Statue_of_Liberty

I *think* it was because the background singers were too late. They only went on stage when Mika was already singing. He turned around to them and gestured to touch a watch (you know this typical 'YOU ARE TOO LATE!'-thing), other than that I didn't notice any mistake. I think it's good they decided to leave out GK rather than other songs, because a) he needs promo more for his new than his old songs and b ) this way they didn't show my major fangurling-attack during GK

Let me get this straight: The show is two hours long, very interesting and the tour is starting this week and I still have to go to work? How on earth am I suppossed to manage my time now? I'll need an assistant! First world problems deluxe! But honestly, I have no idea when I find time to watch it but I'm really looking forward to it! to the subtitiling-team already!

I'm so easy to get! After Lokeren I moaned a lot and was worried I wouldn't want to travel anymore. Well, now he's got me back. I was very lucky because I decided to leave my good spot after the rehearsal to catch him at the backstage exit. And all it took was his warm 'Hi, how are you?' to get me back in full fangurl-mode. Since I had left my spot in the audience I witnessed his first performance staring at a white wall and the second standing around somewhere near the backstage exit. But I don't mind, I got more than I could have asked for! During rehearsals no one cared if I used my system camera so I did that and took some nice pictures. After a while my memory card was full so I had to switch and use the normal camera. I uploaded the pictures here: http://s745.photobucket.com/user/Statue_of_Liberty/library/Mika%20in%20Mol%2015th%20August%202015 I took some funny and some good ones. But let me just share this one:

Thanks everybody for all the info! My Dutch is too bad to get any kind of proper information out of their facebook-site

I thought about that as well and yes, it possibly has to do with his decision to not stop. I read that Milow met his fans so at some point it must have been possible, but if they say Mika it's not possible... He did have some eye contact with people he knows and he knows that they always wait. And he shouldn't be surprised that we wait for him. He should know better Of course I don't know what he does on purpose and what not. I don't *want* to feel that way. But somehow that feeling just pops up every now and then. Maybe I'm a bit paranoid about that too. I keep remembering that toilets! I demand them on EVERY festival from now on! Actually, I would love to but I don't really know how to that the easy way. If I figure out a way to or have time to do it differently I'll post a link here. I was surprised those pics turned out so well this time! Doesn't work at all gigs. I guess it's got to do with my position and lighting. But in general I found out if I use sport mode it works better than in automatic mode. He's just way too agile to take decent pictures.

Did someone share this rather bad review already? http://www.demorgen.be/muziek/mika-valt-uit-de-toon-na-eerste-dag-lokerse-feesten-a2410252/ I can only use google translator, maybe a native speaker could translate the interesting part for real? Mika valt uit de toon na eerste dag Lokerse Feesten Mika: te jong om al passé te zijn ©alex vanhee SHARE Mika zong zijn feelgoodsongs ontzettend slordig, en de band waarmee hij zich omringde speelde flets en routineus ©alex vanhee Milow kreeg in 2007 plots de kans van zijn leven toen Mika (**) ter elfder ure moest afzeggen voor Rock Werchter, en hij als jonge beginneling mocht invallen. Vrijdag stonden ze voor het eerst samen op de affiche, maar eerlijk: vandaag zijn ze meer dan ooit elkaars gelijken. Mika - nog altijd maar 31- toonde zich in Lokeren een gedreven performer. Iemand met uitstraling, die op de koop toe wist hoe je een wereldhit moest schrijven. En inderdaad: 'Grace Kelly' - altijd gedurfd om met je grootste classic te openen- 'Relax (Take It Easy)', 'Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)' en 'We Are Golden' gaven allemaal present. Heerlijke feelgoodsongs die perfect pasten op een stralende zomernacht. Alleen: Mika zélf zong ze ontzettend slordig, en de band waarmee hij zich omringde speelde flets en routineus. Dankzij het prachtige decor, waarbij kleurige wolkenkrabbers een dromerige skyline nabootsten- oogde het allemaal wel prachtig. Maar je hoorde lang niet altijd wat je zag. Zo liepen er meer dan eens vooropgenomen achtergrondkoortjes mee, die op de koop toe slecht in de livemuziek werd gemixt. Daardoor duurde het opvallend lang voor Mika het publiek meekreeg. Veel volk nochthans op de Grote Kaai, en ze bleken de hits ook létterlijk uit het hoofd te kennen. Maar toen na 'Love Today' geen bisronde volgde, leek niemand dat heel erg te vinden. Mika is nog wat jong om al passé te zijn, en je voelde aan alles dat hij het kon. Alleen: hoogtijd om te herbronnen.

I uploades my pictures You can find the album here: http://s745.photobucket.com/user/Statue_of_Liberty/library/Mika%20at%20Lokerse%20Feesten%2031s%20July%202015 I especially like those pics: during Staring at the Sun I FINALLY caught the jump this time - but thanks to my perspective it looks like he doesn't have feet

I'm considering to come to Mol as well since it's so close. Is there any kind of schedule or do we know when the event will start / when Mika is on? Does someone know more about the show?

