lollipop_monkey

That was a HUGE highlight for me. I've seen Mika a bunch of times, but when he went off-mic for the end of Happy Ending I was spellbound, freaking out on the inside like it was 2007 again. Just magical. I recently saw another upbeat, dancey artist with the same kind of tut-tutty crowd. It really ruins the experience to be made to sit quietly in a plush theatre seat while a dance song plays. Sorry you were stuck in purgatory. The flags were absolutely brilliant! Well done to everyone who was involved. It was so heartwarming to see the look on Mika's face when he saw the flags and realized what they symbolized. Overall I thought the gig was amazing, and I love the new arrangements on some songs. The drums seem way more thumping and insistent than every before, and it works so well. I was never a huge fan of the studio recording of Promiseland, but the live version was perfect. And the dance version of Hurts is spectacular. That song made it feel more like an EDM show than a Mika gig I loved the acapella bits he included in some of the songs. In We Are Golden he closed it out by repeating the bridge over and over again (now I'm sitting alone...), which I loved. He also seemed to be really connecting with the audience, laughing and cracking jokes. At one point he stole someone's beer, walked around with it for a few minutes, took one sip and gave it back. It was also a treat to hear Over My Shoulder again. In the heart of my 2009-era fangurl days I'd have waxed about how that song is so beautiful it defies comprehension - and quite frankly, I'd still agree. As far as the French thing goes, imagine you're American and you fall in love with Katy Perry, an English-speaking American singer. You go to see her in America and instead of Firework or Teenage Dream or something, she sings some obscure song in a foreign language that you've never heard of. It's not that there's anything inherently wrong with Mika recording and performing French music, but simply that at a show in London he's got many other options that would better resonate with that particular audience. Thanks to Deb for organizing the pub party. It was amazing to see so many MFCers in one place.

It was working earlier, I think all the demand just crashed their site I would recommend trying again in a couple hours.

Okay Mika, get on with it already. I wanna go to bed.

Yeah for sure. I pounced on him after a gig a few years ago to figure out one line of Good Gone Girl that no one could quite make out

I walk into the Canadian thread and everyone is talking about Tim Horton's and maple syrup. Sounds about right.

Ha I was wondering if anyone actually disliked this one

I love how this song is making a huge positive impression on everyone. It's clearly one of his stronger songs

Welcome! Always nice to see new Canadian fans on here. It's so cool that you and your Mom listen to Mika together. Are you going to his gig in Montreal in July?

At around 2:22 in this clip it shows Pitch Perfect's music director breaking down the vocal arrangement for the acapella version of Lollipop. Pretty dang cool.

Here's the setlist: http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CEgIc-lUUAAK969.jpg He skipped BoumBoumBoum, and he added Elle Me Dit before Love Today. He also dropped Lollipop at the end.

Did you see the Access Hollywood video? He was talking about turning 30 and getting to the point where he's done with putting up walls. He really seemed to embody that in LA tonight. He was just doing his thing and owning it. It's a slight change from the Mika of days gone by, but in a really positive way. I think it is Good Wife, but it was mis-typed "Good Life" on the setlist.

YouTuber La Vie D'orange posted this one from the LA gig. The audio is really clear:

I can't remember the last time I was THIS excited about a new Mika song. Probably One Foot Boy. It's perfect. It's got catchy rhythm like Blue Eyes and Love Today, it's got falsetto used like it was in How Much Do You Love Me, and it's got the intricate storytelling of Toy Boy. I watched half a clip from NYC but hadn't paid it a ton of attention. Tonight, in LA, it blew the roof off. Everyone I talked to after the gig was singling it out as an obvious highlight of the gig. Well done, Mika. You rockstar, you.