mellody

Btw, Nina posted the full version of Good Guys, including what he said: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5arEjEthnM/?igsh=ZDVidzVyM3FiZmhs Mika says no matter who you like or whether you're gay or straight or anything in between, it's important to have heroes. I gotta say, I see it a bit more differentiated meanwhile. Maybe he was only talking about teenagers, but the concept of a "hero" doesn't really work for me anymore, as it did when I was a teenager. You can admire someone for aspects of their personality or their skills, their talent, their discipline, their creativity or their looks, etc. (or all of that) - but nobody is perfect and wishing to be like someone else doesn't work. Sure, sometimes I also do wish that, but I don't try to achieve it. Somone can be a role model for certain aspects you'd like to improve for yourself, but of a hero you'd expect perfection, and/or you'd expect the hero to save you. You expect something from them that lies within your own responsibility, not in theirs. And in extreme cases admiration might turn into hate, if the disappointment of reality is too big. That's why I never call Mika "king" or "boss", as some other fans do. I admire him for many things, but I know he's not perfect, neither is his life as a popstar. He's not happier than I am - sometimes maybe even the opposite. He can be my hero in a certain situation, like when he unexpectedly shows how much he cares, or at a concert with a version of a song that really moves me... but that's specific moments, and it's never an expectation. Like, the cake & flowers in Berlin - I might have expected a thank you from him in some way, maybe just by posting a photo of it with a smiley... but what he did, posting a video and even thanking and tagging his German fanclub came very unexpectedly and made me very happy.

When I used Gatwick airport in the past, I was flying with easyjet and using the easybus to get into London - not sure if it's necessary to fly with that airline to use it, but it was the cheapest option back then. If that doesn't work, there are surely other buses & shuttle services, like National Express, as Tunde said.

I mean, at least Rufus did reply to Mika instead of just ignoring his message... 🙈 But it sounds pretty arrogant, no wonder Mika was disappointed. And well, hearing that makes me appreciate Mika's modesty more, even if he sometimes annoys me with it, like when he doesn't play his amazing French songs in the UK... But if I'm honest, without even knowing much about Rufus, that's the kind of reply I'd have expected from him. Few artists get the right balance between "I don't care" and "I care too much". Mika often cares too much, like about what other people might think, and he's scared to disappoint. That might seem nice to others, but it won't make him happy. I guess if Rufus had such thoughts in the early days of his career, he drowned them in alcohol & drugs - and now he just doesn't care because he learned the hard way that there are more important things than his career. At least that's my interpretation. Or maybe he just didn't know what else to reply.

I've moved the posts that are more setlist discussions than reports (including my own post) to the setlist discussions thread:

Cheltenham, Bristol and Isle of Wight. And he played at least Tiny Love there (also Ice Cream iirc), it wasn't a setlist full of old songs. He even brought Nomfundo to Cheltenham, to perform a song that was completely new to the UK audience, with African words in it that no one understands. Now why exactly can't he do a few of the new French songs on his new tour named after a new song on his new album?! I think I'll move my post from the Wolverhampton thread here too, it's always so tempting to discuss the setlist changes on the reports thread of the gig where they happened, but I guess it's better to keep those detailed discussions here.

Of course they react more to songs they know well, it's like that for every artist. That's why you mix old and new songs at a gig. But Mika translated Bougez to English anyway. And does he really want people to come to his gigs just for Nostalgia of the good old times?! One of the French journalists called him a "has-been" in one of the articles. I absolutely disagree, his songs are getting better and better over the years, and there is so much more to him than people realize. But with a setlist like that, sorry, that's what he brings across. That's not "may your head always bloom". He is hiding his potential. I know he's more for understatement than showing off what he can do, but imo he's taking it a bit too far now. I'll enjoy his gigs anyway, that's for sure, but it makes me sad that he doesn't show more to his UK audience what an amazing and versatile artist he is. Maybe you're right that they don't want to hear the French songs, their loss... but if he even just added a few songs of MNIMH, like Tiny Love - he did it at his UK gigs last year and at the London gigs over the years as well, and people loved it. I just don't get it.

Probably. But he could have done it without the cage? The wings themselves are impressive enough. I'm wondering if maybe he could create a cage with laser lights for the venues that are too small for the cage, or for the festivals. Wouldn't that be much easier? But maybe I'm too optimistic about that, I don't know how expensive such lights would be. So only 16 songs then? It's getting less and less...

I just read he didn't play Bougez at all in Wolverhampton.

No, none of them - there weren't any to start with, and then he only added older songs instead of the French ones.

