mellody

Fanaction with coloured phone lights for Moi Andy et Paris (IG story by filappo) 6A444B9F4F4763A8F4F329399A9DBA98_video_dashinit.mp4 Edit: And I saw in Leila's video that Mika lost one of his wings during Bougez. I hope they can fix them, would be a shame if they were broken! 😯

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In fact, I thought it'd be nice to have a thread about the tour in music&artwork, where we can post about and discuss the set, costumes, etc., and talk about the setlists there too. There aren't many changes, just one or two songs more or less - in the lists it's not that obvious, you have to look closely to see the changes. Anyway, surely we can do both. I'm busy today but maybe tonight I'll have time to start a tour (music&artwork) discussion thread.

What is he saying in this video? https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4lFeuct_88/?igsh=MWt3YWRodjdkMWd1Yg== ... I think at one point he talks about the venue being seated, that he doesn't like it?

He got fans on stage again: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4jetxxrUJG/?igsh=MTIxbG9mZGRyNXRpOA==

Sounds like they might print a 2nd edition...? then maybe more will be available again also online. Just wondering, for those who ordered the book and other items, will they have to wait for everything til the book is available or is the other merch on its way?

Yes, absolutely - and I also totally understand why he might have trouble saying 'I love you', with all that he's been through in his life. Even just looking at the lyrics of JSQJT it becomes clear (just there he says it anyway, that song is intense, full of love, AND well, idk if "mean", but very honest at least). But maybe he does indeed refer to being intense and loud and to carrying this out in the open rather than referring to being mean - because Andy is very modest and quiet, and so it might rather be a "I put this on the album & sing it at gigs, to tell you that I love you, because that's my way of saying it, even if you'd prefer I kept it more private". Actually I'm much looking forward to the gigs where he talks English, curious to hear what he'll carry over with him, as usually he's much more open in French. Maybe it's like he said at one of the shows, that he's practising in French what to say in English (to Andy... but if Andy only is at the London gig next, Mika will have a few more gigs to practise before that. ).

I moved your post here.

I know he keeps saying that, but it still doesn't make any more sense to me. Especially not with the reason he gives, that they were / are very expressive in his family. Big gestures, big drama, standing on the table (or on stage) and shouting out your worries, totally makes sense. But why be mean? Why not just use the same intensity to shout out your love and your happiness? If you take the lyrics of MAEP, with his explanation it makes sense that he gets jealous and says "is there another guy? I'm not on the list anymore, I think it's over". But what, Mika can use harsh words because it was usual in his family, but if Andy does it, he gets called a monster? Maybe there's something that gets lost in translation for me, or Mika forgets to mention a few details that would explain it - which is ok of course, he is already VERY open about this... just if he tries to justify being mean by growing up in a family that often shouted at each other, he can't expect me to follow his argumentation. Being expressive / emotional and being mean are 2 different things for me.

