lollipop_monkey

So happy Deb posted about the USA gigs! I just got a ticket for the LA one I'm super excited! Such fantastic timing since I'll be in LA the week before for a conference anyways so I'll just extend my stay a few days YAY!!!

 

Anyone else going to LA?

I am!

Oh wow, thanks for sharing these videos. It really paints a clear picture of the vibe for those of us who couldn't be there.

Any Other World sounds like it was meant to be performed like this.

Dat voice, though. Still gets me every time.

Now I'm crying like a little baby

I'm crying so much right now

I'm crying but I'm so happy

Oh damn you Mika, again I'm in tears!

I'm glad it's not just me. Seeing his reaction made me bawl like a baby. It's beautiful to see another human being so happpy. It seems he really felt the warmth of the fan community around him.

Huge congrats to everyone who was involved...it's such a perfect gift.

This is the video Mika watched last night. Sorry if it took up too much time of others.. Those correspondents got so much pressure behind hundreds of other fans expectation...

It took months to make it, hundreds of ppl from several cities involved, and starred in this video. All of them are members of Mikaholix Korea.

[YOUTUBE]hf6DGv_YQsk[/YOUTUBE]

This is awesome! I love how you can see he paid close attention when watching it.

And it's not just the music either. He's given us a lot of surprises and support through the years - both tangible and in priceless ways. It's nice to let him know that's appreciated.

Absolutely.

I can't even put my feelings into words. It was so incredible, one of the best nights of my life, I'm still under the influence. It was my first Mika gig and I can say, it was perfect.

I so love hearing this. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy when people end up on a cloud after their first Mika gig.

You both have lovely asses. And you can bring them to NA any time you like.

I was just about to say - I wish both Nina and Ingie's phat European asses had been in Vancouver

Like Christine said - by all means, come! Just bear in mind that North Americans don't queue for Mika at crazy early hours. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Are you sure that's what happened? Because security guards lie to people all the time to get rid of fans. I have never seen Mika escape that quickly and don't even know how it would be possible since he must have had a shower and must have had to deal with some people back stage. Seems a bit far fetched to me. Did you see anyone else? Crew, etc?

In Vancouver someone on the tour bus (I think?) first said that he left in a limo. I was like uh, Mika's gone all Mariah and is traveling by limo now? I've never seen THAT before! I figured security was just being security - after all, they always say Elvis has left the building.

But we hung around quite a while and he never showed. Me and my friends were the last ones there - mostly because we sat down on a planter and were yakking amongst ourselves and lost track of time - and finally one of his crew members came up and was like "If for some crazy reason you guys are waiting for Mika, he's long gone."

I wouldn't be surprised if he did bail right after the gig - if for no other reason than the venue was small-ish, it was turning into a nightclub, and he wanted to hang out somewhere more hospitable than what I imagine was probably just a tiny dressing room I didn't see his mother or the band, either.

Oh, funny story - as Mika's crew were carrying stuff back to the bus, there was a ginormous duffel bag. They picked it up and one of the local security guys was like "careful, there's a fangurl stowed away in there!" Geez, why didn't I think of that?

Whoa - What's this Bonnie and Clyde?! And Relax? Stupid venue, we'd have gotten another new song!

Okay definitely not Eric Clapton then (would have to revoke Mana's music fan status if it was ) Sounds like something he would have written in Miami and if it's lyrically complex like Mana says perhaps Jodi Marr had a hand in it...? So looking forward to hearing it.

Haha, no I know the Eric Clapton song!

This looks so cool!

It's too bad that he had to leave so soon, I'm sure that a lot of you were dying to meet him afterwards

I'm going to one of the shows and I was just wondering what its like since it's all acoustic... even though its mostly piano, do people still dance during any of the songs? Or is it more of just enjoying the music in a chilled and relaxed way?

 

Either way, I'm suuuuper excited!!!

It was more chill than usual, but people were still dancing and clapping some, especially up front. Canadian gigs are usually chill, though, compared to say NYC or Europe.

Are you sure "Layla" isn't just a cover he made?

'Cause there is a song called "Layla", by Eric Clapton.. :/

It definitely wasn't the Eric Clapton song, although I suppose it could be a cover that it could be a cover that I'm just not familiar with...

That was such an awesome show. I've seen Mika 25+ times now, and there was nothing quite like that. I think the closest experience that I've had was the April 2009 secret gig at the Roxy. Or if you've seen footage from that Salt Lake City gig where his gear didn't arrive and he decided to just kinda wing it - it was like that.

