2012 Heaven, London UK - July 26 - REPORTS / PICTURES / VIDEOS

Well here we go

Have read with interest most of the comments so far and have enjoyed doing that - it reminds me of the old days!

Anyway - i general really enjoyed this high energy performance from Mika!

Had spent a fabulous day soaking up the pre Olympic atmosphere in sunny London - watching the city alive and full of fun and i felt excited!

We spent much of the day nearby Whitehall in a pub for late lunch and the barman asked me was i here for The Olympic torch procession - which was going to pass by the pub about 7pm!

I said no i hadn't realised - i was here for a gig - when he asked who and where i expected a blank but he said to me - oh well don't suck too hard on your lollipop or love will get you down!! bravo bar man!!

Anyway enough pre gig ramble

Once in the venue - after doors - got a drink and found a spot with Ingie and sharon to dance - with a pretty ok view - most of the time! It got busier and busier but we stood it out after the poor DJ set finally MikA!

I'll comment on the main things that i felt strongly about ......

Fabulous to have such an intimate and small venue

He was on fire - so were we with the heat - well he did ask us to be when in Milan!

He was full of energy and very happy it seemed which always makes for a great gig.

Obviously an important one for him in UK again and so much better than LOVEBOX which was so short and he was so nervous!( but i know it was a festival which i loved for so many artists!)

He was fun and playful a lot of the time and i like his style - so glad no furry animals now - though still lollipop!!

I don't like that hat though - - i like it for a bit - like 2-4 songs but not the WHOLE gig! I want to see his hair - it makes him sweat to much too! Get it off!

Luke throwing his top was fabulous and he loved it too!

The new band don't do it for me i'm afraid - i especially miss iMMa and Cherisse - they were fabulous and i can't see what needed replacing:shun:

I noticed that Joy was chewing gum when she came to the front to sing Celebrate which was a real - no no:shocked:

Mika obviously values her support at this song and she sings it ok but all i could see was the gum in her mouth!!! I wanted to run up with a gum paper and tell her to spit it out! did anyone else notice?

Origin dedication was obviously an important and wonderful moment for him and yes he looked like he was looking at his man at the back - that was lovely to see him so happy and comfortable - it was important for him - that was very clear

It was fun as always seeing people and sharing the experience esp in a very hot London!

We saw the family very relaxed too and of course we went round after some time to see him come out but after Milan i didn't feel the need to speak to him this time - but he saw me and smiled which was nice.

Everyone was V excited too afterwards about the listening party the next day and had i not been away for 4 days form home i would have made an effort to change plans but i had to get home to my son who was also performing that day!

I've no regrets though of course would love to have been there.

It has been exciting to see him again and i really loved the chance to hear new material - most of which i like - but not yet LOVE - i really am looking forward to the new album and really want it to do well for him - i feel it might!

When back at our travel lodge we listened to the Radio 2 version of Origin and i didn't think it was nearly so good as it is live - but then it may not be the final version i now understand.

Well that's me just now

I have photos and video but not as good as others i think - will post if they are worthy later on.

Oh sorry! LOL I thought I quoted !xkirstyx!, that's strange

My pictures are on Mika France Gallery if you want http://www.mikafrance.com/photos/233-london-s-heaven/

My pictures are on Mika France Gallery if you want http://www.mikafrance.com/photos/233-london-s-heaven/

Thanks to you and Mikafrance

AND HERE GOES MY REPORT... sorry for the delay, I went to work after the journey, and after that to sleep of course, I had to remember myself that I'm human after having seen this FABULOUS gig)

So best Mika gig and best gig in general ever seen!!! (well, it’s my 4th mikagig) I loved the venue, the organization, the song list and of course… mika’s performance. From the 7th row I could feel the passion, the interaction and the sincerity from Mika with the public. You can judge by yourselves watching the videos in youtube.

We three Spanish girls arrived at London in the afternoon, had a shower and went directly to the Heaven by foot. We did well, cause London was crowded and going on foot you can always slip between the people and ask the policemen (very helpful, btw) where to go to avoid the blocked streets. We almost saw the Olympic Torch but I think we deserve one for ourselves, we arrived to the disco in record time .

There was a long row to get in, or better said, two rows because we were too many people. Even a “typical English man” (with his grey suit and a hat) asked me why we were queuing. At a quarter to 7 the doors opened and the people went in perfect order, no one running or pushing. The bouncer very funny, as he saw we were carrying 2 books (presents for Mika) he told us not to go in, the Reading Club was in the next local

Only when we where in the disco some people were pushing, and trying to sneak forward between the public, it was hot and I smelled how the people were sweating… but soon I forgot everything because the music of the disco was great. 10 out of 10. I wish I found a disco in Spain with that music, although there wasn’t any DJ mixing it, probably it was a CD. Had a great time dancing, so I didn’t feel any tired but very amused!

