20 Watts

A little rain wasn't going to ruin our parade

PREVIEW: VISIT Jason Mraz’s MySpace

When I heard Jason Mraz was perfoming in Maryland, the same state I happened to be in, I knew I had to go. Being a poor college student and all, my friends and I opted for lawn seats. Best and worst decision of our lives.

So, on July 25, 2009, we ventured to Colombia, Md.’s Merriweather Post Pavilion to see our man. Eric Hutchinson opened the show with his happy, sunny music that mirrored the sky above. But as the stage crew switched over the set for G. Love & Special Sauce, the clouds rolled in, and it started to pour. Within minutes, we looked like the drowned rats that can be seen above (I’m on the left). As everyone huddled under their blankets, jackets and whatever else they could find, we shivered under our soaked towels and chattered our teeth along to G. Love, wishing we had better prepared ourselves for the monsoon, or splurged for pavilion seats.

But every drenched, muddy second became worth it when the sexy Mr. A-Z himself appeared on stage. At that very second, my two best friends and I tore off our towels and jumped to our feet in celebration. Jumping, screaming and dancing in the rain, we watched as the lumpy, blanket-covered blobs aligning the hill magically turned into people until hundreds of screaming fans joined together to worship Jason.

However, all good things must come to an end. Watching Jason walk off the stage, we couldn’t believe the best concert we had ever been to had ended. We were still standing in shock and sadness when once again we saw lights. Suddenly, we began sprinting—well, running as fast as we could without sliding into the mud—down the hill with the rest of the crowd without the slightest inclination as to why. Soon it all became clear.

Jason rewarded his faithful, sopping wet fans on the lawn by performing a continuation to his concert on the sidewalk behind the pavilion. We were shocked, overjoyed and trying desperately to get close enough to touch him. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful, but I will never forget the time when I so close to Jason Mraz that I personally had to be held back by security.

– Kelsey Bennett