mellody

come on germany!! those who could post it on their website probably don't even know anymore who mika is, since there's no promo done for him here at all, and thus thought "ah well, we can wait with those tourdates til monday, no one wants to see that anyway..."

seems like it's nov 10th in rome: http://www.rockon.it/concerti/tour-concerti/mika-annuncia-il-tour-europeo-il-9-novembre-a-padova-il-10-a-roma/ (thank you to sarina for the tweet that made me google it! )

i realized after putting the dates we have in my calendar that there's not much time left in november now. only the 2nd week of nov between brussel and padova (but i doubt he'll squeeze asia in there), and anything from nov 27. i wonder whether there'll be any dates in october or if the french one on oct 31 is the first of the tour?

my videos are up: talk before BIOTG: billy brown intro: talk & lola: talk & funny SITM intro: talk about mosquito repellant: funny band introduction: love today shooting: we are golden (sorry i danced too much...): talk before TOOL: video from the m+g: i have a few other bits & pieces, for example of the hearts held up during happy ending, but i guess i'll only upload that if no one uploads a better version.

i have no idea what it is even, is that tv or radio? i probably won't be able to watch/listen tonight, but i hope someone will record it.

just saying it here again, this version of tool from the radio isn't the same recorded version that we heard in milan at the pre-listening the day before. the one mika played to us sounded much bigger, like the live version.

no sign of those german tourdates yet, though i've been looking all day! since there are so many appearing today, i'd say it's time for an official post on mika's fb, with *all* the dates for this autumn.

agree. and the bolded part made me giggle. just saw that lara may's video is up! aww, he's clearly so nervous, it's sooo cuuutee!!

t4p! i love this sentence: "Tonight, he’s writhing around stage, soaking up the adoration from the fans who’ve followed his career over the years, and who actually know, unlike some of the rest of us, that he’s about to release his third album."

i think the rose was during or after blue eyes, and the heart not sure anymore, maybe between HE and Celebrate? defintiely after HE. thank you for the setlist and your videos! aww, shame he didn't sing karen, would've loved to hear it live in the new version! great, thank you! my videos are currently uploading.

LOL @ his hair in that pic! loved the interview, t4p! the download doesn't work though, but maybe that's just because i'm currently uploading videos which slows down my connection. it's interesting what he says about the black&white scheme of the concerts... wonder if he'll keep that for the album artwork and for the tour... and i love how he describes how he stole rufus wainwright's music and then became a huge fan - that story sounds familiar to me...

that statement at 5:20 and the look on his face at the beginning of the interview makes me think that it might have been this journalist who annoyed mika. the journalist also seems to me like one of those who doesn't care how the person they interview feels but just that they get their questions answered... maybe he had a talk with mika before the interview and told him he found him weird, or something like that... i could totally imagine it! of course we can't be sure though that it was a video interview at all that annoyed mika, it might have been for written press, who knows... tina or marion mentioned something about an interview where mika was asked why he isn't more open to the tabloid press, that question could've annoyed him too... but no idea where that interview came from, i'm only starting to catch up on all that has happened here since monday. i love the statement how he is like his dog! i think they cut the interview though... dutch annie was there (she had won tickets for that talkshow too) and she said that mika said sth about wanting to have children... but she told me that she filmed it all, so i hope we'll get the rest soon.

aww! it's good to understand with the google translate version, loved reading a journalist's review of the event! though i didn't even realize on wednesday that there were any journalists there. it's great that they mention how mika prepared the event and that he was so overprotective with the songs on his laptop that he wouldn't let anyone else play them. also love it how they say that many were listening to uw with closed eyes - lol, i definitely was one of those people!

the radio version from today is not what we heard yesterday though! we were already wondering on twitter what happened... did they change it to the worse on purpose cause they don't want the finished version out there yet, or is it just because they don't have a final radio mix yet?

nope, sorry. it came from the center, so maybe those who stood there understood it, or maybe even someone of those who shouted it is here on mfc an can tell us? has anyone filmed that bit where mika played with the rose that someone had thrown him on stage? that was really funny! btw, i caught the rose he threw in the crowd later, but then i decided to give it to a girl behind me, as i didn't want to carry it around with me all evening, and it didn't look exactly fresh anymore either... and i also didn't get on video when mika waved with the glowing heart on stage - does anyone have that?

