?"

No, I say. Not every guy who wears a hat is Jason Mraz.

"All containers are Tupperware, all instant noodles are Maggi, all USB drives are Pendrive(s)..."

*rolls eyes*

Being Neighbourly

I heard my neighbour was installing grills in his unit. I heard, literally - the tremendously loud drilling and knocking early mornings, several days in a row. It was the faithful wake-up call which did not fail to greet me the past few mornings I wasn't working, and could sleep in. I also heard that he liked work done only in the early mornings because after an hour or so from the first drilling, the noise would cease altogether, and I won't hear anything for the rest of the day. Grand way to get to know one's neighbour's likes and dislikes with regards to grill-installations.

I also heard another neighbour supports child freedom and child's freedom of expressions. Every so often I'd hear his children running around free of adult supervision; laughing, crying, shrieking all their might, as much as they please. I'd hear it too, when his friends and their children drop by for visits. Lovely children, no doubt. Unfortunately, they are more often heard than seen, which isn't exactly the way I like children to be.

At times, I wonder if I ought to let my neighbours know more of me too. I'd love to let them know what kind of music I like. I really wouldn't mind sharing, especially Sarah Brightman's lush, magnificent music - but especially pieces that showcase her astounding vocal range and prowess. How about that new Josh Groban's Awake Live DVD that I got recently? Live concerts are always exciting because of the abundance of cheers and applause. Oh, and Jason Mraz's Beautiful Mess Live on Earth too - great songs, resounding with thousands upon thousands of screaming fans! It's also been quite a while since I had a fill of Phantom of the Opera. I'm feeling rather generous right now...

Signs

These are some interesting sights from various places, taken with my humble mobile phone.


My friends say it is because of signs like this that women make better sales than men. You can say it is gender discrimination, but you must also admit that not many can say "No" to a pretty lady.


For a while, I considered censoring the number depicted in this ad, seen posted on a lamp-post, but it wouldn't be fair to show people what they could have possessed, and then deny them the means to securing it, would it?


Please don't jump. This place isn't for jumping. If you must jump, find another more suitable location. Not here, please. Thank you.


I suppose the owner of the place in which this notice is found wanted to make sure that his outlet wouldn't be labelled as the regular haunt of school-going (or school-skipping) teenagers. Of course, as long as they're not in their uniforms...


Jason Mraz crossing! Well, of course it is! See a hat, think Jason Mraz! I have made it a point to drive past this sign at least once or twice a day, every day - who knows, I might actually bump into him crossing the road!

Jason Mraz Live in KL

No screaming, I kept saying to myself. No screaming. My voice was barely back to normal - on Monday, I was still all croak-and-squeak. No screaming. And no singing along - I attended the concert to watch and to listen to Jason Mraz, and that was what I intended to do. No screaming, and no singing along, I kept saying to myself.

Ticket collection counters were opened 2 hours before the 8pm concert, and by 6.20pm, there were already huge crowds queuing at the entrances. I thought I was early, but apparently not early enough. So there I stood, with the other eager fans, for near an hour in my 3-inch heels, waiting in line. Perhaps it was the waiting, perhaps it was the mounting excitement as show time drew nearer, or perhaps they just wanted to warm their voices up a little - when the doors were finally opened, the crowd cheered.

This was a crowd extremely generous with their cheers and applause. They cheered when the guitars were brought on stage. They cheered when a pony-tailed guy came on to test and tune the instruments - several times. A group near me attempted to shout in unison "JASON, JASON, JASON!" though they gave up after several feeble attempts. Several girls held up a home-made poster with the words "We are MRAZMERIZED by you!". How very nice, I thought.

When the lights finally dimmed and the spotlights sprung to life on stage, the screams and applause were deafening. Jason Mraz came on stage - taking what seemed like a video of the venue, the crowd, the stage. I cannot recall the precise moment I started screaming, but it was probably then - for the girl next to me never did hesitate contributing to the collective shouting and squealing, and that proved a temptation to go along too strong to resist. So, every time she screamed and flung her arms up, I did the same.

When he picked up his guitar and started playing, the crowd went absolutely wild, and when he burst into song, they sang along. I did not sing along - yet. My brain was busy coping with the bombarding impulses from my optical and auditory nerves. There he was - in his plain, grey, v-neck T-shirt, slacks and... no shoes! There he was - making music as if he was made of music, his fingers deftly over the strings of his guitar, his voice, his dancing and prancing on stage, his ability to spontaneously modify lyrics and insert snippets of other songs during a song... I was quite overwhelmed.

Somewhere in the "unauthorized" biography on his website, I remember reading this fragment - "... impressive verbal torrent that spills forth on 'Dynamo of Volition' and once again shows Mraz's unmatched (except perhaps by Toca, who has to sing just as fast, because he sings the harmony) ability to sing at the speed of sound..." - and experiencing that live was incredible. I saw him standing there, I saw him playing his guitar, I saw him open and close his mouth, but I heard was "sdjkfhiweuryvnocfl...." - apparently, my brain is incapable of processing sound waves of a song coming in at the speed of sound.

I would had succeeded in refraining from singing along, but then he pointed at us and said "Take it!" for the chorus of The Remedy - as if any fan with a sane mind would deny him that! After a repetition or two, he said "Alright, just the ladies!" - and I sang so loud my vocal chords must had hated me for abusing it. And that was just the beginning. "One more time, girls! Come on!" and sang, we did. He really knew how to work the crowd up - especially the female portion of it. More than once he invited the crowd to sing while he played, and the "Now, just the ladies!" would always follow. In addition to "Sing with me on this one!" for I'm Yours, which made the audience roar, somewhere in the middle of the song he got them to repeat random notes and funny sounds after him. He even showcased the lower limit of his vocal range by going "Now, the girls!" and proceeded to sing a low note "Low, low, low" which we repeated. It was really amazing, for he went a couple more notes lower, and all the ladies actually did, after him. There must had been quite a number of altos in the crowd. But after that there was a really low, "Low, low, low" which took us all by surprise - it was Toca! The crowd simply went wild.

