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The Bruno Mars Thread Part II *BRUNO TO PERFORM GORILLA @ THE MTV VMAs?? (post #446)* So since the other Bruno Mars thread got locked I made a new thread to continue on with the opening night concert coverage.
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Reviews: Bruno Mars brings flash, substance to D.C. tour launchThe singer's summer Moonshine Jungle tour kicked off Saturday night in Washington.The event: Pop juggernaut Bruno Mars kicks off his Moonshine Jungle summer arena tour Saturday night with a sold-out D.C. show in support of his second album, Unorthodox Jukebox. Location: Verizon Center, Washington. Opening act: Soul sextet Fitz & the Tantrums starts things off. (The group is tag-teaming the opening slot with London's "folktronica" star Ellie Goulding.) The merchandise: Many fans turn out wearing Bruno-inspired fedoras, but brothers John Montgomery, 45, of Covington, Va., and Monty Montgomery, 49, of Roanoke, are eyeing camo Moonshine Jungle caps to replace their John Deere ones. (Their assessment of Mars: "In between Michael Jackson and Prince.") Also on sale: plush gorillas, T-shirts with Mars' Afroed head and dark blue running shorts emblazoned BRUNO MARS in bright yellow caps across the seat. I heart Bruno: Sophia Nadder of Richmond, Va., 11, wears her heart on her black walking cast. The superfan, herself a singer, neon-painted the star's name on the Velcroed boot she's sporting. Confident fan: Prettany Overman of Abington, Md., here in a "Doo-Wops" tee to celebrate her upcoming 20th birthday, credits Mars hit Just the Way You Are with boosting her low self-esteem. Lots of heart: Fitz frontman Michael Fitzpatrick and his band assemble in front a red LED heart that turns psychedelic as the band breaks into Breakin' the Chains of Love. Audience participation: The crowd claps, stands, waves its arms and does call-and-response to a cover of Sweet Dreams as vocalist Noelle Scaggs and Fitz rock MoneyGrabber and show off fancy footwork in The Walker. Busted: Scaggs is on the ground taking pictures with fans before security swoops in to take her away. Golden: Loud screams erupt at the sight of a giant curtain with sparkly golden palm trees. Lights dim, the crowd stands and monkey sounds are heard over an African drum beat. An eight-piece band, plus Mars, all clad in red suits and cheetah-print shirts, dive into Moonshine. Some parrots join the fun on the video screen. She got me for everything: Closeups of fire, panthers and a tattooed woman? Must be Natalie. 'Treasure' time: The performance looks just like the song's new throwback music video, complete with Jackson 5 moves and a disco ball. Mars slings on a guitar, sweating, which he emphasizes with a big brow wipe. Money mashup: Billionaire (which Mars wrote), then Aloe Blacc's I Need a Dollar, to deafening screams. It's getting freaky in this room: For Show Me, the band shows off Caribbean sounds and synchronized moves, then segues into Our First Time with gyrating and purple mood lighting. Heating up: Marry You gets a new bass line. Jumping and spinning is in order, as the guys sweat through their jackets and peer-pressure the crowd to wave. "I'm hot as hell," Mars says. "I should have thought about this suit." Last song from 'Jukebox' is up: If I Knew goes out to Bruno's special someone. Stage patter: Mars teaches the crowd how to say "damn" with feeling, before finding "a lucky lady to serenade tonight." He fakes one out by nearly picking her, moving on, then returning. "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm the dude on the ticket." Light 'em up: Things heat back up — with fire — and Runaway Baby. The stage lights up with moving squares of LEDs. Mars breaks out a megaphone and sings into it. The disco ball is back for 'Young Girls': He sings of "young wild girls, making a mess" of him, and intercuts a line of Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Sing-along: "The next song is the hardest for me to write and the hardest for me to sing." Of course, it's When I Was Your Man, with just Bruno, a piano and emotional notes. I'd do anything for you: After teasing us earlier, Mars goes into a drum- and trumpet-heavy Grenade. Red mood lighting illuminates the stage as he sings "if my body was on fire." He's all about the electric guitar solos and sings the chorus in pieces before dozens of lights strobe. Big finish. Boom! Time for 'Just the Way You Are': Girls sing, no, shriek, the words. "I've been suffering," he tells the audience. "Thank you guys for giving me the strength to come out