Marianne84

I may possibly come to this event too. Sounds like fun! If I come, my parents will probably come too, as they're going to the gig with me. This is my only Mika gig of the year, so it would be great to have a chance to meet more of you guys than I'll be able to meet at Palladium.

What hotels are you all staying at for this gig? I haven't booked mine yet, nor my flights. I should do it soon.

Can anyone recommend a good budget hotel in London? It's been a while since I've been there...

I bought the J row tickets since my parents want to come, too. The seats are on the side, but I expect that there's a great view and sound everywhere at this venue. It's going to be a great concert, and I'm excited to be going to London again!

Has anyone got an extra ticket? The best I can get from Palladium's site is a J row ticket for Royal Circle. I haven't seen Mika for over three years, and I only just found out about this London show today! I'm itching to go.

I doubt he reads this thread, really...

But in case he does, have a happy Birthday, Mika!

Gosh! I haven't visited this forum for ages. I had forgotten my password.

I'm totally out of the loop on all things Mika, but I know today is his birthday.

I came to ask if anyone is going to see Hurts in Helsinki in November? I'm going! I think Exile is even better than Happiness, which was hard enough to top.

I will also have to pick up my ticket at the box office, and I'm worried about how it will go.

Have you decided where and what time you're meeting up tomorrow? I might be interested in joining with you all.

What time is everyone going to start queueing? I would like to take part in that candle thing if anyone has a spare candle for me?

Oh are you coming to this as well ... I still remember your doll and his face

Well, your memory is better than Mika's then. Yes, I'm coming! I would pick something cheap like Travelodge, but my parents are coming as well (not to the gig), so I need a proper hotel. I'm looking for one very near the gig place, so I don't have to use the tube on the night. I'll probably stay from Wednesday to Saturday. I'll have to pick up my ticket on the town somewhere.

Is anyone going to queue since the morning? I don't really feel like doing it this time.

What hotel is everyone staying at for this gig? I still haven't got my accommodation sorted.

Pyysin Mikaa tulemaan Suomeen ensi vuonna tuolla Wienin keikalla, ja Mika vaikutti vähän yllättyneeltä kun sanoin että sen viime käynnistä on sitten kulunut kolme vuotta. Ja se sanoi että sillä oli kyllä hauskaa Suomessa viimeksi. Eli eletään toivossa.

I've written some stuff under this picture:

I don't feel like writing a long report here, because I'm feeling sick. I almost thought about not going to Vienna at all because I had had the flu for a week before that already. But I'm glad that I did go. I had an awesome time, and I'm already looking forward to the next gig (in London).

I don't know why it would have been a hard gig for Mika. It looked great from the first row! The band was great, although I had no idea that Mika had replaced everybody with new musicians. Like I told some, I haven't watched any gig videos in ages. I haven't even been reading much here for the last... err, two years or so. I guess I should log in from time to time, because I always tend to miss all the great competitions.

Well, I don't have any special ideas for this. I'll just come there in ordinary clothes and enjoy the gig, the city and the company. I'll be leaving early tomorrow and staying in the former Etap hotel (it has changed its name) until Wednesday. I'll see you in the queue! Though probably not very early. I've got the flu and I might not be up to queueing much.

Great reviews everyone! I will write mine when I receive the deluxe edition sometime next month. I have heard the whole album multiple times, though. Love it!

So this is on the day after the Vienna gig. What is the best way to go to Munich from Vienna? Plane... or train perhaps?

Small venue? Good! Thinking about this one... I've never been to Germany, and I want to go to at least one of Mika's gigs there.

I've never been to Germany, so I'm very interested... Uh, so what is this place like in winter? Is it an expensive city?

I seriously just saw the tour dates and already picked Vienna and London! I need more! The hunger has grown so big!

What site do you use to buy tickets to this gig? Ticketmaster?

I'm seriously considering about going to this gig ever since I saw the tour dates a few minutes ago.

Whoa! I've been waiting for this! I think I'm going to this one! I was a Lollipop Girl at his last (and first) gig in this same place and had one heck of a time! Plus Vienna is a lovely city.

I need to go to some other gig as well. It's been a year since I last saw him. London maybe... and maybe something else.