After the really grand and crazy scream-along, sing-along I'm Yours, he and his band vacated the stage. Though the crowd continued their screeching and crying out for more, I thought I saw some actually leaving the stadium. I didn't know if they actually thought it was over, but the lights were still dim - that alone should had been logic enough that there was more to come. Several minutes later, Jason and the band members came on stage once more, and predictably, the crowd went wild once more.

He got hold of his guitar, got ready to play, but didn't start playing. He looked around, looked at the others on the stage, and they looked back at him. Then he went on to explain that he's actually expecting a guest singer, a "beautiful" lady with a "beautiful" voice, but she wasn't there. At that moment, it didn't occur to me that the show really was missing a person. But the show must go on, and he made sure it did. With such an ever willing crowd, he must had known he would had no trouble performing a duet all by himself.

"If she doesn't show up, you guys will have to sing the part" and the crowd screamed as if they would scream down the building. When he started Lucky, they started too - I thought he only asked them to sing Colbie's part, not his part as well... but, what would you expect of a crowd overcharged with adrenalin, and way overdosed on Jason Mraz? And on he went "... oh my, baby I'm trying... Now, take it!" Then, he actually stepped back from the mic, and continued playing while the audience continued on the song. I can't even begin to describe how exhilarating it was to be singing a Jason Mraz song, with Jason Mraz accompanying on the guitar! I wish the moment would last forever, but alas - about a minute into the song, the missing Malaysian singer showed up.

I really want to caci her - her being late, her not-so-nice voice, her terrible pronunciation of the lyrics, her sneaking up to the wrong side of Jason's guitar - but at the same time, I want to keep this piece as positive as possible, which is why I don't plan to mention how very warm and stuffy the stadium was, and how even before the end of the first hour I could smell the ever increasing odour of the sweaty people around me, and how after the first few numbers, Jason's shirt was visibly damp with perspiration. Oops.

Quite a few asked me how the concert was - it was an experience like I never had before (though I must admit the only other concert I'd ever been to was Sarah Brightman's Harem in 2004, if musicals and orchestral recitals don't count). The way Jason Mraz teased and charmed the audience, his spontaneity, creativity and pure talent, were simply awesome. The crowd's very active, perhaps excessive, participation was grand too, even if a little annoying to whoever who simply wanted to listen to the performer only, and naught else. The continuous screams, cheers and applause were irrefutable proof of our profound love and regard for Jason, and he must had felt it too, for the last thing he said before ending the show was that the concert wouldn't be the last that he'd perform in Malaysia. And the crowd went wild again - for the hundredth (perhaps, for I wasn't counting) time.

I ought to had known how stupid it was to make the no-screaming-and-no-singing-along resolution that I did. It had so easily, so willingly, so heartily been broken! I was, perhaps, not louder than the girl next to me, but if the girl sitting in front of me were blogging about the same wonderful Wednesday evening, she'd probably write a paragraph about the crazy, shrill-voiced girl behind her, who screamed and sang so much!

***
Edit:List of songs (probably not in the right order, but hopefully complete):
1. Make it Mine
2. The Remedy (I Won't Worry)
3. You and I Both
4. If It Kills Me
5. Live High
6. A Beautiful Mess
7. Geek in the Pink
8. The Dynamo of Volition
9. Life is Wonderful10. I'm Yours

11. Lucky
12. No Stopping Us
13. Butterfly
For further reading:
http://theexantagonist.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-concert-of-year-jason-mraz.html
http://daddy-o-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/03/jason-mraz-is-maximum-awsomeness-random.html

***

Discovering Jason Mraz

"I'm Yours"
It was aired on the radio so often. I heard it so many times. The first things I registered were the strumming of the guitar and the squeaking of fingers sliding on the strings. Then, there were the light and breezy male vocals, and the torrents of words stumbling forth, almost tripping over each other. I didn't know who sang the song, nor what it is called - could hardly even catch any of the lyrics sung. I simply knew I liked it. Finding out comprised of asking friends and of course, the Internet. I'm Yours, by Jason Mraz. How do I pronounce that last name? Then, I stumbled upon a page in Facebook, where someone posted the official video. I loved it so much I watched it over and over again. At times, I'd just let it play in the background, repeatedly, while I worked. Then, after I Googled out the lyrics, I finally knew what he was singing about, and I loved it even more - it is my cheer-up and feel-good song.

"Lucky"
Another single - a duet! I love duets, and I simply love this one. Just do. It's simple, sweet, lovely, no high notes... and because at the time, the official video for this song wasn't anywhere on YouTube yet, I fed on the fan-recorded live performances videos. And what I saw amazed me incredibly.

Playing and Singing Live
I do not profess to be knowledgeable in the fine arts, nor possess much talent in music, but I believe I can very well recognize talent when I saw it. He is talent personified. It's not just the singing, but the being one with his music. It is the being able to play and sing as naturally as one walks or talks, and the complete enjoyment he evidently feels doing that. It is the passionate way he makes love with his guitar, the way he makes it seem like the instrument is an extension of his limbs - a part of him as much as his voice and his heart are.

Live in Malaysia
It happens in about a month from now, on a Wednesday evening. I am not a concert-going person, but I know if I do not take this opportunity to catch this extraordinary, extremely talented guy live, I will regret it.

So then - see you soon :)