here and sing" — a reference to his mom, Bernadette Hernandez, who died unexpectedly earlier this month. The chants of "Bru-no" have begun: We still haven't heard Locked Out of Heaven. Mars rises from the stage on drums, wearing a Hawaiian shirt. He holds up his sticks and runs to center stage. The bandmates have their casual clothes on as they hop across the stage to Locked. Gold and red glitter falls from the sky. More sexy songs: Fire blasts from the stage for Gorilla. Everyone in the mood now? Mars strips down to a black tank for a slower, smoother seduction from a high, spotlit platform. Lights out. Next stops: Philadelphia on Monday, then Boston Wednesday. Bruno Mars is otherworldly in a genre-jumping show
But the concert’s most dazzling visual element was discreetly physiological. Clad in uniform red blazers, cheetah-print shirts and blingy gold chains, Mars and his eight-man band worked the stage like a platoon of over-caffeinated Big Daddy Kanes. It didn’t take long for those crisp red blazers to start showing splotches of burgundy.
It was one of those rare, thrilling, upside-down pop concerts where instead of rigidly trying to recreate the high sheen of various hit singles, the singer takes complete control of the songbook, reshaping it at will. Which is to say, it was fantastic. On the radio, where Mars has four No. 1 hits perpetually floating about, his voice can sound tangy and stiff. But on stage Saturday, it was sugar-dusted and elastic. “Treasure,” his latest single, felt like an old VHS dub of “Soul Train” brought back to life. On the Police-inspired “Locked Out of Heaven,” he sang like Sting with more bite. And during the hushed final refrain of his heart-squeezing “When I Was Your Man,” thousands of fans hushed, too, listening but still unable to stop themselves from crooning along. Mars hopscotched through Motown, new wave, late-’70s funk, mid-’90s R&B, flaunting a pop fluency that’s earned him a vast and diverse horde of admirers. You could see it in Saturday night’s audience — there were baby boomers, babies of boomers, babies of babies of boomers, and in Section 100, an actual baby. But Mars seemed to be primarily concerned with the women in the audience, fake-flirting with one in the front row: “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said. “I’m the dude on the ticket.” There was some genuine showing off, too. He garnished a few songs with guitar solos for the sake of playing guitar solos, as well as a drum solo that was somehow, miraculously, not horrific. And while he may be pushing himself toward that look-at-me-I-can-do-everything space where Prince resides, he still needs to learn how to assert his personality through all of his genre-jumping time travel. Here’s one move he should steal from Revolution-era Prince immediately: Put the Hooligans, the name of the backing band, on that ticket stub, too. The front line — guitarist Phredley Brown, bassist Jamareo Artis, supporting vocalist Phillip Lawrence and the horn section of Kameron Whalum, Dwayne Dugger and James King — not only brought tremendous life and electricity to their boss’s songs, they also seemed to be having the best 90-odd minutes of their lives. Toward the back, drummer Eric Hernandez and keyboardist John Fossit kept the set glued together. And on lead vocals, a man poised to spend his summer winning over the planet, one sopping blazer at a time, Bruno Mars.
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Online comments from people who attended the show:
Rozita Victoria Samuels (1 hour ago)
I took my granddaughter and we had a BLAST!!! Bruno Mars is a talent we have not seen since the Old Michael Jackson days. He crosses all genders.
[Edited 6/23/13 21:57pm] [Edited 6/23/13 21:59pm] MJ L.O.V.E: https://www.facebook.com/...689&type=2 / YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/us...nderSilent | |
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thank you for this, amazing performance! [img:$uid]http://www.smil.../img:$uid] | |
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thanks for posting all of those awesome videos! just makes me even more excited to see his show next month! be kind, be a friend, not a bully. | |
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When are you going? I'm attending next Monday's at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ with wonder505. "Love Hurts. Your lies, they cut me. Now your words don't mean a thing. I don't give a damn if you ever loved me..." -Cher, "Woman's World" | |
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My pleasure uniden!
