REPORTS/PICS/VIDEOS: Mika @ Gasometer, Vienna, Austria - March 29 2010

My only vids are these:

 

OMS

 

Toy Boy:

 

And if you want to see the complete shirtless WAG it's here for a short while:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dBgte2FW4g

 

But no sound in WAG, only a bad noise. So sorry about that, so frustrating.

tiibet....oh, tiibet! ....I love you!

The Long and Rambling Report, Part 4: Marianne on Mika high

We took pics like this before the support act had started I think... I forgot to post it earlier.

So, we had dressed up and waited beside the stage where the audience couldn't see us. Mika sang two or three songs that come before Love Today. I think they were Good Gone Girl and Touches You, or Happy Ending and Touches You after that. Yasmine had said that we will be shown the set list but I guess she forgot that.

We finally marched onto stage to Cherisse's drum beat and threw flowers at Mika. I had memorized everything Yasmine said. One of those things was that the audience will still see us when we are at the stairs, so I continued walking like a living dead till the end. This zombie walk was THE MOST NERVE-RACKING thing I have ever done in my life. There was no way I wanted to let Mika or Yasmine down. I would never in a million years want to ruin my favourite artist's most amazing live performance - that I think is Love Today! "Keep the pace, keep the pace, follow in Vanessa's footsteps" was the sentence I kept repeating in my mind. That was the most important thing for me, and when I got where Mika was and had thrown the flowers it was like a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders.

When I walked off stage, Yasmine was there smiling and she said that it went really well. I was SO relieved you have no idea! (Unless you were there with me.) Yasmine is a perfectionist like her brother, so if she liked it I thought Mika must have too!

We were let into the audience again. Well, this time we didn't go so far. We were beside the stage and I think we were kind of in way of the band when they come down, so John told us to go further. We where then standing in front of the sound table (whatever it's called?) and had a side view to the stage. It was interesting to watch the show from a completely different direction. And hey, no pushing at a Mika gig!

To be continued...

The Long and Rambling Report, Part 4: Marianne on Mika high

 

 

You look so pretty in the pic!!! Thanks for your reports!!

My pleasure! I'm not finished yet!

My pleasure! I'm not finished yet!

Continue!!

Continue!!

Will do!

The Long and Rambling Report, Part I-forgot-what-it-was - 5?

We were supposed to wait by the stage until Toy Boy and then go backstage in good time before it would end, so we did that. We put our wigs and masks on again for the final time, and then we were divided into two groups. Half of us would go onto stage from the other side, that was the left side from the audience's perspective. I was in that group right behind Vanessa. Mika had started singing Lollipop, and we waited until Mika's people (they can't have been security, they were so friendly and organized ) gave us a sign so we would all go onto stage at the same time!

I could feel the adrenaline rush, and I just went with the music: danced like crazy and threw and kicked the balloons into the audience as much as I could. There wasn't much space on the stage, so I couldn't really 'tease the band', ha ha! My wig almost fell off, so I repaired it a little, then continued acting like a lunatic. Mika picked up the Lollipop Girl who came later when we had already started the rehearsals. Oh, she was a friend of Yasmine? That explains why she wasn't there from the start. When Mika had put her down again, he was suddenly in front of me and he gave me this sign like 'come here'. So I followed him to the side and kept dancing. "Don't approach Mika unless he approaches you" is what John had said. Mika approached me so I had to follow. I almost died laughing when Jimmy started to 'ride' on a balloon on the edge of the stage. I'm not sure if Martin did that too. It was all over SO quick!

We took a bow with Mika. I was right beside him, and I felt like: We took another bow and I was so glad that my wig stayed on. It would have been pretty funny and embarrassing if it had dropped off the stage! Then we stepped back with Mika and he bowed alone a couple more times.

We were supposed to walk off when Kick Ass would be playing and the band would direct us off. They did that and I must have walked in a really funny way, because I just couldn't stop moving! I think Mika was still on stage, wasn't he? I can't really remember. I think I watched or read an interview recently where Mika said that he forgets everything that has just happened on stage when he walks off. I could now understand what he meant, because I felt the same! It was all so blurry at this point. We went backstage and John was there. When I passed him he was in a hilarious mood and he said: "Oh, you're still smiling!" Yeah, well... I don't often a get reason to smile as much as that day.