I really love this, it's so 100% Mika. Using his imagination and creativity and inviting the audience to do the same, to get the winged piano on stage. Daydreaming together, to put some sparkle on the grey reality. And even sharing some of his work process, of how he builds a song, bit by bit. This creates such a powerful connection, even from far away through this video, that it almost hurts me when he says he doesn't want people at home to watch this I want to shout "why do you want to exclude me from this wholesome moment?!", but then I realize that it's just his fear of what people might think - also 100% Mika and the reason why he doesn't play his new French songs in the UK - he doesn't feel ok in his blue jeans and still doesn't dare to be himself, no matter how much he tries to tell us otherwise. That's sad, but I'm glad that there are moments like this, and I hope the great audience reactions to these moments help him to worry a bit less. Btw I assume the piano might not fit through the door in Dublin either... we'll see, but would be fab to experience this live!

The support act started at 8, I think. That's what they usually give as a start time, but it wasn't clear. I thought it was too loud at times, and my family who were in the seated area thought so too. That security woman didn't even give us the chance to do that but straight away started shouting at us. And even when we did move back and we were behind the posts on the sidewalk, where the trucks couldn't have gone, she went on. Maybe she had a bad day or generally hates fans, idk. The fans were very calm and cooperative, there was no reason whatsoever for her aggression. Luckily at some point someone had the idea to organize it all with some barrier tape, instead of shouting at random people.

I don't have any insights, just wishful thinking. But he did play unfinished songs before. Like Rain, we heard it live with the first verse sung twice.

If the setlist is correct, he just played one song less than in Berlin, so you wouldn't have lost any of the other songs for Jane Birkin. I wonder if maybe he tries out a song from his next English album instead, maybe in London... if we don't get any of the new French songs in the UK, that would be a nice alternative. 😊

Starting with uploading my videos from Berlin: Just a tiny pre-show clip... firstly, because in Berlin the curtain wasn't there, I suppose it didn't fit the venue size. Secondly, because at the shows so far the last song before the show started was Cheri Cheri Lady, and this time after this song the first chords of INXS Need You Tonight were playing. At least to me that was new... but maybe the few times the show started with a delay they played it too, idk? Would love to hear it in the pre show playlist, it's a fab song! 20240402_205738.mp4 3 parts of Bougez: 20240402_205955.mp4 20240402_210210_1.mp4 "Are you ready to make a deal with the devil?" 20240402_210328.mp4 OOL 20240402_210757.mp4 Talk during OOL 20240402_211104.mp4 Talk during Talk about you, about the "jumping man" and his "children" 20240402_211559.mp4 Talk before Lollipop: 20240402_211749.mp4 Talk during Lollipop: 20240402_212119.mp4 A part of Feels like Fire: 20240402_212521.mp4 Underwater talk / crowd singing part 20240402_213110.mp4 Talk for Jane Birkin introduction: 20240402_214324.mp4 2 parts of Jane Birkin: 20240402_214627.mp4 20240402_214720.mp4 Getting a fan on stage to translate: 20240402_214806.mp4 Fan translating for Mika. He said: "Ich bin ein ernster Mann" (I am a serious man) - then corrected it to "ernsthafter Mann", which means kinda the same but is easier to understand. "Im echten Leben trage ich grau" (in real life I wear grey) "Im Supermarkt bin ich stumm / ruhig und ich schaue niemanden an" (at the supermarket I am quiet and I don't look at anyone) "Bevor ich auf die Bühne kann" (before I could go on stage) And I think here he changes his mind about what to say, because it was taking so long... in fact I think he wanted to say sth like 'before I came on stage, I covered myself in glitter', but then he said: "Wenn ich aber diese Melodie höre, dann verändert das alles!" (But when I hear this melody, it changes everything!) 20240402_214905.mp4 Talk during Big Girl in the crowd, interacting with a young fan: 20240402_215809.mp4 Talk during EMD, about his Mum walking into his bedroom when he was dancing to INXS: 20240402_220627.mp4 He tasted someone's beer while walking through the crowd. 20240402_221106.mp4 Talk before Good Guys (the first sentence that's cut off is "it's very generous to share your beer with the artist") 20240402_221120.mp4 Good Guys 20240402_221245.mp4 Good Guys ending 20240402_221611.mp4 Talk / Billy Brown 20240402_221716.mp4 20240402_222148.mp4 Talk / GK intro 20240402_222212.mp4 GK rainbow 20240402_222723.mp4 Talk before Happy Ending 20240402_222938.mp4 Happy Ending with Balloon fanaction 20240402_223145.mp4 Love, love, love 20240402_223728.mp4 Love Today / talk 20240402_224437.mp4 A promise in the dark... 20240402_224647.mp4 Dankeschön after Love Today 20240402_224906.mp4 Part of AOW 20240402_225212.mp4 3 clips of We Are Golden 20240402_225736.mp4 20240402_225956.mp4 20240402_230035.mp4 Goodbye 20240402_230120.mp4 That's it!