Finally got over my post gig depression phase and ready to finish the report that I had started writing on the train on Monday. So, Strasbourg... my expectations were high, and in fact the gig was fantastic! At the beginning of the show, while still in the cage, Mika said that he wasn't ill anymore - I needed @Prisca next to me to translate, to be able to understand what he said, but was very glad to hear that! And wow, those wings! They're sooo fluffy! Mika accidentally looked at me during the first moments when he started singing - he randomly looked at different people in the front at that point, but when our eyes crossed, he quickly turned his head. I think he knows that his deliberate looks are a lot more meaningful than these random ones, especially to those of us who have been following him for a long time ... when he looks at you during a gig in a certain way, and for these 2 seconds that feel much longer, like time is standing still, you have the feeling that it's only you and him in the room and as if he transfers some of his stage superpowers onto you. Well, I didn't have this at this gig and I missed it, could have needed some Mika superpowers to fight all those viruses, haha! But that, and my still-not-optimal health were the only downsides. Dunno how it was for Mika, he looked a bit angry with his crew and band a few times, guess the lack of sleep might have made him a bit grumpy and less tolerating with their mistakes - but apart from those few annoyed looks, you couldn't tell. He was sweet as always to his audience. The crowd was really into it, as always in Strasbourg, and of course Mika loved that. It was so funny when he told and showed how he had slept last night (not much, apparently 🙈) and, like in Nancy, told the seated area during Underwater that they have to sing with their butts and that's not possible if the butts are in the chairs. Great way to make them stand up, haha! I haven't looked whether people in the seated areas were dancing for Bougez, was busy dancing myself, but the next few songs after that aren't that uptempo, so if they had gotten up, they sat down again by the time of Underwater. No fans on stage or reading signs this time. I think he commented on one further in the back, they wrote him like a whole letter on a poster, and obviously that was impossible to read from the stage. 30 Secondes, still my absolute favourite song from the setlist, as he doesn't sing Tiny Love anymore and JSQJT not (yet) either. He didn't sit down at the piano for it this time at all... I think it was because the piano was turned in a way that he would have turned his back to most of the crowd if he had sat down. Some time during the first verse I thought he looked at me, I was very proud of getting the lyrics right, it's the only French song I learned just by listening to it often enough, without practising it... - but he was too far away (and the light not good enough) to be sure where exactly he looked, and in Michelle's video later I saw that indeed he had looked somewhere into the distance behind us. I bet when he ever does actually look at me, I'll mess up the lyrics. The show actually felt quite long. It probably was because I was tired from getting up early, travelling, queueing for hours and especially jumping and dancing more than would have been good for me 2 days after an infection (but it's impossible to sit or stand still at a Mika gig, haha!), but let's say I was very glad that AOW gave me a moment to relax. I didn't have much energy left for WAG. Still I wouldn't have minded if he had played OOL as well, or even instead of Golden. I like We Are Golden, but I think at this point I'd have preferred to feel the energy of love than the energy of movement. 😅 I'm curious how it'll be at the next gig, when I'm hopefully feeling better (tho somehow my cough is back since last weekend, when it was almost gone already... it really is annoying with all those infections! ) - but it's much better if a gig feels long than if it feels too short - guess I just feel guilty to see Mika still giving his everything on stage, jumping and dancing, and me not being able to move much anymore and give him back the energy he deserves from the crowd. Something else I noticed, both in Nancy and Strasbourg, is that many people seem to think he's not coming back when the curtain closes after WAG, and they already leave. In Nancy some people in the back even already left when the curtain closed before CLV. I guess it's this crossover to theater, where the cast comes in front of the curtain after the show to bow, that people don't expect at a concert. Also I still have to get used to it, somehow it feels weird with that curtain, which is hiding the set and the instruments... Hard to say why, but it's like there's no connection to the show anymore, like you're back in reality and this face screams at you "it's over!". At the one gig where he played OOL as an additional unplanned encore I suppose it must have felt different, or the crowd just didn't accept it... but maybe that's one reason why Mika did it that way, to prevent the crowd and himself from making the show even longer and not accepting that the last song is the last song. I like the feeling of possibility, of hope that there might be more... but for Mika's health it surely is better if he puts a specific stop point and makes it hard for himself and for others to ignore that.

As @TinyLove_CJ asked on the live yesterday where the signature and the number is, it's on the first page, as you can see here: Also, the book has 2 covers, there is no "back", but it's both a front cover and for the second half of the book the print is upside down, so you have to turn it around. Last weekend seemed to be numbers ca. 300-400, to give you an idea how many might still be there.

Yes, I filmed that: 20240310_195240.mp4

I deleted the last few words of your post, because we're not allowed to use this as a "selling" platform - so any details like prices have to be discussed privately. I think I saw someone looking for Paris standing tickets earlier? Just a general advice for everyone, please also check the last few posts here (currently during the tour ca. the last 1-2 pages at least), because if everyone just lists their tickets or searches but doesn't get in contact with each other, it doesn't help much.

I moved your post here to tour rumours.

