Marianne84

Yes, you are right. I'm usually shy and don't come to talk to people very easily if I don't recognize them. And it's easier to talk to one person at a time. I've never been good in a group where I don't know if anyone is prepared to listen what I have to say or if they just listen to each other instead. I always need eye contact to know if the other person really is interested in hearing what I say. Mika always gives me eye contact, and that's why it's easy to talk to him. It was lovely meeting everyone though, and we had a great group of LG's and BG's. Everyone was so friendly. I got to speak to Yasmine in person too - she's totally the best trainer I have ever had! "Stamp like you're angry", I will never forget that! Funnily enough I wasn't scared to walk onto stage and perform in front of hundreds of people. The only thing I was worried about was if I could keep the pace because it was SO important! It was hard to see anything from under the veil. And when I could do it I was so relieved. I had been scared that Yasmine or Mika might not like what I do, but they did - they told me - and THAT meant the world to me! Now I just feel like I can do absolutely anything in life!

Oh, woooow... I watched that video and it's very good! It gave me chills just like in the concert! Rain is so theatrical nowadays. I didn't really like it when I saw the first videos of Mika performing the acoustic version of it in Parc Des Princes Paris in 2008. But the acoustic Rain had become fabulous at Sadler's Wells last year, and it was even better at Scala in September... On this tour it's just... magnificent! I always feel like I'm watching a theatre performance when I'm watching a Mika show. It's not just a gig or a concert - it's a real Show with a big S! And I was a part of that Show... I might as well die happy now!

I love the new Rain too, but I can't help you with this unfortunately. Would love to find a good video of it.

Marianne here! Welcome on board! We have a section here for introductions if you want to tell us more about yourself and how you found out about Mika in the first place. I'm glad you had such an awesome first gig! The first time is always special, but when you get to go to more gigs you will be able to compare the gigs and you will see how Mika just gets better and better. He has developed a lot during the past three years for sure, and I think he will continue doing that. I'm still floating in the air.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Jazzy.

You don't recognize me then?! We have met, although it was a million years ago. I'm next to Mika in the pic. My hair is on his knee for God's sake! It was the first gig for many of the girls, and the Croatian girls weren't so active here, so I don't know their usernames. I hope they will come online more often. I'm not sure if they would like their real names to be here, so I won't post them. The Brazilian/Austrian Lollipop Girl in the middle of the picture just joined here after the gig! You can find her posts on the first pages of this thread.

Wow, to talk about a snowball effect... This thread has gone so off topic! I'm not going to add to it, but I just came to say that the audience at this Vienna gig was THE BEST I have ever seen. I didn't see Over My Shoulder, but I can say that the audience kept rather quiet during the slower songs I saw: I See You and Any Other World - even Toy Boy. I took notice of their reaction more than ever before, because I was on the side. I think they were really respectful, and if Suzie, Bianca and other MFC'ers had anything to do with it, I have nothing but respect for them! I didn't experience any pushing either. Like I said earlier in this thread, even the little kids on the side behaved well! It was interesting to experience the worst (Stockholm, due to pushing) and the best audience (Vienna) within two weeks time. Even my family who were at the back thought the audience behaved great at this gig. Not to tell how people should behave at the gigs - you have discussed it enough already - but I just want to say that Mika and the band are really good at showing you what they want from the audience. I saw well how much Mika loved the reaction of the audience at this gig, and I was backstage when he came there after the show. I tell you: he had a huge beaming smile on his face and he said that it was really great! (Meaning our performance but I could tell he loved it as a whole.) I've never seen him that happy! Absolutely! It's something to remember that wonderful day and perfect gig by! Thank you again!

AHAHA! Thanks for the pics. It's me behind the veil in this one.

There were at least six Finnish people at the gig by the way. The other three just didn't turn up until the doors were opened.

I forgot to mention that every time we walked in our costumes in the corridor, at least one of the people sitting there cracked up! Did anyone else notice or was it just me they were laughing at?

You are talking about Zsina's Modern Fairies, right? It's amazing and I'm glad she got to give it to Mika! I just wish I'd hurried outside and seen the drawing live before she gave it to him.

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.

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?

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.

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!

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.

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...

My pleasure! I'm not finished yet!