I'm not too much into festivals in general because they can always be a bit tricky. But I felt I should go to Lokerse Feesten since it seems to be the closest gig to my place these days. And I could host MFC-friends which I was looking forward to since my last homegig in Berlin in 2010. Since I have left Berlin and Mika doesn't come to Germany anymore Belgium was the closest it could be, I guess So apart from hosting friends and having a nice roadtrip I'm a bit disappointed with the festival and Mika. The strange line-up has been mentioned before. I actually got really mad about that rap band since I never asked for a shower or bottle falling on my shoulder. Bands should know how to behave. Then the audience will be nice as well, I'll always try to give any act a chance but they were bad. I liked the punk rock band, though. It's not my kind of music (obviusly ), but they were really friendly! Anyway, Mika. His performance was average compared to other shows I have seen. He didn't *get* the audience which I really don't blame on him. There were little fails like him messing up some lyrics or some misunderstandings. I never mind noticing that, I actually like to see him reacting spontaneously and he usually does that with a lot of charisma. But I guess he doesn't like it which I can understand and which obviously doesn't improve his mood. His setlist wasn't very special either, it felt like I had heard it twenty times before. As most of us here, I like his songs and performances and love to witness it, but I had the same feeling as in Ostrava: Do something new, surprise me! That's moaning on a high level, I know that. Only people who can go to many gigs would think that way. And of course since it was a festival it's not the right place to try many new songs like it was in Cattolica. And I did hear Staring at the Sun live for the first time and liked it. I loved his outfit btw! I didn't get any eye contact while people around me did get it. Again, that was the same in Ostrava. After the gig we went to the backstage exit and security didn't try to tell us he had been gone already which I found really nice. It was quite late and we waited for a long time. Between 3 and 3:30 security tried to convince us that Mika left some minutes ago. But we were there all the time. We couldn't believe he would just leave without even a wave when seeing us waiting for him in the middle of a cold night. But he obviously did that. He could have found a way to let us know he wouldn't see us. Or wave. Well, when we left we weren't happy and our mood didn't improve when we saw his tweet about a newspaper article. For me the contact with him and the band is part of the fun. I didn't get that twice in a row. I'm fine with not getting the complete 'package' of contact during the gig, a great crowd, a flawless Mika in a good mood and perfect m&g afterwards. But not getting any of this doesn't feel good. It's completely up to him how he treats his fans of course. I'm not demanding anything. I just love the goodies he's been giving us all along the way and they're part of the fun for me. But I have the feeling that Mika is changing the way he's going and I'm not sure if I want to go that way with him. There's no point for me in travelling to see the same show again and again and again. I've had that with another band and liked it for a couple of times a year. But I wouldn't want to travel for that. If he decides to go a way where he focuses on new (and very young) fans and isn't into that kind of contact he used to have with his long-time-fans that's fine. But he might eventually lose some of them. And I could be one of them. That I realized yesterday. I'm still hoping for the upcoming tour to convince me otherwise. I have experienced two big tours so far and both happened to intensify my fangurling over Mika. So there is hope! Having said all of that, at first glance it looked like I took some good pictures. I'll share them today or tomorrow.

For me it doesn't work either.

So I guess we can add London, 19th Oct at least here

Thank you, Mari!

Sooo, here it is: d/l Interview BBC Radio 5 https://www.sendspace.com/file/semgnf (I hope! ) Excuse my giggles. Couldn't help it at some points.

What was that other story he kept changing the times of? I just remember that there was something else that was getting longer and longer the more often he tod that thing.

I recorded the BBC Radio 5 interview. But so far I seem to be unable to upload the file just here. It shouldn't be too big but there's an error all the time I'll figure out a way to share if no one's faster here.

Is there a link where one can watch live? I mean, is it something to watch or is it radio? Will it be in French or English (the interview if there is any, the rest must be French obviously )

Well... I have some rather weird pics of him. When he's focused on singing and I press the button in the wrong moment he can look very funny. I tend not to use those kind of pics because I wouldn't upload pictures of myself in that situation and because I've experienced that there are people who have used my pics to discuss body parts or really stupid things that I wouldn't like to be in focus. But this one is alright, I guess. It's still funny and not embarrassing. And he's pretty enough to deal with one funny pic within 67 others

