That Time I Saw Bruno Mars Bring The House Down
I knew Bruno Mars was going to put on a fabulous show when I bought my tickets for the Romantic tour, named after his current album of the same name.
Bruno and his backing band known as the Hooligans rolled in to Ohio Stadium (The Shoe) in Columbus on May 20 for a sold out show. Traffic was a nightmare. I’m glad I had prepaid parking, because I have no idea where people were putting their cars around the stadium. The area is a congested mess on a good day. Add a sold out concert to the mix - plus people working, rush hour traffic, students going to summer session and a million restaurants and bars nearby - you get chaos.
For late May – even in Ohio – the weather was freakishly cold. It rained all day but we got lucky and it stopped for showtime!
I was on the floor, 11th row center, so I could see it all and I was in the middle of the action. This also meant I could access the special field merch tent. When I tried to get in line… it was wrapped around the floor and starting to go again. I decided to wait, watched DJ Pee Wee (a.k.a. Anderson.Paak) and then tried again. Still too long. The next time I tried, the booth was in the process of being broken down because everything was sold out. I wanted the specific Columbus, Ohio shirt - I was able to order it online after the show.
The stage setup had something I’ve never noticed before: the main camera was robotic and on a track, just like how big movies are made. Obviously everything is timed and choreographed in advance, basically ensuring every shot was perfect. Kinda interesting.
The show opened with “Risk It All” which is a ballad - and a hit from The Romantic. It’s risky for a performer to open with something slower, but Bruno knows his audience.
It didn’t take long to get into the faster stuff and then a great little soul-heavy medley to boot. You can see the setlist below.
My favorite part of the show was the Silk Sonic interlude which is Mars and Anderson.Paak. The album, called An Evening With Silk Sonic, is a masterpiece of R&B. That album won so many awards, Mars and .Paak didn’t even submit it for Album of the Year Grammy contention! “Leave The Door Open” as a single won four Grammy awards in its own right.
Bruno is a musical prodigy, so it wasn’t surprising to see him solo on the congas, the electric guitar (and yes, he shreds), and the piano. The Hooligans are made of up 12 musicians, including guitarists, drummers and a horn section. They dance while performing. I have no idea how they do some of their moves while staying in tune, but they do. There’s no backing tapes helping these folks.
Naturally we had fireworks, pyro, confetti (first white, then yellow), flame pots, smoke pots, massive rotating video screens, the works. Add in the costuming, choreography, the giant car that Bruno sings on for a few songs and it all adds up to one huge (expensive) production. Thing is, Bruno doesn’t need any of that. It sure is fun to watch but his voice is a powerhouse and when it was just him and his piano for a three-song mini set, he had the crowd listening so intently, the stadium actually quieted a bit. This was very reminiscent of seeing George Michael live.
The “Uptown Funk” and “24k Magic” choreography was the same as used in the very famous music videos for each track. Honestly, the “24k Magic” video is one of my favorites of all time. It’s over-the-top and fun. We need that now and then.
Thinking about an act like Bruno Mars versus a legacy band such as Motley Crue got me thinking about their different approaches to touring. Motley definitely does an elaborate stage setup and has pyro, but Bruno’s is much more organized and looks better overall. There is no comparison on musicianship - obviously Bruno wins on that front, too. It is not fair to compare Vince Neil’s voice to that of Bruno Mars and I won’t. The biggest takeaway for me is just how many new tracks Bruno performed versus most bands we choose to see live. Of the set below, eight are from The Romantic. That album has nine songs total, meaning he nearly performed the entire new album, mixed in with other hits.
Bruno is known for making tight albums - usually always around nine songs - with the thought that every song should be strong enough to be a radio single. No filler. So, if Motley released a new album tomorrow (or Poison, or Accept, or RATT, etc.) there is zero chance of hearing all that new work live. Of the bands we love, Def Leppard is usually the best about performing new tracks live - usually no more than three new songs on a given tour - and that still makes them an outlier. Is this because of fan demand or musician apathy? Something to consider.