Uniden & chocolate1--after you see the concert would you mind posting your thoughts/reviews here in this thread? I love reading people's reviews who attended his concert!
Its amazing how several comments on Bruno's concert are comparing it to a Michael Jackson concert!
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Co-sign w/you on the [img:$uid]http://www.smilies.4-user.de/include/Girls/smilie_girl_249.gif[/img:$uid] MJ L.O.V.E: https://www.facebook.com/...689&type=2 / YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/us...nderSilent | |
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Bruno Mars: Love & Respect For Michael Jackson - by Rhapsodyincolour It’s all for the L.O.V.E. ~ From Bruno Mars’ early days as a child performer to now as a worldwide star, Michael Jackson has always been an influence in the way Bruno carries out his showmanship and music production. In honour of Michael, here is a compilation of material I’ve made showing just how much Bruno loves and respects MJ.
Links to each clip used are in the description box on the video’s YouTube page. An extended version that includes Bruno’s SNL Pandora Skit can be watched here: http://vimeo.com/rhapsodyincolour/bmmj MJ L.O.V.E: https://www.facebook.com/...689&type=2 / YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/us...nderSilent | |
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Please. There's no comparison. Bruno trumps Justin in every area of musicianship and artistry. MJ L.O.V.E: https://www.facebook.com/...689&type=2 / YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/us...nderSilent | |
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#moonshinejungletour #verizoncenter #washingtondc #music #amazing #fun #happy #talent #love”
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Bruno tearin up the drums during the concert! MJ L.O.V.E: https://www.facebook.com/...689&type=2 / YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/us...nderSilent | |
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Bruno and the Hooligans performing tonight in Philadelphia. Looks like there will be an after party following the concert MJ L.O.V.E: https://www.facebook.com/...689&type=2 / YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/us...nderSilent | |
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Bruno posing for pics with fans before the concert MJ L.O.V.E: https://www.facebook.com/...689&type=2 / YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/us...nderSilent | |
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For more concert coverage pics and videos, these blogs are great resources: MJ L.O.V.E: https://www.facebook.com/...689&type=2 / YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/us...nderSilent | |
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I see you beat me to the reviews
Here is my review of the June 22 show in Washington DC!
It was GREAT!
I knew it was going to be a good show but I was really impressed. He is a really good singer. Last year I thought he was a average vocalist but I was really impressed. Everything was LIVE no special effects or gimmicks or extra stuff. Just the nice red suits and the bandmates THATS IT. Thats what all live shows should be. All the instruments were LIVE too. They all played and danced at the same time including Bruno. His music is also really good. He reminds me so much of Janelle Monae in the sense that they both are so eclectic genre wise.
I have been persuaded to buy his CD and will do so soon! He didnt do a ton of dancing but the dancing was mostly James brown moves. The choregraphy steps with the bandmates were Temptations moves and a few MJ ones. I had no idea Bruno played as many instruments as he did and he played them exceptionally. He play the guitar, piano and the drums. He was KILLIN it on the drums!! He is really into James Brown because he played some of his voice overs when he was drumming and kinda referenced him alot which I thought was pretty cool. His band is off the chain and their all so funny They were playing with the audience as well as Bruno. Bruno is the type of man you wish was your bestfriend or boyfriend. He has so much charisma and personality. I see why him and Janelle get along so well because their both so goofy lol He was very funny and comfortable with the audience and its crazy because he just lost his mom but he didnt seem down. He was really energized and pump. He did briefly mention her though.