To be continued...

I know that this doesn't help you now, but in my experience, unless they use the cameras for gigs, nobody knows enough about how good the sound is. A camera that seems to have ok sound for 'general' purposes, may turn disastrous at a gig.

My old Canon had perfect sound, and I had to research a LOT (and buy two that were wrong, and I had to resell) before I got my latest one, the same Lumix TZ7 that Mana also got.

It's one of the few HD cams with proper sound (dolby stereo), and it even has a wide angle lens and 10x optical zoom that allows zooming whilst filming. It's a dream .

 

 

 

 

It took a lot of blood and tears to find it

I have the Lumix TZ6 ... which is nearly the same as yours but doesn't do Hi-Def recording ... that's the only difference though ... still has 10x optical zoom and the zooming whilst filming ... I love love it ... sound quality is amazing .... it's abit cheaper too ... you got a good deal via Ebay though for yours - I paid £225.00 for mine ... Yours is normally nearly £300.00

The Long and Rambling Report, Part 6

We rushed to take off our masks and wigs, and then came Mika with a beaming smile on his face and he said that it went great. I don't remember the exact words but he was REALLY pleased with our performance!

Yasmine said that we could take a quick picture with Mika in our costumes if we change really quickly after that. We were waiting in the corridor and Jimmy came and high fived with us. Mika was ready for the picture and John must have taken ten pictures of us with different cameras. He used my camera to take one of the last ones, so if any of us looks slightly bored that is the reason! John didn't know how to use my camera so I showed him how it works.

When Mika was leaving, he looked straight into my eyes and said: "Thank you!" I was so happy I could have died in that spot!

I panicked a little when I remembered that I had brought something I wanted Mika to sign for me. He was gone so quickly, but I asked Yasmine if he left the building already, because I wanted him to sign something for me. Michele had something for him to sign too, so Yasmine said that she would tell John who would tell Mika, but she wouldn't be able to promise anything. She was so nice! Did I say that already?

We changed quickly and then waited. John was nice too. Did I say that? He said that we could wait for Mika with the competition winners. We saw him meeting people in another room when the door opened so we knew we still had hope. The other LG's and BG's had gone to buy merchandise. Mika came in that sailor shirt and started signing stuff for the competition winners. What competition it was, I don't know. There were quite many people there. He walked further and further away from us, but we waited patiently until he was finished with them. John called us "Lollipops", and Mika came to us.

The Long and Rambling Report, Part 7

I didn't want an ordinary autograph. I had these little shirts I had made for my one of a kind dolls. They needed one of a kind shirts of course, so I had this crazy idea to ask Mika to sign them for me. Merchandise for dolls, because they are fans too! Mika laughed when he saw them. He signed the first one and then started drawing something on the other one... I asked what it was, because I thought it looked like a hamster at that point. I hope I didn't hurt his feelings by calling him a hamster. Mika said: "It's supposed to be me! I'm sorry, I messed it up." It looked like he was going to draw just the silhouette at first, but he started filling it in with colour. I didn't expect him to repair it, but he couldn't leave it unfinished! He's all heart that man! I'm telling you - he really has a golden heart!

He signed Michele's ticket too, and then he agreed to take pictures with us. I was in Heaven again - we both were. I won't post Michele's picture on here, because I generally don't post pictures of private persons on the Internet unless they ask me to - even if the picture is taken by me with my camera. She can show it to you if she wants. That group picture isn't as private in my opinion, but I will take it down if any of the people in the picture asks me to do it.

Heaven!!!

He totally didn't mess this up!

So cute, aren't they?

We had some trouble finding the way out because they were already locking the doors. We ended up going out of the backstage entrance then. I guess Mika did the signing outside really quickly because everyone was gone when we got out.

I'm still on Cloud Nine! I'm going to have to save money again to be able to go to more gigs - in the summer I hope! Thanks to everyone who was there. It was a perfect gig!

Aw, the picture of you two is great! You got a pic with him in his famous sailor shirt

And the little dolls are adorable! He's such an angel

 

Heaven!!!

