marie-andrée de rougemont

You're kidding me ! I would have lit a bonfire with it in my eldest son's backyard ... I don't think it's the result of upbringing. On the contrary, good upbringing teaches you to accept presents graciously. I think it's more a psychological thing, he doesn't realise how much he gives us because giving is second nature to him so he does it without realising how incredibly generous he is, and when we want to give something back to him he just can't understand why. All the fans did lecture him about it then but I think that what made him see he couldn't refuse was when I told him that denying people the pleasure to give was a very ungenerous thing to do ; you could read on his face that he had got the message and accepted it for true. We are not only the fans of a hugely talented musician but of a very special person too...

Looking at the picture, I can't help thinking that it looked way better standing on a Persian carpet. Not that my mother would have stopped at giving it to him too, but I would definitely have stopped at carrying it, on a train, then the underground !

Thanks, Suze, you're a genius. I gave it to Mica on behalf of my mother. I hope he liked it as much as he was obviously touched by her gesture. But then, he has always been so adorable with her, she felt it was a very poor way to thank him for his great kindness.

I have to buy 4 badges for a friend tonight, anybody going there yesterday see them at the merchansiding stall ?

The ball is on Suzy's side of the court now, you should get a pic of the painting in the minutes to come. Must feel good not to be illiterate !

Must have it in an email but can't seem to be able to attach files to my posts here. If you pm me your email address I should be able to send it to you and then you have my blessing to post it for everybody to see...

Well, it does hurt your eyes a bit but still he can get away with outfits that would be lethal on anybody else. M.-Th.

Definitely Mica accepting M.-A.'s painting. The second one is when I told him that refusing presents was a very ungenerous thing to do, that's why he is looking sheepish... and has to accept it. Antoine, you did promise to erase or hide me !

Wouldn't we all ! M.-Th.

Hardly a full report, and anyway Biche is supposed to write for us all a brilliant one in English... Paris these days, mad weather, sunny and stiffling one minute, freezing rain the other. My mother had asked me to deliver to Mica a painting she wanted to give him, a rather pretty circus scene that I had grown to hate with a passion because it is bulky and travelling with it was hell. I arrived at the theatre around 14h50, all the way from Villejuif with my stupid painting wrapped up carefully, all the time looking up at the sky because I didn't want it to get wet -I didn't hate it that much. The extra musicians were getting out of their taxis, soon grumbling about the difference between classical bands -rehearsals at 3 means 3 sharp- and pop ones -rehearsals at 3 means expect us when you see us-. We eventually were given admittance to a side door and there was John D., together with at most 15 fans who were expecting Mica. I wanted to give the painting and accompanying letter to John but he told me to wait with the others. Mica arrived, round half past I suppose, very relaxed and friendly, happy to talk French with his fans. I gave him the painting and he first refused to accept it, saying it was too much, etc. He did seem to like it though, and it kind of made me feel warmer towards the bleeding thing. Funny how Mica, who is such a generous and gracious giver, still feels uncomfortable about receiving... So we all started to lecture him, affectionately but firmly, about the necessity to accept gifts, the basic ungenerosity of refusing others the pleasure to give... so he had no choice but accepting and I ran away, just wishing him a good rehearsal, to spare us both further embarrassment. Then the fans chatted for at least an hour in front of the venue. It felt funny to hear people not speak English... I went back to my elder son's home, and picked up my frigging sanbag tickets round 7.30. No cameras allowed, folks, sorry, Sophie had hers retained at the box office desk. I put my Sadler's Wells Venice mask on, it has grown on me and I am bound to be known from now on as the midget in the silly mask... a young guy congratulated me on it though. I was happy to have a third row seat as nobody thought that the stupid hats on the musicians' heads blocked the view in a venue where the first row is level with the rink. Hopefully tonight somebody will think ? I had a view over the VIP seats, first and second row to my left. Louboutin arrived late, looking his usual sulky and pained self -come on, Christian, your shoes must be very painful to wear, but is it that painful to design them too ? At the beginning of the show he sat there, apparently slightly bored, but in all fairness he soon began to shake it, heartily if clumsily, with everybody else. Mica's big sister and his father were there too, obviously happy and proud, and they had every reason to. During the gig, when Mica was particularly energetic or insane, or when his voice took us up to Heaven, his father shook his head in amazement, exactly like Mica at the Parc des Princes, you know, when he looks at the crowd ? There is very little likeness between a fiftyish well-padded guy and a skinny 25 year old, still at that precise moment, especially as when they smile both Michaels have deep, happy dimples in their cheeks, the father looked uncannily and touchingly like his son's identical twin -sorry, I couldn't resist ! Mica gave it all, and so did the audience. We were spoilt with three encores... as far as I know, a record so far. Anyway he had to, or the venue would have collapsed and there would have been heavy casualties. I stage invaded for the first time in my life but stayed behind, not wanting to make Mica feel harassed. A middle aged girl came and sat on Id3's godson's free seat -he had adamantly refused to go to the gig without his godfather- and she didn't move or get up at all for the whole concert. Weird. She must have been the only one. On the other side of the rink was a nine-ish blond little girl who danced with unbelievable energy and talent. When she has got rid of her baby fat she might become a great ballet dancer ! Bye, guys, can't wait to read proper reports. Marie-Thérèse

I was not slaughtering anybody, but when you work for a company, you are the company. If she is good at her work and they are hopeless, let her find another job where her talents won't be wasted. If I nearly died of food poisoning I wouldn't expect the chef to come and cry on my shoulder, sobbing that he does his best not to kill the people who eat there but that I have no idea how difficult it is to find a reliable butcher. I demand to get what I paid for, and that wasn't having to arrive at the venue hours before to get the tickets that should have been sent to me, registered, at least two weeks before the concerts. Marie-Thérèse

So have I... bet yours is not as heavy as mine though : my mum asked me to bring a painting -big, bulky !- to Mica. Where will you be sitting ? See you then, M.-Th.

