Brass, Soul and Flames at the Bruno Mars Concert

Bruno Mars. The coolest cat in the business. The hat-wearing harmoniser. King of the jungle. The Moonshine Jungle, that is. A place where the band is hot, the girls are screaming and Bruno's perfectly pitched vocal runs provide eargasms all around.

On Monday night, my boyfriend and I were lucky enough to have tickets to the Jungle at Allphones Arena in Sydney. Crammed towards the front of the mosh pit, we waited for the man himself to grace the stage. But first, there was his opening act: Miguel. 

Knowing that he was preluding such a huge super star might have phased Miguel, but he took it right in his stride and showed the audience just how talented he was. His outfit was flashy, and so were his dance moves, which included a large amount of thrusting, and even a few jump splits. No-one was complaining though, the guy knew how to move. And his voice was silky smooth, seamlessly transitioning from a low tone to a high falsetto. He seemed to enjoy himself as much as we did, and knew exactly the right time to show us his six-pack (it may have been a cocky move, but we appreciated it.)

The arena was packed 
with eager fans

  

  Everyone was happy to join
   in for some selfies.

After Miguel warmed up the crowd up with some call and responses, he left us with a brilliant rendition of 'Adorn', which solidified that he wasn't just an opening act, but an artist who was heading for big things. Then it was waiting time. But, being the nice guy he seems to be, Bruno didn't let us wait long.

He and his band came on stage to the song "Moonshine" and we all lost our shit. They were spectacular. Bruno's voice sounded even better in real life than recorded (how is that possible?) and the Hooligans were blaring through the speakings in all their brassy perfection. Now, if you haven't seen Bruno Mars live yet, watch him on YouTube right this second. Done? Okay, well now you understand how he and his band work as one hip-swinging, side-stepping unit. Bruno's the star of the show, but the band add a kind of flavour that is rarely found in the industry today. My favourite was the muscly trumpet player, who mostly played with one hand.

We love you!!

Standout moments were:

• The song 'Natalie' which kept us jumping up and down the whole way through.
• When Phillip Lawrence squealed, in one of the best imitations I've heard, "oh my God this is great!" He was awesome.
• The integration of 'Ignition' and 'Pony' with his song, 'Our First Time'.
• Bruno's performance of 'When I Was Your Man', which was so heartfelt and beautiful that I told the people around me to shush and stop shouting because he was sad. Then I couldn't help but screaming out "Bruno you can be my man!" (my boyfriend didn't mind, he was thinking the same thing. Man crush to the max right there.)

Bruno "ended" the concert with 'Just the Way You Are', but we weren't fooled. Two of his biggest hits had yet to be performed. So after only a few minutes of the crowd shouting for an encore, he came back on stage, this time playing the drums (what can't he do?). Then the band returned played and 'Locked out of Heaven', complete with explosions and gold glitter falling from the ceiling. What can top that, I hear you ask? Well, 'Gorilla' can. With flame throwers on-stage, and Bruno singing about making love like jungle animals, I'm pretty sure most of the crowd was ready to jump into bed for a steamy end to the night. And if somehow Bruno Mars could be included in that night, well, that was the dream. 

The Moonshine Jungle was hands-down the best concert I've ever been to. Not only was Bruno an incredible singer, but he was entertaining and had us laughing with him and his antics with the Hooligans. It wasn't just one song after the other, it was remixes, changes and angelic harmonies that kept the audience on their toes and swooning. 

One things for sure; that night, Bruno Mars made us feel like we'd been locked out of heaven for way too long. And now we want more. 

Locked Out of Heaven