I started writing a report on the train, but too tired now to finish it today. Really no idea how Mika can do a tour like that, especially if he doesn't sleep well... I'm knackered after just a weekend! 😅

I uploaded some of my videos on IG & Tiktok, more will follow when I'm back home (& maybe I can write a report again on the train) Any other world (whole song) https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4XnnaZtAln/?igsh=MTQyeGhiMnV0bzByeA== Talk during BG, in the audience https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4XoLvNN0kM/?igsh=dnNtaHQ1d2ZheGo5 A clip of Jane Birkin / talk I uploaded on the MFC Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL8vr3Xh/ Some more clips in my IG stories, will upload these here later, together with the rest.

Well, I don't think he can have the Club Apocalypso thing at festival gigs, the stage needs to be designed for that. But also Dublin will probably be too small for some of these elements. The screens & animations is something he can keep anywhere. The dramatic intro is probably difficult to do at outdoor gigs. So yeah, in a way the summer gigs will surely be different. It was the same for the Imaginarium tour, he kept the show itself more or less as it was for the summer gigs, but all the props, the big book, the planets, the dramatic intro, falling curtains and all that, wasn't there anymore. He had a flower theme instead, also very beautiful. So I'm sure the summer gigs will be awesome, but if you want to make sure to see the show with all the props & effects, you'll probably have to go to one of the shows until mid April. Tho maybe he'll take it elsewhere next fall/winter, to other continents? Who knows.

Also wanted to add, thank you @tiibet for the spare seated ticket! I watched the first song from the back, then from the side until 30 Secondes, and then I felt like it was better for me to sit down, so I used the seat. If I had used it earlier, I think Mika came to this part of the audience during his BG walk through the crowd... but well, he did pass by me when he left the stage and went through the barrier just a few meters behind me - but he didn't look left or right, so it might not have made a difference where I was. I'm always reluctant to film when Mika is close to me, a look from him, this quick moment of connection, is worth much more than any video or photo... but when he doesn't look, I'm often annoyed with myself for not filming - then at least I'd have a nice close-up video to share. 😅

A little report from yesterday's gig, while I'm on the train to Strasbourg. I had caught a stomach flu the day before the gig, so I wasn't even sure whether I could go. Luckily I felt much better the next morning, but I took a later train because I needed sleep and time to pack. I still felt a bit weak, as you do after such an infection, but I thought a few hours sitting on the train will be ok, and then watching the gig from the back, no stress. Well... almost. When I arrived at the bus stop, I realized that I had to take a 10 minutes walk up a steep hill with my suitcase, to get to my hotel. 😬 Took me much longer and then, finally there, I changed for the gig and decided to take a taxi, as Google told me it'd be nearly 30 minutes to walk and I was already late. Just that there were no taxis, the receptionist called a few taxi companies, but I guess the way was too short for them, with just 5mins by car. 🙄 So I had to walk, again, and it was clear I would be late for the gig. But I was lucky! The moment I entered the venue at 20:45, the lights went out and the curtain got moved to show the big cage. Mika with these wings is so impressive, take his already existing charisma and stage presence and multiply it by 10, it blows you away! I wish I had seen it up close, but I'm gonna catch up on that tonight in Strasbourg. He didn't play Popular song nor Origin, but I think the rest of the setlist was as usual. He was still ill - his voice cracked a few times, but the crowd and Max supported him. And he commented on it a few times - I think he said something about aliens sitting in his throat that would randomly decide whether to let his words come out of his mouth or not. - that's what I understood, but maybe one of the French speakers can repeat more accurately what he said. And he said that sweating on stage in a red suit is more fun than sweating in a hotel room bed. So well, he's still ill, but we all know him, he can't sit still for longer than 2 days. I think he also said that his Dad and sister(s) were there, and that his sister already had gone to Brest and then made her way to Nancy. He got a fan on stage again for EMD. He messed up the beginning of 30 Secondes, twice... but I love moments like this, when the perfect stage show isn't just perfection and the same routine as every night, but becomes very human and personal through such unplanned changes. He says he likes to be destabilized during a show, I'm not sure if he means things like that too... but even the more personal and unusual things, when he starts repeating them every night they become part of the show and aren't destablizing anymore (maybe to him? But the special personal touch these things make me feel when they happen spantaneously isn't there when it becomes part of the show). Like what he said about the name of the tour and dark times... he said that during Love Today yesterday, when the lights were turned off. Or that MAEP isn't a breakup song but a lovesong. Or getting fans on stage for EMD. I like all of that, but it's not as special and spontaneous as when he says/does it for the first time. Like, that he gets Nina on stage because he wants to get Nina on stage and not because EMD is the "fans on stage" song and he has to find a victim (and yes, I believed him that it wasn't just that, but he wanted Nina on stage - he could have found easier victims, haha! ). Anyway that's details, it's what makes an already amazing show a really special show - but it's still amazing in any case. Another one of these special moments was when the crowd sang for Mika because his voice wouldn't do what it should. It didn't feel heartbreaking to me as in the videos I saw of the last gig - maybe I just was too far away, but the feeling I got this time was that Mika owned it. The first time he rather was like 'I'm so sorry that I can't sing perfectly tonight', but yesterday it was more like 'I'm doing this show despite being ill, thank you for your support'. Maybe there wasn't any difference but it was just my own feeling about it - anyway it didn't make me feel bad to hear that his voice cracked sometimes, and he also seemed fitter, climbing over the barrier into the seated area during BG, instead of having to hold on to the railings like at the last show. That cough is nasty and might stay for weeks, but I think resting for 2 days did Mika well. Well, what else... something I hadn't seen or noticed before was that the Apocalypso sign was still there for Happy Ending, and beautifully glittering with sparkling lights. I didn't wait for him after the show because I needed some rest to be fit for Strasbourg today. But I heard that he just drove by in the car and didn't even wave, so I missed nothing. I wonder why he always takes so long to leave again now after the show... on the Revelation Tour he sometimes was so fast that we had to hurry to not miss him, but that was nice, especially for the times when he didn't stop, so people didn't have to wait hours for nothing. Oh well... I guess tonight I'll wait - Strasbourg was great for meeting him the last 2 times I was there... and if nothing else, at least we can do our Mexican Wave for him again, this tradition started in Strasbourg in 2016. 😊