He covered a couple of songs/lines of songs that were not his that were fun to groove too. He singed Pony by ginuwine LOL Candy, Tevin Cambell etc He had a straight 90s tribute cover section for the ladies that I thought was sexy and fun. He picked a girl from the audience and singed to her. The pick up line section was really really funny lol
Some chick threw her bra at him lol
Overall, it was a really good show and when he comes to your area GO SEE HIM Im really proud of him he has came such a long way. Here are some bad quality pics. lol I tried to choose the better quality ones.
Yea kinda had bad seats well they were bad seats lol but it was still a good show : )
Bruno and Bieber should be no where in the same sentence at all. Naughty, I didnt know Bruno was a apart of a songwriting group " The Smeezingtons" and that they use to write for other artists. I think they still do. I really hope you get to see him! | |
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^THANK YOU MJSCAROUSAL FOR THAT GREAT REVIEW! I think the pics look great too! It definitely sounds like its the concert of the year! (or at least one of the best concerts of the year).
Production credits[edit]
2008[edit]
Natasha Bedingfield – Confessions of a Shopaholic (soundtrack)[edit]
2009[edit]
Far*East Movement – Animal[edit]
K'naan – Troubadour[edit]
Matisyahu – "Light"[edit]
Sugababes – "Sweet 7"[edit]
Flo Rida – "R.O.O.T.S."[edit]
Sean Kingston – Tomorrow[edit]
Justin Bieber – "My World (EP)"[edit]
2010[edit]
Sugababes – Sweet 7[edit]
B.o.B – B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray[edit]
Bruno Mars – It's Better If You Don't Understand (EP)[edit]
Travie McCoy – Lazarus[edit]
Shontelle – No Gravity[edit]
Mike Posner – 31 Minutes to Takeoff[edit]
Sean Kingston - Non-album single[edit]
Bruno Mars – Doo-Wops & Hooligans[edit]
Far East Movement – Free Wired[edit]
Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer[edit]
Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager[edit]
Flo Rida – Only One Flo (Part 1)[edit]
Alexandra Burke – Overcome[edit]
2011[edit]
Bad Meets Evil – Hell: The Sequel[edit]
Lil Wyane – Tha Carter IV[edit]
Bruno Mars – The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (soundtrack)[edit]
Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa – Mac & Devin Go to High School (soundtrack)[edit]
Charice – Infinity[edit]
2012[edit]
Adam Lambert – Trespassing[edit]
Neon Hitch – "Gold"[edit]
Alicia Keys – Girl on Fire[edit]
Bruno Mars – Unorthodox Jukebox[edit]
Target deluxe edition bonus tracks[edit]
2013[edit]
98 Degrees - 2.0[edit]
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Feast on the fineness that is Bruno Mars MJ L.O.V.E: https://www.facebook.com/...689&type=2 / YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/us...nderSilent | |
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Scenes from tonite's concert in Philadelphia
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More scenes from the Philadelphia concert June 24, 2013. MJ L.O.V.E: https://www.facebook.com/...689&type=2 / YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/us...nderSilent | |
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Here's a sample of some work the Smeezingtons did before Bruno's fame: Travis McCoy, "One at a Time"| December 04, 2009 5:51 PM EST
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Actually Bruno is THE PRODUCER of The Smeezingtons, He writes & produces (Philip Co-writes with him), and Ari Levine does the mixing stuff, so basically Bruno is the one who produces.. and him producing Fuck You, Gorilla and Locked Out of Heaven which are great songs instrumentally makes me proud, he really gets the vibes. --- Carousal LUCKY YOU MAN! I'm glad you got to see him.. I'm most excited for the Gorilla performance, I saw it on YouTube but I really wanna EXPERIENCE it live.. with the falsettos and sexy breakdowns. I recommend you to buy Unorthodox Jukebox, maybe you'll find it musically incoherent, you know, listening to New wave/rock song, then a soul song, and suprisingly a wild reggae song comes up JUST LIKE THAT, then some doo-wop&60's Sam Cooke-y stuff.. It's just the way Bruno likes to put his work and that what bothers critics, not to pick one musical genre, they know he's a good singer (they know he could do something like Fuck You for his own albums).. But they keep bashing him LOL and I love how Bruno just doesn't give a single fuck.