At 8:30 Mika came on stage. I saw him soooo big…. Well he IS tall, but he seemed even taller because the stage was narrow and was close to the public. He jumped, shouted, danced in a irresistible way, laught, everything… particularly funny the moment when the spotlights wrongly didn’t point at him while he was presenting a song (I think it was Billy Brown), he lose the thread but said. “Well… it wasn’t important anyway”.

Great surprise: he played practically all the songs from past gigs and the new ones too (not the ones in French, of course), so it was a super-long-gig and I felt like in another world (like in Heaven I could say) and wished it would never never end…

All the people were expecting him to take his shirt off because it was really hot (I was rather wishing to take mine off but well, I’m a girl…), so somebody threw his sweatshirt to Mika, he took it, made as he would try it on, but as he smelled it he threw it away. And just then another t-shirt came “flying” to him. Awesome what people can do during a gig.

I also noticed Joy (batterist) chewing gum during the gig. Don't like that, but when she plays right, ok.

Aaaah, and I love the new piano man and clarinetist good feeling with Mika, he literally jumped over him from the piano, hehe.

Ah! Great dances from Mika on the piano. I wonder how they do so that it doesn`t crack down under his feet

The version of “Make You Happy” was wonderful. Without that weird synthesizer it’s far far better (Mika: didn’t you hear that our voices sound much better and louder?). And of course, the presentation of “the Origin of Love” unforgettable, as you will have read in the reports before. But what I didn’t like was that during the other presentations people were shouting so loud that it was impossible to hear what Mika was saying.

We weren’t at the M&G… and after reading Sariflor’s review I’m glad not to have been. In spite of that I had some chat with Mika’s mother, Paloma, Fortuné and Zuleyka. I wouldn’t bother them and I use to be very shy, but they are so nice people that I end make jokes with Frotuné, Zuleyka and some friends. I never thought they were so nice. Particularly Mika’s mother always had inspired me some kind of silent respect… but speaking to her I felt like speaking to my aunt. I think the trick is to be educated and honest talking to them, and in case they preferred to speak intimately I leave them soon. But of course I gave Fortuné and Zuleyka our books so that they could give them to Mika. Their interest was 100 times better then attend to a crowded and stressful M&G. By the way!! As we were going direction Trafalgar to have our own afterparty, we saw Mika going out from the venue with the car and said bye-bye!

That was what I call 12 well spent hours in London!!!

Лара, спасибо большое за видео! Мика как всегда хорош, выкладывается до "седьмого пота" .

Лара, спасибо большое за видео! Мика как всегда хорош, выкладывается до "седьмого пота" .

Лара, спасибо большое за видео! Мика как всегда хорош, выкладывается до "седьмого пота" .

Translated:

Lara, thank you very much for the video! Mika is good as always, is laid out to "sweat."

Лара, спасибо большое за видео! Мика как всегда хорош, выкладывается до "седьмого пота" .

You should write using our letters, no one is going to understand this way

google says:

Lara, thank you very much for the video! Mika is good as always, is laid out to "sweat"

It was a gay club, not an auditorium. I'm not sure what else you could reasonably expect in a situation like that.

 

I am also tired of the shooting and the awful hat but maybe the (rumoured) acoustic gigs will be more to your taste.

 

I don't know if I'll ever tire of an intimate club gig but I am over the packed standing concert halls like Brixton Academy and would prefer a setup like Sadler's Wells. I am definitely getting too old to enjoy some of these gigs like I used to.

Sigh! If only!

Re. the band, I disagree with some earlier posts. I think the sound is better now. Mika needed at least one really great, creative and playful musician to accompany him on stage who would be able to do some improvisation as well if needed, etc. He also needed a good piano player, which David clearly wasn't. I'm sorry to break the news but Mika's skills on the piano are rather limited so it does make sense to have someone like Curtis on stage, who plays many instruments and is pretty relaxed, too. I love how they are changing songs. They do sound effortless.

Concerning 'personality' , I never got much of that from the band on stage and I don't think they are supposed to show it off there, although I really liked iMMa interacting with Mika and of course she has a great voice, too. In a way, the focus is more on the music and less on the puppet show (I never liked Mika dressing up his band).

So, for the moment I am pleased with the band but he may actually need more backing vocalists to have a fuller choir sound on some of the tracks.

I know... but I can't help loving so much the way he's thumping away on the piano!

I know... but I can't help loving so much the way he's thumping away on the piano!

yes, me too. I forgot to add that I LOVE him play the piano as I like the WAY he plays it and I totally agree with Brian May in saying that it is similar to the way Freddie used to play except that he was good at it

I like how you call it thumping. That may be the right word for that. He plays it almost like a percussion instrument - which it partly is, actually.