There are more photos in his IG post than in his Tweet: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4BhmATLbq0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I asked @tiibet about it, but she said from the front they couldn't see you, so they didn't film. Maybe you'll find something here?

I think he says he took 4 Covid tests and they were all negative? Before going in the crowd for BG... that sounds like he cares more about not infecting anyone in the audience with Covid, than about his own wellbeing. I agree that it's heartbreaking to watch him struggle, we all want him to be well and healthy and happy - and he's happy when he's performing, that's why he's still doing it even when he's sick, but he really should listen to his body and take the rest he needs to recover.

I hope he'll have the possibility to know (and let us know) until tomorrow whether he has to postpone Nancy & Strasbourg, then I could still cancel some of my travel arrangements and get some money back. I'm still not in perfect health either, had a nasty cough for 3 weeks until it finally started getting better, but it's still not completely gone... so, just speaking for myself, I actually wouldn't be extremely disappointed if the gigs got postponed - ofc I'm looking forward to it, and I'd lose money because some of my travel plans aren't refundable, so I'd prefer if they were happening. But I have enough planned, to be able to just look forward to a few weeks further. But I know it's not like that for every fan, and it's also a big thing for Mika, he feels bad to disappoint people who were looking forward to his gig, and it costs him a lot of money too, having to postpone a gig and pay all the crew while he's ill. Well, he has been pushing himself so much recently, even for several months now but especially the last few weeks with rehearsals and touring and lack of sleep, that I'm not surprised that his body now forces him to take a break, because he wouldn't listen to "it would be good to", and now it's "you have to". On the positive side, my Mum, my husband & my son have been getting through this cough virus much quicker than me, so fingers crossed that also Mika will recover from it quickly! I'm sure he's getting the best medical treatment, and 2 nights of enough sleep might do wonders!

They say he's ill. https://www.instagram.com/p/C4MNuhAoIMU/?igsh=b2s1OW5hNnc4MTU3 And apparently there was no Club Apocalypso for CLV tonight? Or does that only appear later in the song? I haven't watched a full video of it yet.

Welcome! Happy to see more fellow Germans here! If you (also) want to chat in German, we have a thread for that here: Have fun!