Jason Mraz @ Metro

photo by Karen Chan

Jason Mraz fans are rabid. We’re talking *NSYNC rabid, with people camping out in line and grown women writing “I heart Jason” in chalk on the sidewalk along Clark Street. But unlike *NSYNC, Mraz’s music is thoughtfully crafted and his stage personality is so charming that you can’t help but be drawn into his live shows — especially when they’re held in a venue as intimate as the Metro. Mraz could probably easily sell out larger spaces (in fact, he sold out the Metro within hours), but he shone last night in a cozy room packed with happy fans. Well, most were happy: Mraz focused largely on new material, foregoing many of the older crowd favorites (No “Tonight, Not Again”? “0% Interest”? “Unfold”?) and favoring tunes from his forthcoming album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Which were admittedly quite pretty, but it would have been nice to hear a more diverse setlist with some of his rowdier material. Opening act Bushwalla got the audience riled up with his set of funky pop, and magician Justin Kredible (really?) served as a stage presence during set changes, if not much else. Overall it was a fun show, but not necessarily one worth writing home about, in chalk or no. – Kim Jeffries