So in between all this perfect album-madness I've found some minutes to report about the brilliant happenings in Milan. Even though q-ing was long and rainy-cold and sunburn-hot it was lovely meeting so many well-known and new faces. And the queue was very well-organised. A huge thank you to everybody in charge for that, you did a great job! Mika was in great mood. I really wonder how he can do this. I mean, he's been so busy lately that I'm having trouble to keep up with everything he's doing, let alone doing something like that myself. There was loads of eye-contact. It wasn't the usual checking-who's-there-look during the second songs. It was more another way of communication. I loved that! I guess, at some point every single person in the crowd had the feeling he was singing this very song just for themself. What more could you hope for? My personal highlight was Stardust. It's one of my favourite songs from TOOL. I didn't know that it wasn't on the setlist but it felt so special anyway. I adore that song and its Italian bits in that version, so it felt magical to hear it live and sing along. Speaking of singing along: The audience was so LOUD! They sang along every single word. That brought a good vibe. At the same time it was a little disturbing at some points, especially during slower and rather quiet songs like Happy Ending. My other highlight was clearly Last Party. I'm not tearing up easily, but this time it made me cry. Blame it on Mika! Mika obviously liked the fan-action including stars and hearts. I'm not sure if he noticed the masks in the beginning, since there were MANY press people. Then again, I didn't see properly so I've got no idea if he saw it or not. Since he was that much into interaction in Milan, he also made us dance by showing us moves and we did them. That works out easily while you're waving and things like this. But he actually made us spin. I've uploaded my pictures here: http://s745.photobucket.com/user/Statue_of_Liberty/library/Mika%20in%20La%20Fabrique%20Milan%2010th%20June%202015This time I had some light-problems, I thought that the spot was very intense so in most of my pictures Mika looks very pale Here are some of my favourites: (Some pics might be doubled if you follow the link. Will fix that asap, currently experiencing wifi-problems XD)

Mellody, even if it's a dangerous area: Don't fight two hardcore-fans with too much adrenaline and a lack of sleep! Oh, I'm excited about the whole thing to start again At one point someone has to tell me where I sleep again but other than that: I'm ready!

Hi there! I have got 5 spare tickets for Zurich. I'll give them away for the price I paid, of course. They are pre-sale tickets so you'd need to pick them up at the box office on gig day. If you're interested in less than five tickets I'd still give away one or two tickets but you'd have to meet up with possible other buyers as the box office will give all five tickets to one person. Edit: Tickets are gone.

Thank you to everyone involved to make this pre-sale possible! I can hardly imagine how much work this must be!

You're all more than welcome!

I finally got to upload my video of the m&g. I guess, most of you have already seeing Mika's talking but still:

So I'm at the bus station already in preperation to see some bits of Canada. But all I can think of is that I don't want to lose last night's feeling It was so lovely meeting so many new MFCers and friends I've gained throughout my Mika-time. You guys are a huge part of what makes all the travels worth it and I can only shout out a huge THANK YOU! Oh and there was Mika and three gigs with a huge orchestra, I think What a special and amazing experience that was! Before the first gig I was a bit worried since the dancing, singing along and taking pictures is a big part of the ususal fun for me and that was forbidden. But oh, do even Mika's songs (they're great already!) win when played by an orchestra. That simply blew me away! I especially liked those songs that started off with just his voice and ended up with the orchestra on full throttle. I've always liked Underwater for example. But when the whole orchestra, the choir, Mika and the backing singers play and sing its chorus it feels like a wave is hitting and catching you and you get pulled underwater yourself. I've never been good in interpreting music but this was just too good and well-done for me not to notice. Perfect! Happy Ending made me admire his talent. I wasn't even as teary as many around me (I see you MFC! ). I just admired his ability to sing and to feel it. I don't think he performed that much. Performing is something rather concious to me at least. He felt what he was singing. That you could tell. And also I like the new songs. My favourite of those has got to be Good Guys. I fell for it as soon as I saw his proud chuckles when he noticed the audience's reaction to 'Where have all the gay guys gone?' To see him this at ease with himself and his lyrics makes me really happy! And oh I love the start of this. Some songs like Good Guys, but also Boum Boum Boum and EMD had a beginning that just got you. You were right into it. I'm so looking forward to the new album I can't even describe it. And I need a tour! I don't know how often I told that yesterday to several people. I'm sorry if I got annoying at one point. I had missed Mika perform. A lot. I really hope that this special week wasn't a break of his performing-break, but the end of it! A special thanks again to Deb for organising another great M&G and for the precious self she is And to the MFC in general: I hated to say good byes. But as bad those were I hope we can expect the coming "Hellos" to just as good! Edit: Grinning at the station when thinking of this week. The others must think I'm mad I filmed a part of Mika's 'speech' during the m&g. If I get to work at my computer and the wi-fi is stable enough I'll upload it during my bus ride. This wasn't just to us lucky ones being there but to all MFC

I'm kind of relieved you all understood Rimbaud and not Rambo - that would have been weird! Also he doesn't sing 'batman'. I listened carefully last night and nope, that was something different! And I got the first part completed now I THINK (not quite sure about everything): ... To the heroes when I was 14 years old, To that romance that was dressed up in gold. Only hoping that one day I could be so bold.