Jason Mraz in concert!

I got back yesterday from my 5-day Sydney getaway, which was planned around the Jason Mraz concert at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, on Tuesday night. Yes, it was fantastic, as expected. He is a fantastic live performer, and I do believe that I love his music even more now; in fact, I am playing his CDs now, as I type this post. Maybe it's because watching the artist perform the songs live helps to bring them to life even more, and forms some sort of connection between singer and listener. I loved how instead of the bells and whistles that you typically get with a lot of other singers' concerts, Jason Mraz's concert was all about the music, and a variety of instruments were showcased in his music, from the trombone to the accordion.

My favourite moments were of course when he sang the songs that first got me to buy his albums - 'I'm yours' and 'Lucky' (the latter also introduced me to the music of Colbie Caillat, who has since also become a favourite singer of mine). Even though I was sitting in the audience, as far as I'm concerned, I have finally sang the duet, 'Lucky', with the man himself. (I do apologise to the people sitting in close proximity, who had to put up with my singing. And awkward on-the-seat bopping throughout the whole concert.)

I have discovered a new favourite music group in Zac Brown Band, the supporting act, too. The violin-playing member, who can also play it like a guitar, actually made me feel like digging out my violin (which I haven't touched since finishing highschool) to play again. They performed for 1-1.5 hours, so it was almost like attending 2 concerts in 1. During the interval, I promptly went to purchase their latest CD at the merchandise counter; that's how much I enjoyed their music. You should definitely check them out!

I stayed outside of the Sydney CBD this time round, so I had more opportunities to visit eateries and shopping districts in the suburbs. I tried to fit in as much foodie activity as I could, but it is hard when travelling by public transport, and eating out by yourself can be a bit boring, besides. I aimed to squeeze in several café visits on my last day in Sydney, but my schedule was pushed back a few hours, and effectively disrupted, by kitchenware shopping at Peters of Kensington. Gets me every time! So anyway, keep your eyes peeled for more upcoming restaurant reviews!  

I will leave you with an inspirational little quote by Marc Levy, who I just found out about today. I had emailed my French teacher to ask for a recommendation for some good French novels that are not too difficult to read, with which to practise my language skills (intermediate level); and he replied that he thinks I would like those written by Marc Levy. I was very pleasantly surprised to discover, upon Wiki-ing him, that he wrote the book upon which the movie, Just Like Heaven, starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo, was based. I'm looking forward to reading this book, because Just Like Heaven is one of my favourite Hollywood movies of all time. I am even more eager to read it, now that I know he has also written a sequel to it! Meanwhile, I am trying to ignore the fact that my teacher sees me as someone who likes reading romance novels. Possibly because I often profess my love for all things Jane Austen.....

But look at me going off on a tangent again! Back to the quote, which is advice the author had reportedly given his son: -

“La plus grande erreur que tu pourrais faire dans ta vie serait d'avoir évité toute erreur en n'ayant rien fait.”

which translates in English to,

“The biggest mistake you can make in your life is to avoid any mistake by not doing anything.” (source: http://french-word-a-day.typepad.com)