 

Omg, what a pic And he wears that lovely shirt, you are very lucky

thank you marianne for taking the time to write your report! it was so comprehensive and detailed, thanks!

and you have that skill for dolls, you are an amazing craftwoman!

mika is so lucky to own one of them

I haven't been following these European dates because I want Nice to seem fresh for me, but I couldn't resist following your link, Marianne, with the offer of a 7 part review!

Thanks, I really enjoyed reading each part. I think the group photo still in costume is fabulous beyond words, I love Mika's sailor jumper. And how cute are the doll's shirts? Lovely and fun

Also, to have such a great experience, topped off by a photo with Mika, is great for you and nice for us to see too. Thanks

Also thanks girls for the techie camera stuff

Thanks for taking the time to write such a long and detailed report Marianne!! It was wonderful to read it:wub2:

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read it!

I did mention the doll to him, but I'm not sure if he remembered. He had better have it somewhere safe.

AMAZING.

Like Imma said, the gig absolutely rocked!! I got there at a bit of a silly time, but I was hell-bent at getting front row, and I was very happy to be no.9 in the queue! The day went really quick, it was lovely chatting to you all! Thank you all for a lovely day! It was nice and relaxed, we could sit down, grab some food inside, and the weather stayed nice even though they said it would rain! It was even warm!!

I was just left of the centre in the front row, and I was probably a bit too overenthusiastic about it, so apologies if I did anyone's nut in! The sound wasn't great, the bass & drums were a bit too loud, and you couldn't hear Imma as well as in the other gigs I'd been to. There were film crews filming the first three songs, so that was a bit offputting He chatted quite a lot, there was one story about Cherisse getting a bit lost in translation when they were being interviewed for a French radio (or was it TV?) station backstage - saying in French that she had puppies in her hair And he managed to wriggle out of telling us what his puppet's name was There was shirtless WAG again, this time he disappeared off stage for a bit before running on shirtless

I can't say I'm very convinced with OMS in this tour, it doesn't fit... It was interesting to hear it with female backing vocals though, I must admit, that was very good. And I absolutely adore SITM live, the more I hear it live the more I love it

I got to talk to Cherisse for the first time ever after the show, she's so nice!! I confused her cos I was with the Italians, and I was saying that Milan was my home gig, but she could tell my accent was British Mika was in a bit of a rush again, but I got my ticket signed, and he went around everyone.

What a wonderful weekend

Oh, I can't believe how many photos I took They'll probably be online tomorrow at some point...

Puppies!?! What did she really mean then? I missed hearing that, I must have been backstage when it happened.

I thought the puppet was just Toy Boy. Does it really have a name?

Puppies!?! What did she really mean then? I missed hearing that, I must have been backstage when it happened.

 

I thought the puppet was just Toy Boy. Does it really have a name?

I'm sure that's what he said she said, but he didn't say what she was meaning to say!

AMAZING.

 

Like Imma said, the gig absolutely rocked!! I got there at a bit of a silly time, but I was hell-bent at getting front row, and I was very happy to be no.9 in the queue! The day went really quick, it was lovely chatting to you all! Thank you all for a lovely day! It was nice and relaxed, we could sit down, grab some food inside, and the weather stayed nice even though they said it would rain! It was even warm!!

 

I was just left of the centre in the front row, and I was probably a bit too overenthusiastic about it, so apologies if I did anyone's nut in! The sound wasn't great, the bass & drums were a bit too loud, and you couldn't hear Imma as well as in the other gigs I'd been to. There were film crews filming the first three songs, so that was a bit offputting He chatted quite a lot, there was one story about Cherisse getting a bit lost in translation when they were being interviewed for a French radio (or was it TV?) station backstage - saying in French that she had puppies in her hair And he managed to wriggle out of telling us what his puppet's name was There was shirtless WAG again, this time he disappeared off stage for a bit before running on shirtless

 

I can't say I'm very convinced with OMS in this tour, it doesn't fit... It was interesting to hear it with female backing vocals though, I must admit, that was very good. And I absolutely adore SITM live, the more I hear it live the more I love it

 

I got to talk to Cherisse for the first time ever after the show, she's so nice!! I confused her cos I was with the Italians, and I was saying that Milan was my home gig, but she could tell my accent was British Mika was in a bit of a rush again, but I got my ticket signed, and he went around everyone.