Hell yeah! I love it! It's an old song actually. It's from the 16th century and the original writer is unknown. The first time I heard the studio version I almost thought it was a woman singing it. Jeff made pure magic of it!

There's a live version on YouTube that melts my heart every time:

Ooh, thanks! I would love to hear the version you love!

I will certainly let you know as soon as the Kick-Ass DVD arrives.

Thumbs up to your boys as well for having so wonderful taste in music.

You know what? They are just old enough to read my doll stories! Yeeees, that's right! I'm so inspired by Jeff that my doll version of him has taken on a life of his own. And I'm getting new ideas daily. I'm currently writing the last bits of this week's episode to The Life and Tales of Elliot Crane. You can read it all here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/moccasiini/collections/72157628191708333/ If you dare! That's how involved I am! Elliot sings Jeff's songs all the time, and I even name some of the episodes after his songs.

Wow, Holly! I never thought I could enable someone to do something. Okay, I sometimes enable people to buy dolls they didn't know they needed. But that rarely happens, really. Enabling is a common verb in the doll collecting community.

I'm seriously SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! You've found a new love! That's amazing, isn't it? And better yet, your boys like Jeff's songs, too. How old are they, if you don't mind me asking?

By the way, Mika also gave me Rufus. And in a way Rufus gave me Jeff... Or he gave me the urge to look him up myself.

And you're right, Rufus is also very capable of bringing vulnerability and deepness into his songs. He did rush his version of Hallelujah, that's one of the reasons why I like Jeff's version better. I don't remember if I've ever even heard any live version of it by Rufus (he didn't play it when I saw him). Care to give me a link to one?

I've been listening to Jeff's Live at Siné today, second CD on the special edition CD box... He was such a funny man! I can also wholeheartedly recommend the Live in Chicago DVD if you want to see Jeff at his best.

I'm completely head over heels in love with their new album Paris Or India. I haven't got a copy of it yet, but will soon. I've been listening to it on the net, and I wish I found lyrics to all the songs. My favourites right now are Fire!, Hartley Salter's Kite and St. Paul and the Wolf.

How cool! Thanks for telling us about the concert. I wonder if the setlist is still the same? I love the new songs, especially Together and The Days. I'm going to see him in December in a small club in Helsinki!

I feel like I should say something here.

I've known about Jeff Buckley for years, but he was always just 'one of the people who covered Hallelujah'. I became interested in him last year when I was sitting in the front row of Rufus Wainwright's concert in Helsinki. He made a joke about Jeff Buckley - the kind of joke that shows respect. Rufus said that he had waited for something to happen between him and Jeff, but it never did. (The joke part.) And he said that he couldn't save Jeff... And then he said that Memphis Skyline was about Jeff, and he played that. I had always loved that song, but I hadn't known it was about Jeff Buckley. It was a very emotional concert because Rufus's mother had just died, so it seemed natural that he remembered someone else, too.

Well, after that night Jeff Buckley became one of those artists that I wanted to check out properly 'some day soon'. That soon ended up being over a year. I finally decided to listen to his version of Hallelujah this summer... and after that it has been an emotional rollercoaster! I didn't just listen to Hallelujah countless times, but I also listened to the rest of his album, 'Grace', and every other song that has been released since then. Then I moved onto live videos and interviews. It has been weird to start checking out someone's music who is no longer with us... and to completely fall in love with that music and the person who I can never see or meet.

I have done this once before, in 2002 when I started listening to Elvis Presley's songs. I went completely mad. I bought every CD that had something I wanted to hear and I watched a lot of video material too. It's the same madness for me now with Jeff Buckley. I've been watching his interviews and thinking: "What a beautiful mind. This is one of those persons who I want to meet in Heaven when I die." Jeff's songs are the most poetic songs I've ever heard in my life. How many times did he predict his death on his album? His songs are ethereal and so down to earth at the same time. The interviews show that he was really intelligent and kind, too. Beautiful both outside and inside. His 4 octave voice was so pure and strong; he could even sing opera! He even spoke in interviews as if he was singing.

Sure he must have had faults like every human... But it aches my heart that someone who would have had so much more to give to the world was taken away so early. Jeff was an old soul. He was an angel even before he died.

The only other musician nowadays who comes close to Jeff's vulnerability and deepness in his songs is Mika. I'm so grateful that I can at least see Mika live.