Just the first verse & chorus, not the whole song. I'll upload it later.

I agree with you that I'd love to hear any French or English or both French and English version of 30 Secondes as well, but Good Guys is also a rather slow song, so in this particular place of the setlist it would be 2 slow songs in a row... But I also agree with you that OOL might be better later in the setlist, so maybe if he switched some things around, he could include 30 Secondes again... or if he really doesn't want to do that one (maybe he's not happy with the English lyrics?), Tiny Love instead? Anyway, I guess I'll better post those ideas on the setlist discussions thread, it's always very tempting to get into a general setlist discussion based on the experiences at a particular gig, haha! Another setlist related thing tho about this particular gig was that by leaving out C'est La Vie as well as Rain, Mika messed up my globe plan for the fanaction, lol! I had brought a 50cm inflatable earth and drawn some hearts on it, which I wanted to use to emphasize the message of the fanaction - but I realized in advance that I wouldn't have the time to inflate it during Happy Ending, as it takes quite some time. So I had planned to do that while he would be changing into his blue outfit and the Vogue (or another) intro would play. Just that he didn't do that. So Happy Ending came by surprise and I spent nearly the whole song inflating that globe thing. When I was finished at the end and everyone threw their balloons, I wanted to throw it on stage but it fell in the gap between the speakers and the stage and I was like . Mika noticed it and it made him laugh - well, not the effect I had planned, but making him laugh is good as well, so it's ok, haha! I guess it was another moment like the one with the confetti in Cattolica last year, where he commented about me waiting for 3 songs to throw the confetti and then doing it the moment the lights went out. Oh well. The fanaction didn't quite go as planned anyway, because there were issues with distributing the balloons in the lower seated areas. So I still have about 60 balloons left now - maybe I'll bring them to the UK with me, at the small Dublin venue they might make an impact. But the first few rows were full of balloons, and I saw some LED balloons in the back of the venue as well, so at least there were some and I think Mika liked it. I'm on the train right now and my daughter wants my notebook to watch a movie, so I'll have to postpone writing a full report.

Ah thanks! The internet on the train isn't good, but a quick look on their website tells me why Mika would be interested in these kind of things! I don't think and don't hope that robot girl is for his shows (unless it's for a new song we don't know yet?), but they really do all kind of things, for example inflatable Greek statues like the ones he has on his videoscreens now for Relax. I wonder if they also do the inflatable drones that can fly through the venue? I've once seen this in a video, giant inflatable fish that float through the venue, it would look so amazing for Underwater! Or imagine a phoenix rising up in the air for Love Today.

I wonder what this is or why they put it in there First thought it was at some museum / exhibition, but it seems to be a warehouse with a giant inflatable robot woman and a glitter ball. I guess maybe he visited Studio Job? The statue reminds me of the giant robot statue Take That had on stage for their Progress tour. It's too martial for my liking, but also impressive, just the sheer size of it.

It's a pre concert announcement, not a review - but maybe they'll write a review too? There were 4 photographers. Seems one was for Getty, so still 3 left... Anyway thanks - so nice to see Mika in the German press again! I loved the gig, of course. too tired to write a review now, but that'll follow. Bougez was completely in English this time, and he changed the lyrics again, compared to Amsterdam. But I'm so happy that he sang Jane Birkin! I hope the audience reaction was good enough for him to keep it on the setlist. Someone said they spoke with Andy after the show, that he was near the Merch stand. Unfortunately I didn't see him. Would have loved to say Hi. I was trying to get out fast because it felt so narrow and crowded on the way from the standing pit to the exit. I didn't even see the merch stand on my way out.

And to @Statue_of_Liberty for choosing and carrying (! ) the flowers with me. The flower shop said we can't take them out of the water for more than a few minutes, so we had to carry a half full vase and a huge bouquet, which was a challenge with the strong wind.

Mikainstagram stories 244307B509A2708A5EF802058FCDDEAB_video_dashinit.mp4 F946B9B9C30F7A271C3015C89C099DBF_video_dashinit.mp4 DD48C8FF04241042C418B5EA4DEC4792_video_dashinit.mp4

No, he left through an entrance on the other side and we didn't notice. Someone who saw him told us he wanted to meet his fans but couldn't because of the trucks. Shame, but it was lovely of him to post about our gifts.

And here are the flowers: 20240402_121520_1.mp4

More Italians than Germans so far, but yes, about 15 people.

Sorry for expressing that in a misunderstanding way. I just meant, these are the ones who will surely queue earlier than the locals (I think I also added sth like "not sure if all of them are queueing").