Live Events Review

During the past month, I have had the chance to attend several live events in the Orlando area.  Some were better than others, but two events specifically called to my attention for various positive reasons.  These were the Jason Mraz & Raining Jane Concert at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and Whitney James’ concert at Timucua White House.

Going in to Jason Mraz’s concert, I had extremely high expectations.  Having been a fan of his for many years, I knew the energy and quality of performance I was expecting, and they did not disappoint.  From the very beginning, the event went great.  I have a special respect for an artist who begins their performance on time, which is exactly what Jason Mraz and Raining Jane did.  Not only did they begin their concert on time, but they also played a full three hours of music!  These were three hours of great energy, positive music, fan interaction, and even some comedy and conversation between the artists.  The event had the perfect combination of Jason Mraz and Raining Jane’s talent and energy.  Two different acts when it comes to instruments and songwriting, that when put together, create amazing music and a great dynamic on stage.

If I had to give recommendations for this event, I would have to say the venue itself needs to better train their security team in terms of how to talk to the audience.  For almost half of the duration of the concert, members of the security team kept walking in front of our section of the audience while they stood in the way and talked loudly into their devices.  Everyone understands the need to keep security in these events, but these employees were interrupting some of the guests’ concert experience.  Security employees should be able to work without damaging the experience for anyone, by not standing in the way and moving to quiet areas when they need to communicate with each other.

Several weeks after the first concert, I attended the Timucua White House to see Whitney James perform with other jazz musicians.  Contrary to Jason Mraz’s concert, I did not know what to expect from this event.  Prior to this month, I had not heard of the Timucua White House, but I was very pleasantly surprised at what we found.  The purpose of these events held at the Timucua House is to create a community of people who appreciate the arts in all shapes and forms.  The venue itself was impressive, a three-story space built into the owner’s home, where everyone was seated comfortably and shared food, wine, and conversation before the performance.  Once the artists came onstage, the audience was captivated by their talent and their ability to connect with the public. 

Some things I would recommend however for future Timucua events would be timeliness and marketing.  The event began about thirty minutes later than it had been scheduled for, and even though the audience was entertained by sharing food and conversation, the event ran longer than they had planned.  When it comes to marketing an event like this, the founders must be aware of whom their market is.  These are low cost (sometimes even free) events put together by artists of every style.  They should be able to market to art students and the art community in general.  By creating a dynamic webpage and strong social media presence, they can create awareness of their amazing facility and show the audience and artists alike, how they can use this space to appreciate art.