Reviews of the July 31st show in Phoenix, AZ
Bruno Mars woos US Airways Center in Phoenix
By Barbara VanDenburghThe Republic | azcentral.comThu Aug 1, 2013 8:47 AM
It’s hard to believe that Bruno Mars, 27, is only three years and two albums into his career as a solo artist on a national scale. Because Mars? He’s got this pop-star act wrapped around his little finger.
It’s been over two years since his last roll through the Valley, when he teamed up with Janelle Monae for a show at Comerica Theatre. Well, a lot can happen in two years. A venue upgrade, for one, to US Airways Center, where on Wednesday, July 31, the seats were packed to the rafters with glow-stick-waving shriekers swooning to every proclamation of love.
Though Mars has always been a capable showman with a golden voice, some ineffable quality has snapped into place, transforming a preternaturally talented heartthrob into a bona fide superstar.
Of course, a flashier stage show doesn’t hurt.
Jungle sounds filled the darkened arena, wild animals snarling, it seemed, behind the ceiling-to-stage curtain emblazoned with a golden jungle scene. The curtain fell to reveal Mars and his musical entourage, the singer flanked on one side by horn players, and on the other by a bassist and guitarist, as they kicked off their set with a sexy, grooving “Moonshine.”
Mars looked relaxed cool, outfitted in a dark vest over a leopard-print shirt, dark slacks, gold chains and a pale Panama hat. “Welcome to the Moonshine Jungle Tour,” he said. We wanna see you all dancin’ and we wanna see you all sweatin’.” They danced, alright, albeit without the benefit of Mars and his bandmates’ killers moves (kudos to the trombone player — it ain’t easy to jam when you’re swinging that much brass).
The party really started when Mars launched into a simplified “Billionaire,” stripped (one might argue blessedly) of Travie McCoy’s raps. “Oh every time I close my eyes/ I see my name in shining lights” he sang, his clear voice aching with a desire that was perhaps more justified when it was recorded in 2009. Now if he wants to see his name in shining lights, all he has to do is open his eyes.
Mars got sultry for “Our First Time,” the night’s sexiest jam. And if a slow-burner about an initial sexual encounter weren’t spicy enough, Mars had to go and throw in a snippet of Ginuwine’s “Pony.” Of course, Mars is savvy enough to follow “Our First Time” with “Marry You” (how could he not want to after that first night?), a rollicking plea that played out like a proposal to every woman in the room.
And then, if pulses weren’t racing enough, Mars let “If I Knew” slow to a simmer while he addressed the crowd. “This is the part where I gotta find one girl and just talk to her,” he said, zeroing in on a girl in the front row on whom to lavish his affections for a few minutes. She looked predictably euphoric.
Mars closed out his regular set with two of his biggest hits. First came the dramatic, thundering plea of “Grenade,” dozens of piercing spotlights shooting into the crowd, converging at the climax into a column of light on Mars, followed by a comparatively joyful “Just the Way You Are.”
After a brief exit, Mars came back for the encore, beginning with a drum solo at an elevated set, rocking out on the skins and launching into “Locked Out of Heaven,” glittery gold confetti exploding over the audience. It was a pretty effect, a bit magical — and it was utterly devastated by Mars’ closing “Gorilla,” the singer prowling the stage like a jungle predator against a backdrop of shooting flames. Nothing caught fire that wasn’t supposed to, but Mars still burned that place to the ground.
Not to be forgotten, opener and emerging pop artist Ellie Goulding got the crowd pumped for the theatrics to follow. Her big, apocalyptic-pop sound was a titillating amuse-bouche. Her stripped-down stage and stripped down look — simple black tank top, black shorts and white boots, like Sporty Spice for a new millennium — was a nice contrast to throbbing tracks like “Burn” and “Lights.” Her set was so infectious, the crowd pumped and dancing like the venue was a nightclub and not an arena, that by the time she got to “Anything Could Happen,” you were willing to believe her.
http://www.azcentral.com/...oenix.html
Bruno Mars - US Airways Center - 7/31/13 (VIDEO)
Bruno Mars
US Airways Center
July 31, 2013
It's so cool to see the American dream in action. Last night at US Airways Center, Bruno Mars played to a sold-out crowd at US Airways Center for his Moonshine Jungle Tour. About 20 years ago, he was a child performer in his dad's Hawaiian tribute band, playing a little Elvis. In this case, attendees who thought "That kid will be famous one day" were totally right. If only the audience could have heard him crystal clearly.
Like his previous Valley performances, Mars brought his performance entourage, including The Smeezingtons songwriting partner Philip Lawrence, to back him up. There were nine men on stage, all musicians, including a horn section and backup singers. I thought a set of sexy female backup dancers would have been dynamite for Mars, but like his past performances at Comerica Theatre and Martini Ranch, Mars focused on the vocals and the hip thrusts.
Oh, the hip thrusts -- there were plenty of them to keep the ladies in the audience squealing with delight.
Sadly, just like his opener Ellie Goulding, Mars' vocals were barely audible most of the time. The last portion of his show, where he powered through hits "When I Was Your Man," "Grenade" and "Just the Way You Are," showcased his vocals the most. For the remainder of the concert, though, it was hard to hear what Mars was singing, though the musicianship was top-notch.
I almost wished he was in a smaller venue, again; instead of what Mars was singing, there seemed to be more of a focus here on the interactions of the nine-person team dancing around on stage. If his vocals had just been turned up, the show would have been 10 times better.
There was surprisingly little spectacle to support Mars, other than the great encore "Gorilla," where green lights emitted from the stage, confetti continued falling from the previous song, "Locked Out of Heaven," and fireworks blasted from the stage. I wish the whole show had been like this.
For an arena show, while Mars and his team of performers were engaging on stage, I felt like the arena venue lent itself to a flashier set. Even those hottie lady dancers would have jazzed up the show. I thought, beyond Mars' intense vocal talent, the rest of it wasn't noteworthy. Despite a giant screen behind the performers, nothing much really happened beyond swaying around on the stage. Crowd banter was kept to a minimum, too.
Stranger still, Mars didn't even play piano. He did play electric guitar and drums, but he never sat down at the instrument so heavily featured in some of his biggest hits, such as "Just the Way You Are."
Like Lady Gaga, a Bruno Mars tour with just the man and a piano would be amazing. Please, Bruno--do it.
While the concert was short of spectacle, Mars sounded good when you could hear him. And his hip thrusting definitely make an impact.
Personal Bias: How can you not think Mars is adorable?
The Crowd: Mostly hot ladies in their 20s. The crowd was surprisingly diverse, though -- there were kids, boyfriends, moms -- just about any demographic loves Mars.
Overheard in the Crowd: "I'm so glad he played 'Marry Me!'"
Random Notebook Dump: My friend and I were really sad Mars didn't play "Young Girls." Also, while Goulding's performance was bare bones, consisting just of dancing and soft singing on her part, her tunes are really catchy and got the crowd out of their seats and moving.
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at Kameron biting his lip tryna look all intense and sexy. These guys are such good comedy together! 
Their reaction is too funny! 
) #starstruck#brunomars #omgimshaking" />
) 
#happygirl #brunomars #moonshinejungle"" />
I was that close to him <333 #brunomars #moonshinejungle #autographs #close #hes #short #but #cute #haha #moonshinejungletour"" />