The opening act was...interesting! It consisted of an ironing board set up at the front of the stage, adorned with old books, french anatomy posters and what appeared to be a taxidermy duck (lolwut?). Max and Curtis came out and did a random DJ set at the ironing board table. *blink*

The Gig

As we were getting ready to go in, the venue security came out and told us that My-ka (facepalm) said photos were okay, but that he didn't want anyone filming. I didn't think much of it until we got in the venue and the same announcement was repeated over the PA - twice. They said something along the lines of "The performer is excited to share these songs with you, but not with all of YouTube." At first I wasn't a hundred per cent sure that the request had come from Mika - but when he played Century Man, I figured that the request did indeed come from him. As others have said, in 2007 in NYC - which I believe is the only other time he's done Century Man - there was also a request for no filming. Hmm.

It was way more stripped down than the June 2009 acoustic tour; just him, Curtis and Max. The arrangements were so vastly different from what I've heard before that there were times when I didn't even realize what song he was playing for the first few bars.

The setlist:

Grace Kelly

Toy Boy

Lollipop

Blue Eyes

Billy Brown

Popular

Love You When I'm Drunk

Only Lonely One

Underwater

Stuck In The Middle

Elle Me Dit

New Song (Laya? Leia? Layla?)

Origin

Big Girl

Century Man

Celebrate

Love Today

Over My Shoulder

It was so vastly different from the little fall North American tour. That was a proper album promo tour; this was something different. Super intimate, and very much about the music. After the DJ ironing board table was removed, there was no set to speak of other than a bunch of ginormous light bulbs hanging over the stage. Mika's voice was amazing, in perfect form.

He completely re-jigged Popular, doing it at the piano. Back in NYC in October I felt that Popular was a little all over the place, because it sounded like he was replicating the CD version - this was just him at the piano. For Lollipop they started it and did the first half a capella. For Stuck In The Middle he told a story about how he studied tap dancing when he was a child, and that those tap rhythms had always stuck with him - and that was what he had in mind when he wrote SITM. He had Max and Curtis tapping out a tap rhythm with drumsticks on the piano - very cool.

The New Songs

He did Only Lonely One first, saying that he'd never done anything with it since he recorded the demo in Chiswick. It was very much like the version he did at the points gig in London.

I think he said the second new song was called Leia, Laya, maybe Layla...something like that? I'm not actually sure, as the sound was quite crap when he was speaking as the front row was actually ahead of the speaker stacks. He had a mic stand at centre stage and he jumped up and sat on the piano, pulling the mic stand close to him.

It's a very jazz-influenced number - imagine Pick Up Off The Floor meets Elton John's They Call It The Blues or something to that effect. Ooh! or like that Christmas song Santa Baby. Bum, ba-bum, bum, ba-bum!

I really wish we'd been able to record this one as it's very lyrically complex, and I'd love to sit down and work out the lyrics. The one part that repeated over and over that I remember was "I need you, that's all", repeated to fade out. It was like we were in some kind of smoky jazz club.

Century Man is classic early Mika, piano based and plinky plonky with a vaguely military beat. The chorus goes "I'm a Century Maaaaaan" with Mika going full voice for the first three words and then up into falsetto on "Man."

When I packed for this trip I made a point of leaving my passport at home, knowing full well that the Mika Magic tends to inspire feats of crazy - and I'm glad I did, or I'd be going to Portland. If last night was any indication, this tour is going to be very, very special indeed.

The venue was a nightclub, with a strict curfew so they could turn into their club night. Mika did indeed receive a piece of paper at 9:45 telling him that he had to be off stage in 15 minutes. He was all "At 15 minutes out they say 'Dear Mika, please wrap up in 15 minutes". By 10:00 it's all "dammit Mika, get off the f*@! stage!" Hehe. There was no encore, which is really unfortunate because people were going mental.

He closed the show with Over My Shoulder, which was such a treat. I was surrounded by Mika virgins, all of whom were spellbound when he hit the money notes. There were some people chatting at the back though, which is something I will never for the life of me comprehend.

He disappeared right after the gig, which is unfortunate as there were only about 15 people waiting for him.

I'll be back later with pics - my friends want breakfast and they're starting to look at me and lick their lips...

Yup, I don't believe anyone recorded anything. Before the gig security came and gave the "no filming" spiel to the queue. I didn't think much of it, but then that request was repeated twice inside the venue before the show. Mika referenced it too, saying something about that's why there was that request; because he was gonna mess it up. Sigh. I so wish we could have filmed!

Pics were okay though - I have at of those to put up in the morning .;

That was incredible! Even more stripped down than the June 2009 tour. He did Only Lonely One, the elusive Century Man(!) and a new song I think he said was called "Leia". Very jazzy, very awesome.

I'm glad I didn't pack my passport, or I'd "accidentally" be going to Portland...

Chillest queue evar! We didn't line up until 6, and we're front row centre! Such a cool little venue, only about 600ish people I think. It was so strange that there was no one there that around 5 we asked when doors were, and heard a bit of them sound checking Origin.

There's apparently a DJ coming on first as the support act - I hope so, as there's a DJ table at the front of the stage pretty much blocking the view of anything else. He's got a big black piano, not just a keyboard. And we're right up against the stage - no barrier!