It's just that some virtuosity is missing or was missing until Curtis came:wub2:

I remember it was at the Little Noise gig in November 2009 that I realised how much a good pianist is missing from Mika's band. The realisation came after there was such a great and hip pianist performing with one of the support acts the name of whom I can't even remember but I may have even noted it in my gig report.

It was the first show, wasn't it? But I guess the expectation about "new" songs is that they would have never been heard before at all. So not played on radio or released to Youtube, etc.

 

I would have been somewhat disappointed if I'd gone all the way to the UK because I would have expected what we had at the Roxy. 4 new songs, never heard before by anyone.

 

.

Yes - it was the first UK show (apart from Lovebox) but I just think there was possibly a bit of confusion over what he was going to do - ie new songs that hadn't been heard elsewhere.

Thanks everyone for the reports. It sounds as though it was a great intimate gig with a very relaxed but 'on fire' Mika.

I still want to get to the bottom of this "water" pronunciation but it's so please come and humour me in the Underwater thread if you can stand it

http://www.mikafanclub.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3748563&posted=1#post3748563

Well here we go

Have read with interest most of the comments so far and have enjoyed doing that - it reminds me of the old days!

Yes I miss the London gigs. It feels like home to me and reminds me of the Dodgy Holiday Tour.

AND HERE GOES MY REPORT... sorry for the delay, I went to work after the journey, and after that to sleep of course, I had to remember myself that I'm human after having seen this FABULOUS gig)

Thanks for your report. It's great to hear all the details.

Translated:

Lara, thank you very much for the video! Mika is good as always, is laid out to "sweat."

LOL Thanks

I don't really know where to start with my review ... I can never find words right enough for what I want to say - but anyone who knows me knows I'd lost the Mika love in the last 18 months ... I deleted all his pictures off my computer ... don't have a single one ... haven't listened to his music really since Edinburgh two years ago ... and apart from what pops up on random if I happen to be listening to music on my laptap not a thing Mika related - and to be honest ... if he has come up on random ... there's a skip button ... next ... I bought a ticket to Lovebox ... impulse buy ... I gave it away for nothing ... didn't know why I'd bought it ... couldn't be bothered to go ... blamed it on not liking Festivals anymore ... kind of true ... I don't ... but also just didn't want to see him ... not ready yet ... Then the Heaven gig was announced ... I bought a ticket two days later after they went on sale after wondering whether I'd actually bother going to it again ... I'm not made of money ... I can't afford to waste money like that ... I've spent the time inbetween talking myself into going .... even up to Thursday morning ... bad nights sleep ... too hot ... can I bother jumping on a train and going all the way to London ... nope ... not motivated at all ... off work with Depression yet again ... on medication ... he's not gonna fix that ... I caught the 12.05pm train in the end ... I wanted to see my friends ... my fellow Oldlings ... it was the only reason I went ... not for Mika ... not bothered .... for them ... not seen them since January ... last minute decision to stay over in London too ... would have been travelling back on the train the same night otherwise (this was a good decision in hindsight as well)

 

So I queued from about 4.00pm ... didn't want to queue longer than that ... got a good place once I was in ... about 3 rows from the front ... by the stairs - got a bit of jip from some girls by the side of me who arrived later ... decided to ignore them .. I won't mention the god awful music we had to stand through ... but then Mika was on ... and it started from that first song ... the opening bars to Big Girls ... the smile came ... I was dancing ... as song after song came and went ... I remembered ... I remembered why in 2008 I went to a show in Hammersmith and came out a complete devotee - he does something when I see him ... he makes me forget everything else ... the new songs ... I hated them all bar Celebrate ... and that I only liked ... not loved ... but in a Live context - I got them ... I loved them ... he won me back ... and I don't even know why ... I can't even explain why ... I went with no intention of enjoying it ... I was expecting too ... be underwhelmed ... it was just what I needed ... it's been a difficult time for me since Amsterdam ... and I almost made myself dislike him cos' I felt guilty ... that me loving him was somehow responsible for my Mum's death ... if I hadn't spent most of 2010 and 2009, to a degree, following him around the country I'd have been at home and maybe have noticed she was ill ... it wasn't his fault ... it wasn't my fault ... I have to deal with that ... I have to leave that behind me ... I can't keep going what if ... I didn't bother trying to speak to him outside the venue ... there was too much of a mob - so I just stood on the sidewalk and watched him ... and watched everyone else around him ... The playback competition in London the next day ... That was an added bonus I wasn't expecting ... to be able to listen to those songs ... I was worried about this album before ... that I wouldn't like it ... I hadn't liked any of the new songs on YT ... that had changed the night before ... everything's changed again now ... I'm beyond excited ... you sit and listen to those tracks and your smiling ... I'm smiling and you glance at others ... and they're smiling ... he gives me that vibe ... those feelings ... so for a gig I nearly couldn't be bothered to go too ... to an album I had no interest in buying two days ago ... it's gone full circle ... I love him again ... and I'm not gonna shut up about it ... for awhile

Mika always makes me smile. makes me feel free. that's why i love him

He was on absolute fire on Thursday. He was like a puppet being cut off his strings. He really went for it. I don't have much more to add but I was bubbling with pride when he dedicated TOOL. I'm so happy for him.