here's a photo of the setlist. and my videos from luzern: talk & SITM intro: talk & lola: rain: underwater: band introduction & start of HE: love today shooting: talk & tool: aftershow m&g (sound only):

the first of my videos has finished uploading, it's where he talks about needing a topic for his xl column and the intro for SITM where he sings about his grandmother... so funny, lol! [YOUTUBE]C-f9r4eIwP0[/YOUTUBE]

my videos are currently uploading... it'll take a while though as they're in HD quality. i got the new songs, the talking bits and the band intro and LT shooting (he even shot the sound engineer this time, lol! ). also rain, but of the other songs just bits and pieces... of those i will only upload what's not online yet. also i have the m+g in a better sound quality than it has been posted by daeni on youtube (the m+g vid posted in here). it was too dark though, you can only see him when someone's taking pictures, besides it's just the sound. btw, he looked fantastic at the m+g, in the brown leather jacket, and also his hair. edit: the first two: first talk about being in a bad mood (sorry missed the first sentence!) and the intro and a little bit of the beginning of SITM. [YOUTUBE]fgb577bP0L0[/YOUTUBE] lola - he forgot the chords again... and tried out a few languages. *g* [YOUTUBE]m6oFJygkwOg[/YOUTUBE]

indeed you're right with that. i didn't know that song before, but there was a question about it for mika, and tina played it to us in the car, and i think the melody when he sings the word "popular" is nearly or even exactly the same like in that song. i think it was lowell (akasaka here on mfc) who asked him about it, and mika answered that it's true and the reason why they did it that way was that he thinks priscilla renea has a voice like a cartoon character. and then something that it was about bullying, in a different way this time - like i said, it's a very happy sounding song. maybe someone else can remember the details of mika's answer to that question... i hadn't understood the question and it only made sense to me when tina told me afterwards! it will be. that was the question i asked him, whether all those songs he played to us will definitely be on the album, as he had told me on monday at the m+g that he still hasn't decided on all songs yet and always does that last minute. mika and me had a little misunderstanding though... when he introduced heroes he said something about that the song will make the album, or *maybe* make the album, anyway that's what *i* understood, so i thought it might not be on the album. he probably said something different though. can anyone remember what he said about heroes when he introduced it, apart from it being a very raw version? and he said he'll finish it on monday, i think. anyway, i wanted to ask him about it but he misunderstood and told me again (for the 3rd time in 2 days... ) that all the songs were only raw versions. i wasn't able to explain to him what i meant. but he clearly confirmed that all the songs he played to us will be on the album. he knew that many mfcers would be there so maybe he didn't dare to hit us with that electronic version. there were some chairs and a sofa, but not enough for everyone. about rich isaacson, i wondered the same, who is he? i had already wondered why it was only 30 people instead of 50. that really sucks that people couldn't go because they were notified too late! maybe they took so long for the translation from english into italian, or what? agree. it's a rather slow rap, tina said it reminded her of "young deenay", a female singer who was popular in germany at some point in the 90s - she also had quite slow raps in the 2 or 3 hits she had back then. of course you're right that the live versions of songs add something to it, the live band, the whole atmosphere etc., you can't get that across on a cd. i mainly meant that there weren't any parts of the songs missing - for example some of my faves like the "aaah-haaa" in the background for lola, or the "love, love, love, you're the origin of love" and "ey-oh-ey-oh-ah!" in tool, it's all there and not just added for the live version. btw, someone also asked about the latin bit in tool and mika told us. the way i understood it, it's basically what you had figured out in the tool thread already - but i'll leave it to someone who knows latin to write it down. he said that the latin bit is mocking the mass he attended as a child, something along those lines... maybe someone else who was there can remember more details about what he said.

suzie i can assure you it sounds nothing like step by step! you may be right with spaceborne,makes more sense i guess. and iirc the sound of emily waa exactly the same as emd,yes.

i just remembered, he said at the beginning that so far he's the only one in the world who has the record, on his laptop, and that's why *he* is playing the songs to us himself. something along those lines. as if he had to excuse it to us that he was there!

i have some, they're still downloading from my camera atm. i definitely have all the talking, and i think the new songs as well. i'll upload them tonight.