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 3 We were let into the audience wearing coats over the dresses and man, it was hot there! The support act was good every now and then when the songs were starting, but the lead vocalist moved way too much. It was like watching a bad Madonna impersonator, not that I have seen one before this, but hey... There's always a first time for everything! I was just counting the songs and said a little 'hurray' in my mind everytime the singer mentioned Mika, because I thought that was the last song! The support act in Stockholm was much better. We were on the right side of the stage if you look from the audience's point of view. Some kids were standing next to us and they tried to push their way to the front row. They can't have been more than 12 years old, maybe not even that much, and nearly no one had a parent anywhere near them. I let them go in front of me because they were so little and that was probably their first Mika gig. They seemed to enjoy the support act for some reason. They were in the way of the security and they had to shift back and forth all the time. I didn't take a lot of pictures during the concert because my old camera is not the best for long-distance photographing. This one is just to show you where we were: When Mika played Big Girl and he had the giant inflatable leg on stage, it was so much fun watching him play around it, and it even got stuck on a lamp on the ceiling. Luckily Mika got some help and they were able to remove the leg from the stage. I watched Mika in awe... I think I was more in awe that I have ever been before. His singing is just so... effortless. I enjoyed his "best trumpet solo Vienna has ever seen" (or heard?), and this time I took more notice of the notebook thing than I did in Stockholm. I wasn't as close to Mika this time and I was able to see something else too, you see. A part of me wanted to see the whole show again, but there was no way going back now... I had dreamed of being a Lollipop Girl for three years, and this could be my only chance. I had been so nervous during the rehearsals that my legs had actually trembled. But I had got my confidence back when we practised the walk with Mika on stage. I wasn't scared of the audience at all. I just didn't want to let Mika or Yasmine down. We could have easily messed up the whole show. We went backstage after Dr. John to get ready for our zombie walk... To be continued...

The Long and Rambling Report, Part 2 I had seen the venue the day before, so I knew where the queue was going to be. I went there after 11 am and got number 18. I had planned to try to be a Lollipop Girl. I had to have the number as a back up plan in case it wouldn't work out. I met a lot of 'new' MFC'ers I hadn't met before, a few 'old' ones and a few Mika fans who were not on the MFC or were irregular (registered) visitors - at that time. Everyone was so nice, and it was the first gig for quite a few. There were about 50 fans there when John appeared after 4 pm. He asked if there were volunteers to be a Lollipop Girl or a Big Girl, so of course I said I wanted to be a Lollipop Girl. There were nine of us who were let in, and they didn't even check our tickets. We got wristbands, and there was a soundcheck going on in the hall and we got to watch it. Mika wasn't there and John said something to us which none of really heard because it was so noisy there. He said that we have to wait there... for 45 minutes? Or so I heard. The concert hall looked very small compared to other ones I have seen Mika perform in. I had seen the Gasometer A the day before and I had already wondered how big the hall could be in the Gasometer B. Not very big. Then Mika arrived, looked at us and said 'hello'. He went to check the sound at the back and then went on stage. We got to watch him sing My Interpretation on top of the piano, and Big Girl after that. It was like a special living room gig for the nine of us! He continued singing when we went backstage and met Yasmine. She was really nice, and she gave us the dresses, masks, veils and flowers and made sure that everyone had what they needed. We rehearsed the zombie walk backstage and then on stage to Cherisse's drum beat. It didn't go very smoothly at first but we rehearsed enough times until Yasmine was happy. She gave us a lot quidance: told us when to go on stage and when to go off, put us in hight order and told to us to dance during Lollipop. "Dance, tease the band and have fun. Do whatever you feel like but make sure the movements are big" is basically what she said. At some point when I think we were already in our dresses Mika went past us in the corridor and said 'allô', to which I replied with 'hello'. I thought it was funny! Oh, and Yasmine asked us if we had seen Mika before. It was the first gig for some of the LG's and BG's. I told her that it was my tenth time seeing him. You should have seen the look on her face when she shouted 'tenth'! As if it was so surprising when some people here have seen him over twenty times since 2007. To be continued...

Sounds familiar, yep I think it was.

The Long and Rambling Report, Part 1 My oh my, I don't know where to start my report. The thing is, when a Mika gig is this wonderful my reports get long and rambling. Actually I haven't felt like writing a really long report since Sadler's Wells almost ten months ago. I guess this one is my favourite gig now, and it goes by Sadler's Wells just a little bit. I flew to Vienna on Saturday evening with my parents and younger sister who were going to attend the gig as well. There wasn't much time for sightseeing on Saturday, so we did it on Sunday then. We saw a big church of which name I can't remember. It's some kind of a land mark of Vienna anyway. Very beautiful. We visited the huge Hofburg area, but didn't go to museums or anything. Then we went to Schönbrunn and walked quite a bit... We went to the labyrinth and zoo. We saw the river Donau too, of course (or is it Danube in English? The Finnish name Tonava is the most beautiful in my opinion). We ate in a fancy restaurang near the Schönbrunn zoo. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I think their Swarchwald cake was too sugary and I have made a better similar cake. I took pictures, but their place will be on Facebook or Myspace, not in this thread. We noticed that they dub every film and TV show in German in Austria. It was quite, eh... interesting to watch Leonardo DiCaprio speaking German in The Man and the Iron Mask! On Monday my family went for more sighseeing because they didn't want to queue at all. I gave them their tickets and some special quidance on 'how to behave at a Mika gig'. My feet had been very sore after walking so much but they were better on Monday. I thought I saw Bianca at breakfast time at the Etap hotel, but wasn't sure it was her until I saw her later in the queue. To be continued...

Hey I wanna see Lollipop too, with or without sound! I had so much fun on stage and off stage. I'll write my report soon!

Have fun everyone and see you in the queue (at the latest)! I haven't met most of you, but feel free to come and say hi if you recognize me. I'm going to try being a Lollipop Girl for this show and I plan to arrive at the venue at noonish on the day of the gig.