Bruno singing Just the Way You Are.
Last Friday, I attended a Bruno Mars concert that absolutely blew my mind. The stage and sound effects were spectacular and booming – literally. For the first time, I truly realized just how talented Bruno Mars is – and at many things. I enjoyed watching his show with my parents and my second mom, my Auntie Kerole.
Walking into the SAP Center was nostalgic for me because the last time I had watched a concert at this particular venue, it was still called the HP Pavilion and I was watching the Glee Live Tour 2011 at the end of my junior year — how’s that for a memory? It’s also the place I watched my first concert ever – Avril Lavigne when I was seven-years-old – and the venue I had seen so many Disney on Ice shows with my cousins as a child.
I navigated through swarms of people to find the merchandise line while my parents waited outside for my aunt. It’s become a tradition for me to buy a tour shirt (with dates and/or locations and the name of the tour) at every concert I attend (though I didn’t get a shirt at the Pentatonix show I attended in January 2013 – sigh). I wasn’t a huge fan of the tour shirts in general (merchandise director, what prompted you to select the pictures, fonts, and colors you used?) but I ended up buying what I thought was the best option.
Tour merchandise.
After buying shirts for my parents and me, I walked into the venue section where they were now waiting. Our seats were high up in the balcony, but I didn’t care – hearing Bruno would be enough for me, and after all, that’s what the screens are for, right?
The show started with Nico and Vinz, whose music can be described as a diverse mixture of reggae and pop, with a bit of soul. Nico and Vinz, a duo from Norway, had an energetic opening set and got the crowd clapping and dancing . Their song “Am I Wrong,” now an international hit, was the last song they performed — and it was great. My parents (and my auntie, but she’s my second mom anyway so she can fall under “parents”) enjoyed them.
It took about 45 minutes of set up before Bruno finally appeared on stage and my relatives and I were beginning to get restless. You better be worth it, we said.
And let me tell you – Bruno was definitely worth it.
Everyone was screaming during the 45-minute interval between the opening act and Bruno’s set.
The man knows how to put on a show; how to entertain – and more than just that, interact with – a crowd. Now I’m not saying I’m surprised, since I know he’s been performing in front of audiences since he was a child known as Little Elvis, but it’s one thing to know someone is talented and a completely different (and amazing) thing to witness that talent right in front of your eyes.
Bruno opened his set with Moonshine – an appropriate first song given that the title of his tour is Moonshine Jungle – and his set featured songs as old as Billionaire and Nothin’ on You (my mom’s ringtone for the last five years or so), as classic as Marry You and Grenade, and as recent as Treasure and Locked out of Heaven.
When Bruno performed When I Was Your Man, the arena was completely dark, except for a single spotlight and the hundreds of flickering phone lights – it was beautiful and I wish I had captured that moment with a picture.
For most of the show, it sounded as if the entire arena was singing and dancing along.
Bruno Mars and The Hooligans
One of the best parts was watching Bruno dance – the man can definitely sing (as well as beatbox and play the piano, guitar, drums, and harmonica), but boy can he DANCE. Again, I wasn’t shocked because I’ve seen him perform at award shows, competition results shows, and most recently at this year’s Superbowl halftime show on big screen TVs, but seeing him dance live – wow.
Bruno Mars definitely feels the rhythm of his music in his soul and he channels that in his dancing so effortlessly. He’s smooth and just so happy when he dances and that definitely has an affect on his audience. The smile on his face as he sings his heart out while sliding and gliding along the stage is contagious. Bruno’s supporting band and dancers, The Hooligans, were also great and I loved seeing them together.
His final song before his encore of Locked Out of Heaven and Gorilla was Just the Way You are. Definitely a Bruno classic and a great way to start show’s finale.
Just the Way You Are – love that smile!
Sing it, Bruno.
A concert isn’t over until the confetti drops.
The final moment of the show.
Bruno Mars is a true artist and I loved seeing him sing, dance, and play a variety of instruments at this concert. Hopefully I’ll see him again in the future.
Thanks for a great show, Bruno Mars!
just turn the paige 