really tired, but i gotta write down what i remember about the songs and what he said, based on the notes i took, as long as my memories are fresh... the songs we already know were basically like the live versions, there was nothing i missed compared to the live versions. Step with me: he wrote it during that songwriter workshop in the french castle which name he couldn't remember. together with a woman (her name has been mentioned here), in a damp room in that castle. he said there were many different rooms, beautiful ones and not so beautiful ones, and they got the worst one, with mice running over the mantlepiece. so they wanted to make an "easy" song. he said it's about describing a love, like, the steps you take with a lover, and then in the end realizing that you don't know this person at all and it was all just in your head. it's a mid-tempo song with a big sounding chorus, and it put a HUGE smile on my face, i absolutely loved it!!! in the chorus he counts down the steps from one to six (3 first, then another short part in between, then the other 3). what i understood from the lyrics was "step one - come a little closer ... step two - you can rest on my shoulder" (or something along those lines) - and i've also written down the lyrics part "three steps three steps - three steps for loving me". i'm sure if he had played that song not as the 3rd song but towards the end i'd remember the melody, i found it very catchy! maybe it comes back to me in the next days, i really hope so, i want to hear that song again asap, and if it's only in my head. Stardust it has a catchy melody, with an electronic david guetta style (imo) sound in the background. i even remember a bit of the chorus melody - well i think i do... if you want i can play those few notes on the piano tomorrow (if i still remember it then ) and put it on youtube - but no guarantee that it's correct! chorus lyrics, from what i understood: "put a little stardust in your eyes, put a little sunshine in your life, give me a little heart to feel the same ..." and another lyrics line he was singing several times (think it's the last line of the song too) was "when will i see you again". underwater i love how in the end the "underwater, underwater, i can live underwater" part is mixed with the "underwateeeeeerrrrrr" - the band also does that for the live version but it comes out more clearly in the recorded version. i had goosebumps when he played underwater, it's SO beautiful! in the second verse he started with "flying through a bright blue sky", that's different from what he currently sings live. if that makes sense at all, the next line might be "with a spaceball high" - it's funny cause i also understood spaceball in the live version, and now it suddenly made sense for me. kids mid-tempo song, i liked the melody of the bridge. can't remember anything else about it though. emily the lyrics are similar to the english version of elle me dit from schaffhausen, but he also changed some bits. the first lines are still the same, "get your a** to number one", LOL! later it's "pourquoi tu gaches ta vie" 2x, then another line that i didn't understand, and then he sang "dance with me emily!" instead of the "danse danse danse elle me dit danse" - that was so funny i burst out laughing when i heard it for the first time! Popular that was my other fave of the yet unheard songs, besides step with me. it started with a rap of priscilla renea and mika, and i first was like MIKA RAPPING?! ... it soon turned into a nice melody though - there's some more rap in the song, but more melodic parts than rap. it's a very happy sounding mid-tempo song with a beat that i really like, it goes "looong, short, short, short" - hard to describe with words, lol! mika said at some point that it was about bullying, and recited a few lines of the lyrics, it was a great bit of lyrics but can't remember now. it included that "popular corn" bit though, that he had tweeted a few months ago. Heroes the only song i didn't like much. mika said it was a VERY raw version though, and he only played half of the song to us (more than the 30 seconds he first announced though ) - maybe he does something interesting with it, but atm i find it rather boring. alright, that's it for now, now OFF TO BED, gotta get up in 5 hours!

i could definitely tell there was something different,but i didnt recognize it as 'bad mood' til he said it,and by then he was in a good mood again. i first thought that starting with gk the way he did had sth to do with the crowd,that they would like something acoustic and artistic better than him jumping around on stage. the lack of crowd interaction for the first few songs was a sign that something was wrong though, only time i've seen him act similar so far was in hamburg after that kick ass/radio1 thing,but there it was for the whole gig, whereas in luzern it was just the first 4 or 5 songs.

just a quick report from my mobile while waiting for sth to happen here in vigevano. nina already described the gig v.well in her blog. just a few things though, i didnt have the feeling he wanted to get off stage quickly, he stayed for a bit, bowing to the crowd. i think the crowd reaction got him out of that bad mood completely towards the end of the gig. it was amazing to see really everyone jumping for lt, even on the balcony! he totally won them over, and it helped him too. i love what he did with the old songs, adding a piano line from daydream believer to the billy brown intro, the calypso beat in lollipop and the acoustic start of rain, for example. the m+g was epic. tina counted 17 ppl waiting for him,most mfcers. he joked about tphe name of the festival, and when he had signed everything ppl gave him he was like what,thats it?! lol! he put the pen away, stood in our midst and started chatting with us. i told him i loved tool and was looking forward to hear more on wed... mika looked like so i asked whether he knew about the pre listening at all and obviosly he had no idea. his manager then confirmed it to him. he then said the album wasnt finished and we'd only get to hear a raw version. i'll post more details about what was talked when i'm home on thursday, got some of it filmed (though it was too dark,so guess its just the sound), think i'll remember more when i listen to that. still no support act on stage here in italy...