Speaking of Janelle Monàe, her next album is the most anticipated album for me this year, I mean I looked to Eminem, to Beyoncé and other mainstream artists, I just said IT'S GOING TO BE JUST LIKE ANY OTHER ALBUM!! But Janelle is going to slay hopefully.. And I hope she tours, and maybe tours with Bruno just like she did back in 2011 (Hooligans in Wandaland) | |
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And here's Billboard saying the same thing about it
BILLBOARD: Bruno Mars Romps Through 'Moonshine Jungle' Tour in Philadelphia: Live Review
One of the most impressive things about Bruno Mars' performance on Monday night at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center was, in fact, the list of songs that he left off the set list. The 27-year-old has been famous as a solo artist for roughly three years, and has already reached a point in his career where he can shrug off a No. 1 smash ("Nothin' On You," his B.o.B duet), a "Twilight" anthem ("It Will Rain") and a fan favorite ("The Lazy Song") in his live show, simply because his arsenal of songs is strong enough to allow the oversights. Don't let the perfectly coiffed hair and easygoing smile fool you: as his 87-date Moonshine Jungle world tour gets underway -- the Philadelphia show was the run's second stop, after beginning in Washington D.C. on Saturday night -- Mars has become a stone-cold hit machine who has rattled off a staggering amount of ubiquitous singles over the course of two albums and a few extracurricular appearances. He is an efficient, impeccable star that has thrown a bunch of timeless influences into a blender and jammed his finger down on the 'high' button. His sophomore album, "Unorthodox Jukebox," confirmed that he is an enduring pop personality, while the Moonshine Jungle tour, his first headlining arena trek, may turn him into an international superstar in a way that hasn't happened since Lady Gaga through a Monster Ball a few years ago.
As Mars' collection of radio hits and audience size have concurrently swelled, so has his production budget, although the main tenets of his stage show are still the same as when he wanted to be a billionaire so freakin' bad. Mars' biggest asset as a performer has always been his ambidextrousness, and in his current stage show, the singer holds high notes, leads choreographed dances, plays electric guitar, plays acoustic guitar, plays drums, engages the crowd and even flirts with some ladies in the front row. He's a convincing "whole package" kind of pop artist, and like an ace Pixar movie with "in" jokes for parents, he expertly caters to his older and younger demographics at his live shows. The parents get the Motown callbacks, demure sexual come-ons and an old-school R&B montage that includes Soul For Real's "Candy Rain" and Ginuwine's "Pony"; the kids get their favorite radio hits and a messenger that radiates positivity. And if you don't think Mars has younger fans, just wait until the lights dim before his show -- the little-girl shrieks reach decibel levels typically reserved for Justin Bieber.
The "Unorthodox Jukebox" tracks that Mars had yet to play live sounded swell. "Moonshine" kicked off the evening with animated parrots flapping their wings in slow motion on a giant screen behind Mars; "Show Me" turned into an extended reggae jam complete with red, yellow and green adorning all corners of the stage; and "Gorilla," although an odd selection for a set closer, is clearly a favorite of Mars', as he lost his mind while perched upon an elevated platform with pyrotechnics blasting off behind him. Mars' band, led by his bespectacled and underrated production partner Philip Lawrence, made themselves just as crucial to the performance as the frontman by keeping the energy high and mugging for the audience at just the right moments. Everyone in the eight-piece setup appeared to be having a tremendous time as Mars zipped through instruments and zigzagged between ornately constructed dance tracks ("Runaway Love"), wrenching ballads ("When I Was Your Man") and songs that fell somewhere in between ("Grenade").
"We wanna see y'all moving, we wanna see y'all dancing... maybe, just maybe, put your camera phones down and get into it!" Mars commanded early in the show. It was a reasonable request -- after all, Mars' lifeblood is entertaining and keeping smiles plastered on the faces of his onlookers, and he does a better job at it than almost anyone working in music right now. His pop tracks may not possess enriching messages, but his tirelessness and dedication must be appreciated when seen in person. And appreciate it they did: when all was said and done, the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia roared with a collective dizziness usually reserved for the all-too-occasional Flyers playoff win.
