dear mr. mraz,

this letter is to inform you that you have been removed from the “you suck” list.

the reason for the removal is based on my attendance at your concert on october 27, 2008, at the filmore in denver, colorado.

initially, i must admit that attending the concert was not high on my wish list. we had just gotten back from our honeymoon and had jumped full force in to work. we worked a haunted house through the weekend, and spent most of the previous sunday cleaning up. it was monday. the stars weren’t in alignment. you were on my “you suck” list. so many, many reasons.

but i love my wife and would do anything for her, so being by her side at your concert was an easy choice and a noble sacrifice on my part. besides, we already bought the tickets. well, she did. i lost about 15 minutes of time. i remember a weird smell, then i woke up with a printed receipt laying across my chest.

in any case, we were on our way. if it wouldn’t ruin my driving record (knock on wood), i would have prayed for a small fender bender. or maybe a never ending detour around the city. or a blizzard. alien abduction? but E.T. was a no show, as was the snow. there were no detours, and (fortunately) my fender remains unbent. we made it to the venue, got in the line that went around the block, waited our turn to get in (read: the sooner we got in, the sooner it would be over).

the opening act was fine. no death cab, or decemberist, but they are no longer opening bands. the beer was flowing, the people around use were obviously unaware and had no problem stopping right in front of us to enjoy their view but ruin ours. the opening act finished, and the roadies did their thing. a screen projected text messages sent in from the growingly buzzed crowd. and then it began…

…and it didn’t suck. it’s pretty painful to admit. my music is awesome, and for sure i didn’t consider this my music. i listened to a bunch of your songs, you know, the way you listen to the safety briefings on the plane but don’t actually know how many exits there are on your particular plane or whether the life jackets are under your seat or the seat in front of you. the melodies were nice, and they seemed to fit whatever product they were used for on the television. but with little choice, i actually listened to the words. and i heard them. and i found that, before long, i was there at the concert instead of wishing i were somewhere else. and then, too soon, it was over. there were no more encores, no more songs, no more supporting bad (that were all amazing, as well), no more talking to the crowd and making them (us) feel like you were talking just to us, no more obama images projected on the wall, no more duets with the girl from the opening band, no more polaroids, no more pictures, no more panties and bras being thrown up on stage. but, as corny as it sounds, i left with a new appreciation for the music and you left with a one way ticket off the “you suck” list.

so indeed, mr. mraz. live high, live mighty, live righteously, and take it easy.

regards,

david