Send it to me in a pm then, the French version, and we'll work something out together... deal ? Marie-Thérèse

I am such a good person ! I have found a way for sandbag to get out of the mess they have put themselves -and their customers- into. Hereafter the email I have just sent to Helen : Quote You know what ? I am going to help you out of the mess you in sandbag have put yourself into... The only professional way to compensate to a very small extent, your not meeting the terms of the contract would be to send a sandbag employee to Paris and set up a desk where all the ticketless customers would pick up theirs without having to queue up. But you won't, and you know why ? Of course you do, it was a rhetorical question. Because there are no more tickets to sell. You were present at Sadler's Wells because it was not really a sold out gig, there were still profits to make. There won't be in Paris so you are going to let us fend for ourselves. Sweet and professional. And as you seem to be a lovely person, I will also give you a piece of free advice. Don't you ever whine about the difficulties of your job with people you have put in a mess. It is very badly received. We are the ones entitled to do the complaining. Marie-Thérèse Dubus cc. Mika Fan Clug forums / The Cirque d'Hiver gig thread Unquote M.-Th.

Are you just being coy, or joking, or are you really uncomfortable about it ? If so, send it to me in a pm and then you can criticize the bad bad translation I have produced... M.-Th.

Well they should bloody have respected the selling contract -pity they can't spell the word, let alone know what it means- as we didn't pay for queuing up, we paid for registered post sent at the latest two weeks before the gigs. Helen, from not sandwich, sandbag is better as it is what I feel like hitting them with... had the nerve to send me a whining email telling me about her difficulties and how hard they worked to help people out. Can't Mika Management hire professionals ? I am considering starting a thread where anybody who had ticket issues will send a short post stating the facts, then send copies of it to them so that they try to work with another company for further tours. See you in Paris ? Area A, row C. Back or front ? As John D said on Monday, giggling , you never know until you have found your seat... Marie-Thérèse

Not being paranoid -well, not much... I can't believe I am the only one NOT to have received her tickets for the June 11th and 12th shows. Now Sandbags who kept sending comforting emails to complaints have now become incommunicado -they have probably run away in terror, there are a few people ready either to slaughter them or sue their balls off, as they never respected their contract with the ticket buyers. Has anybody in the same situation any idea how we'll get admittance to the venue ? Would hate to do 800 km then back just to watch the outside of the place -very cute but still... Marie-Thérèse

A big collective THANK YOU to all of you who posted a report. I would feel silly writing one more as you have done it beautifully. What struck me -apart from what you all have described so well- is the fact that Mica, a few times, was being Mika, not the mannerisms of an untalented artist, of course, but more as a wink thing towards his audience : 'Looks familiar ? I thought so !'. He looked and I am sure felt incredibly comfortable with the crowd, the feedback was unbelievable but in a relaxed, friendly way. I am still feeling its warmth hours later. Very generous show too. Two encores ! Actually I went back after the first curtain because I didn't want to get lost from my friends who were sitting in the side galleries so made my way to them. There J. Penniman was filming the gig and I found it difficult to take my eyes off her -sorry, Mica ! She is the most elegant mover in the history of time, she makes even the boring and exhausting job of filming look like a ballet... She looked gorgeous is a very stylish and minimalist black dress. Very few dark women can get away with wearing black. She most certainly does. After the last curtain I told her, still with that happy grin on my face -but to be honest, she had one too so we were even- : 'Every time we see him on stage we think he can't get better or go higher and then, the next time, he does...'. She thanked me graciously, adding : 'Oh, but he still has a long way to go.'. Deal, we'll go there with him ! Paris now, tickets not arrived yet, I luuuuve Sandbag... if it were a guy I would marry it. Marie-Thérèse

Who cares... The pictures are brilliant and capturing any link is beyond my expertise, so I am mightily impressed . Actually more impressed than if she had taken them herself . Marie-Therese

Nothing connected with Mica can ever be tiny as he is larger than life . And you captured brilliantly that mischievous air he had on his face as if to tell his audience : we have been buddies so long now, you know me, I know you, we understand one another so well, we can play games together and we love it, don't we ! M.-Th.

Darklight, can't wait for your report ! Marie-Therese

Too lazy to write a full report, and English keyboards are a curse, but there might be a few Pisces born on the rebound of that magical night . I must say that Aurelien manhandling Sariflor unto the stage and grabbing her by her rear end when he realised she was slipping back is an image I am going to cherish until the day I die . And reading now that she hit on Fortune, who is a notorious -if budding- lady killer gives me severe apprehension . Last but not least, Freddie, as befitted his role as an adm, was most friendly with quite a few female MFCers... midwives, watch out for slightly bald, very tall and cutely love-handled babies . M.-Th.

Yes, it did feel like half a dozen, didn't it ? We are so greedy we always want more ! M.-Th.