Here is the set list from Bruno Mars' June 24 performance in Philadelphia: Moonshine Encore: Locked Out of Heaven
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i'm going to the july 24th show in sacramento, ca. i am so excited! be kind, be a friend, not a bully. | |
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of course
be kind, be a friend, not a bully. | |
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^Cool, thanks uniden! And thank you Shawy for posting that review Here's another one:
MENAFN - - 6/25/2013 12:10:04 PM Jun 26, 2013 (Menafn - The Philadelphia Inquirer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Bruno Mars loves us just the way we are -- and he doesn't feel too bad about himself, either.
And who can blame him? The chart-topping singer-songwriter-producer's sold-out show at the Wells Fargo Center Monday night was the second date on his first tour headlining hockey arenas. The freshness of that feeling for the 27-year-old multi-racial multi-instrumentalist Hawaiian (born Peter Hernandez) was apparent in the broad grin on his face. It was shared by his fairly fabulous eight-piece band, the Hooligans -- dressed, like their leader, in matching red suits.
And it came though clearly during a brief break in the action before "Runaway Baby," a song from his 2010 album Doo-Wops & Hooligans that warns potential paramours to flee "before I put a spell on you."
Mars and his bandmates took turns playfully trying out pickup lines on an ardent fan in the front row who became the object of envy in a crowd that was about 85 percent female. When it came time for Mars to show his game, he played to his strengths.
"I'm the dude on the ticket," he said. "And the one on the video screen up there." Mars' Moonshine Jungle tour came with all the requisite bells and whistles. The staging for Mars -- who penned the words "I want to be on the cover of Forbes magazine," in "Billionaire," his hit with Travie McCoy -- included flashpots, confetti cannons and on-screen gorillas, black panthers and African parrots. But for all the big-time staging, the lively-stepping musicians were never in danger of being overwhelmed by effects.
During the 90-minute set which the audience stood throughout, Mars mostly sang -- in a sweet and supple voice. He also played guitar, memorably during a nifty medley that began with Barrett Strong's Motown oldie "Money" before moving into Aloe Blacc's "I Need a Dollar" and "Billionaire." Before kicking off an encore with the plea for sexual gratification "Locked Out of Heaven," he took over from his brother Eric on the drum kit, laying down a rhythm that he accentuated with a mimicked arsenal of James Brown grunts and groans.
Mars' hits can tend toward the shamelessly saccharine. "Just the Way You Are," the ballad which shares a name with the Billy Joel chestnut, is Exhibit A. But on Monday night, even that crowd-pleasing trifle turned into something more satisfying as the band gathered stage center to dig into the groove while resisting the temptation to indulge in undisciplined vamping. It's clear that Mars -- who has ditched his trademark Fedora and pompadour, and was introduced by vocalist Phillip Lawrence as "the man with the frizziest Afro in the band" -- is a disciple of Prince and Michael Jackson. He can't dance as well as his heroes, and his pop-savvy tunes don't bring you up short with their brilliance. Not yet, anyway. But Mars is a cool customer and ingratiating entertainer who's strikingly facile in a number of idioms. He moves from R&B to reggae to rock with ease, and he's such a pro that he never falls into the common trap among polymaths of shifting gears before each musical idea is brought to fruition. He's one to be watched, and not underestimated. Openers were Fitz & the Tantrums, the formerly retro-'60s band, have gone '80s pop on their sophomore release, More Than Just a Dream. Leader Mike Fitzpatrick and, especially, the second-in-command singer Noelle Scaggs worked the just-shuffling-in crowd with a "Thou Shalt Have Fun" rigor that showed the strain of effort, in contrast to the way Mars would have his way with ease. MJ L.O.V.E: https://www.facebook.com/...689&type=2 / YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/us...nderSilent | |||
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