I never thought choreographed dancing could be so awesome. However, Bruno Mars and his band know how to do it right. I was lucky enough to receive free tickets to see Bruno Mars on The Moonshine Jungle Tour at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I went into the venue as a mild Bruno Mars fan. I left that night totally in love.

Mars sang all of his hit singles including “Grenade,” “Just the Way You Are” and “Treasure.” During the concert he sang reggae, rock, R&B and pop. Not only is Mars a great singer, he knows how to put on one heck of a show. Bright, colored lights swept around the venue and shined onto the stage. The music was insanely loud, the crowd was excited and Bruno Mars looked like he was having a blast on stage, which made the concert that much better. Even though I was one of the youngest people in the venue, I still danced around and made a fool of myself. Later in the show, he picked a lucky lady in the front row to be serenaded. Every member of the band crowded around and used their best pick-up line on her.

Some points of the show were a bit uncomfortable. Standing next to my friend’s mom while Mars sang about some more “mature” topics was not an ideal situation. He also had dance moves to accompany those songs that made some portions of the night a little awkward.

As the concert progressed, Bruno Mars continued to blow me away. For his encore song, Mars returned to the stage and surprised us all with a drum solo. I had no idea he could even play the drums. He then went on to sing one of his newer singles, “Gorilla,” and the show was over. All in all, the concert was amazing. Between singing, playing the guitar and playing the drums, Bruno Mars is one talented guy. I’d have to say this concert was one of the highlights of my summer.

P.S. Although this night sounds like absolute perfection, it did have a bumpy start. The opening band, Fitz and the Tantrums, was a disappointment. The male lead singer had a good voice, and I liked their songs as well. It was the backup singer that ruined the performance for me. She was unsuccessfully trying to excite the half-empty venue by jumping around, playing her tambourine and yelling at the crowd. I actually felt bad for her. Clearly the audience was not interested in their performance. We all just wanted to see Mars. Luckily, the crowd managed to survive 45 minutes of Fits and the Tantrums before Bruno Mars took the stage