Can't wait to see how this stripped down set goes. So excited!!!

I am so in love with this song :wub2:

I'm right there with you. So, so obsessed with this song.

I love it. That chorus is a thing of genius. He should write more with with this Hillary person!

I agree. I don't know who you are, Hillary, but you're my new favourite person!

I'm hearing "from the pieces that I've heard, I can build a symphony"

That sounds right, and it makes perfect sense. Love it.

Maybe it's (give me a little hope you feel the same)

That's what I thought, too.

I freakin' LOVE this song. It's my second fave after Step With Me.

I actually like the deep voice then the studio clip a lot, but I'm gonna wait for the rest before deciding which version I like more I'm kinda fangurling over the entire chorus

The more I listen to the studio clip the more I love it. That bass line...

*joins your fangurling and Deb's swooning*

Oh and "This love's delicious

Like home-cooked dishes I'm tasting mischievously."

What a lyric! To me, it brings to mind a late summer gathering of family and friends, tip-toeing up to the picnic table and dipping your finger in the whipped cream when no one else is looking. Love that! Drawing a parallel between that feeling and the feeling of being in love...well done, Mika. Gold star for you.

Found another video with much better sound:

 

[YOUTUBE]Num5sKj1ECk[/YOUTUBE]

 

So based on this, and the album sampler clip, I think I have nearly all the words now...

Thanks so much, Deb!

I absolutely love this song - specifically this version. It's better than the studio clip, methinks.

Anyone else just melting at the tone of his voice on the words "top it with a cherry?"

I'll be there! Can't wait. Any locals have any touristy tips for Chicago? I've never been.

Is there anyone with any clear shots or videos of the stage during the finale (Lollipop)? I was wearing a striped sailor-ish shirt that night, I have longer brown hair and I was carrying an upside down orange sign like a fool.

Hey Ali!

Sorry to hear about your friend. Having been a Lollipop Girl that night I scoured the internet for pics and vids of that finale, but I only ever came across these two videos:

Both videos are blurry (man, the difference four years makes in video technology!), but I do see a girl in a sailor-looking shirt in both.

thats all.. mika is tall.. his shoes are huge.. hes sweet and cute and i love him.

That made me LOL, for real. I'm so glad you got such a great Mika moment.

Now THAT hits the nail on the head. And that's why it's so sad. Sorry, but I've listened to this a lot now and I still say it is a total waste of what is a unique talent. Whereas I am not about to suddenly desert an artist I've liked since Day One just because of one song, I am also not the type of person who will blindly like (or convince myself to like) whatever an artist does just because it's them. I'll reserve my overall judgement until TOOL is out, and I hope there's some real musicianship on the album because quite honestly I feel someone who is classically trained and SO damn talented should not be stooping to this level.

I always said, even before TBWKTM came out, that Mika going all electronic and unleashing an army of Autotune and synthesizers would be it for me. I felt exactly as you do - that him going that route would be such a blatant waste of his talent and training that I couldn't possibly enjoy such a thing.

But...I love this song. You have to look at it not as Mika relying on all these electronic enhancements as a "waste" of his talent, but rather as him simply stretching his creative boundaries to try something different. Whether the end result of said creative stretching works for you or not is entirely subjective, of course.

After hearing this song, though, it's abundantly clear to me that this isn't a case of him using these effects to cover up for shortcomings in his talent (like, ahem, so many other artists these days). It's all done for creative reasons, and I'm really happy with the end result.

It reminds me of bands like Postal Service and Fun. that are very electro-heavy, but in a way that works. Or the song

What I like about this song is that it still sounds like "Mika" to me - even slightly, uh, augmented, his voice is still unmistakable and still draws me in. And yet it feels like absolutely the right progression. This song sounds like Mika in 2012, not Mika in 2007, which is what he needs. Music critic types would say he's "staying relevant", especially considering the current musical landscape these days.

Well done, Mika.

The lead singer (Nate?) is so much like Mika in his onstage mannerisms. Spooky! Watch from 0:46:

[YOUTUBE]wph3AupXMAE[/YOUTUBE]

I must go to sleep now, really

But first, look what I found... http://www.wat.tv/video/safinalmika-4yq3d_3lxp1_.html

It's only the first part, hope someone has and the second one too

 

Edit: and the second part http://www.wat.tv/video/safinalmika2-4yq49_3lxp1_.html

Wow!!!

I assume it's the same one.

OH my. I love it so much. We just have to hope he doesn't over-produce it.

So true. I'm simultaneously excited and horrified at the prospect of Overrated being on this album. Like I said in the Twitter Updates thread, the demo is absolutely perfect the way it is. If studio trickery "breaks" it I'll cry.

This is beautiful. I *so* can't wait until we get videos of him performing this at radio stations around the planet.

Thanks for posting!