REVIEW: Mraz quite the showman at Alltel Arena

By Jack Hill

There were 3,914 people on hand Tuesday night in Alltel Arena to see Jason Mraz, but I might have been the only one who didn't know how great a showman he is. It's always a thrill to be amazed when you least expect it, and amazed I was, by Mraz's singing, dancing, band leading and vocal tricks and skills in general.

Mraz put on a show for the ages, and he's just getting started. For nearly an hour and a half, he worked at least as hard as the fabled James Brown did, and with a band that was just as exciting. A horn section, The Grooveline Horns, from Austin, Texas, turned up the heat a notch or two, even blasting away at one point from high up in the seats near the luxury boxes. A drummer, a bongo player, a bassist and a keyboard guy completed the line-up.

Opening alone with his acoustic guitar on "Ray of Sunshine," Mraz quickly blasted the crowd with his full band on "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)," and was soon stirring together the ingredients that have propelled him to stardom: bits of rock, jazz, hip-hop, pop and reggae, plus some scat-like singing. And just when I thought there could be nothing else left to add, Mraz launched into a operatic voice a la Maria Callas in "Mr. Curiosity."

The set also included "You and I Both," "Anything You Want," "Sleeping to Dream," "Live High," "Only Human," "No Stopping Us" and the stunning "I'm Yours." A lengthy encore climaxed with "Butterfly," and Mraz and his seven musicians and nearly 4,000 fans, all drained, left happy. Not yet 32, Mraz said he was happy to finally see Arkansas and become "enveloped" in it.

Primary opening act the Plain White T's got the traditional 45 minutes to open the show, although they also had an opening act, Anya Marina, who did a 16-minute set of four songs. Both were introduced by their pal Mraz, who was as generous with his praise as he was with his musical talents in his own show. The Plain White T's, with pop delights that included "1,2,3,4," "Natural Disaster" and "Hey There Delilah," sounded like a nifty blend of Fountains of Wayne, Guster and The Beatles.