I also loved the small venue, reminded me of when Mika played The Concord in Brighton. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to get a drink and go to the loo and come back to your spot without a fight.

As you know, one lucky competition winner got to go and review the London show for us, and she even got to meet the man himself backstage after the gig! Here is what she thought of the night… and check out the Summer Snaps Gallery below… (keep sending us those pictures!)

LONDON, HEAVEN – by Laura Brown

The wait is the longest you will ever experience. Never mind Christmas 1996 when all you had was a torch and a Mr Majeika book to keep you company until the big day dawned, never mind the anxious weeks leading up to the delivery of exam results, nor the queue at the Post Office on pension day. The twenty minutes before the show starts stretch out for a lifetime. Twenty minutes is nothing. It's an episode of Friends, a rubbish powernap, or just about enough time to paint your nails and have them dry-ish before you leave the house.

Perhaps it is something to do with gig venues, perhaps those doors don't actually lead into buildings, but into different dimensions. Dimensions where the clock on your iPhone reads 20:17 for at least an hour, where you can play with every app ever invented and still not pass any time. There's a point where the crowd, as one, realises that things are going to get going soon. Anticipation reaches fever pitch, tension and excitement bristling in the air. When you think you can't hack it anymore, when your feet are numb and your knees are stiff, the music vanishes, the lights go out and it's time.

As the band takes to the stage, the screams travel back through the crowd like a Mexican wave. Those last few seconds drag out beyond belief, and then, quite simply, it begins. Tonight, it begins in the form of Big Girl. It's a song that gives the audience no other option than to dance, and sets us up well for the rest of the gig. We go straight into Relax, which only increases the energy in the room. Conveniently, all muscular complaints from ten minutes previous seem to have vanished without a trace.

Billy Brown was a definite highlight; if not for the addition of a gorgeous saxophone accompaniment, then for the fun that comes with the false starts, banter, and the withholding of inappropriate jokes. Most of the songs from Life in Cartoon Motion have had some sort of facelift, whether it's a rocked up version of Stuck in the Middle, an even more manic and fun-filled Lollipop than ever before or a stripped back Happy Ending. With just a few tweaks the songs feel almost new again, each little surprise causing grins to stretch a little wider.

Of course, the main events of the night were the new songs. Personally, I've been trying to be good - avoiding youtube like the plague, scrolling quickly past tweets with new lyrics and refusing to go anywhere near the new songs until the time is absolutely right. I wanted to try and construct that overwhelming sensation of something being so bloody brilliant that you want to run head first into a wall because you can't deal with it.

Lola was first up. It's still stuck in my head – need I say more? It's perfect for singing along, and that's exactly what the crowd did. Underwater was a perfect blend of simplicity and beauty that leaves your heart feeling extra large in your ribcage. I hadn't managed to avoid Make You Happy or Celebrate, though the former gets better with each and every listen (and there have been many of those) while the latter involved a number of gigantic balloons (because it just wouldn't be right without some). The big one, however, came at the end. The Origin of Love is a mix of so many elements and yet is completely its own thing. It was this massive cherry on the top of an already marvellous cake that really gave me that feeling I've been chasing – the one that makes me turn to the nearest person and only be able to express my feelings in words that ought not to be repeated here.

As always, the show is over far too soon. The entire set has passed more quickly than those twenty minutes before it, and it's not until security are nagging you to get outside that you realise just how much has been packed into the evening. Seventeen songs, plenty of cheering, non-stop dancing and those few key moments that will stick out in memories for months. When you're spat out into the real world, grinning and laughing, it takes a little while to adjust. Out here, time progresses as normal – the bars are chucking out, the night buses are starting up, and the last tubes rumble towards their final destinations. Tiredness catches up with you, and the aching in your feet returns. The grin, however, remains.

:wub2:

Fantastic review from Jazzy ... loved it ... she summed it up perfectly ....

I've really missed those feelings ... I'm so so glad I've got them back again ... and the smile is still there

yes, many sensations we all know very well... physical ones inluded!

Jazzy - Great to read this especially having been there - fabulously constructed review:wink2:

Those feelings are amazing aren't they...

Here's my pictures if anyone is interested https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3890921784074.155575.1009875917&type=3&l=46dffbc87c

Not much to add to everyones wonderful reports but it was an amazing evening with memories that I'll never forget It was so great to meet everyone again and to make some new friends too!

@Jazzy I have just read your review on FB. It is really well-written: I can imagine you being there, listening to some of the songs for the first time and enjoying yourself. Well done.

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