 

What a wonderful weekend

 

Oh, I can't believe how many photos I took They'll probably be online tomorrow at some point...

Ciao!

Lovely report!

Cherisse is lovely for sure and agree on OMS

AMAZING.

 

 

 

I was just left of the centre in the front row, and I was probably a bit too overenthusiastic about it, so apologies if I did anyone's nut in! The sound wasn't great, the bass & drums were a bit too loud, and you couldn't hear Imma as well as in the other gigs I'd been to. There were film crews filming the first three songs, so that was a bit offputting He chatted quite a lot, there was one story about Cherisse getting a bit lost in translation when they were being interviewed for a French radio (or was it TV?) station backstage - saying in French that she had puppies in her hair And he managed to wriggle out of telling us what his puppet's name was There was shirtless WAG again, this time he disappeared off stage for a bit before running on shirtless

 

I can't say I'm very convinced with OMS in this tour, it doesn't fit... It was interesting to hear it with female backing vocals though, I must admit, that was very good. And I absolutely adore SITM live, the more I hear it live the more I love it

 

I got to talk to Cherisse for the first time ever after the show, she's so nice!! I confused her cos I was with the Italians, and I was saying that Milan was my home gig, but she could tell my accent was British Mika was in a bit of a rush again, but I got my ticket signed, and he went around everyone.

 

What a wonderful weekend

 

Oh, I can't believe how many photos I took They'll probably be online tomorrow at some point...

"You are strange people" Lol, it was a funny answer to the question about his puppet's name

I was a bit confused to hear those backing vocals, but it's always a pleasure to hear Imma's voice. I know all people don't like him singing OMS during this tour, but I love it so much The audience in Vienna was incredible. As Suzie (?) told earlier, so enthusiastic but yet so polite, and people were not singing much during OMS, it was lovely

Thanks for the report, can't wait to see your pics!

"You are strange people" Lol, it was a funny answer to the question about his puppet's name

 

I was a bit confused to hear those backing vocals, but it's always a pleasure to hear Imma's voice. I know all people don't like him singing OMS during this tour, but I love it so much The audience in Vienna was incredible. As Suzie (?) told earlier, so enthusiastic but yet so polite, and people were not singing much during OMS, it was lovely

 

Thanks for the report, can't wait to see your pics!

That was great I cheered, I mean, doesn't he know that by now?? You're right about the audience being polite, no silly screaming when he was talking or anything like that, it was really good.

Even the little kids didn't scream when Mika played the slower songs, I See You and Any Other World. I missed Over My Shoulder though.

It was fabulous!

I have the Lumix TZ6 ... which is nearly the same as yours but doesn't do Hi-Def recording ... that's the only difference though ... still has 10x optical zoom and the zooming whilst filming ... I love love it ... sound quality is amazing .... it's abit cheaper too ... you got a good deal via Ebay though for yours - I paid £225.00 for mine ... Yours is normally nearly £300.00

It turns out that we're confused, as both your one and mine are actually 12x optical zoom and not 10 . Your sound is really good though, if this is the one that you take gig videos with? It's certainly TONS better than the TZ5 that I had to get rid of.

Re the good deals, I can proudly say that nobody beats me to trawling the net finding the best deal for everything and anything .

*And now I promise to stop the camera talk*

The Long and Rambling Report, Part 7

 

 

Thanks for your long and rambling reports, Marianne, I really enjoyed reading them. And the pic is very cute! He looks happy and relaxed.

You're right about the audience being polite, no silly screaming when he was talking or anything like that, it was really good.

Yeah, unlike Oslo, where we had a bunch of super hysterical teenage girls who kept SCREAMING all the time, especially when he got close to us. I was ready to snap .

Oh WOW I was gonna ask John if I could get mine and Rose's tickets signed but then I thought oh I'll just go and wait round the back with the others! Wish I'd stuck with you now Marianne!! Still, I can't complain, had a wonderful evening.

I was in my car yesterday evening and I thought about everything that had happened and I just screamed really loudly while I was driving,