lollipopgirl99

Looking forward to tonight!

Just got here! There's a bit of line but not much.

Awesome! Thanks for the update, @Aayame. Hopefully I'll see some of you there!

Can't wait for the show and to see everyone there! I'll be making my way over there soon. Anyone got a count of about how many people are already queuing outside?

Thanks!

I was there around 2 PM but most of the front row came at 4 or even 6 PM. Very relaxed queueing indeed!

Thanks for letting us know, @tiibet!

So I guess 4 pm would be a good time. What does everyone else think?

A fellow MFCer who attended the San Fran gig said that MFCers who were at the front of the line got there at around 2 pm.....

So.... are we planning on queuing before the gig? If so, what time was everyone thinking?

ok everyone saying it will rain tomorrow and not sure about when to arrive... i have no idea what to do... help

dont want to go and be there by myself....

I prefer going as late as possible too...

Same with me! I'm contemplating when to get there now... (and I also don't want to be standing there alone). I was thinking about 12, but sitting in the rain for 8 hours doesn't sound very pleasing to me....

How late were you guys thinking of getting there?

Does anyone know how to get tickets to see Mika perform on Jay Leno next week? He just tweeted that he'll be performing on the show after his LA gigs and I would love the chance to see him on the show, especially since I missed him on Leno the last time he toured the west coast. Thanks!

....Just checked the forecast for Sunday's weather....and it's not as pretty as I thought it'd be....

Are you guys still going to queue that early if it's raining?

Thanks Mari for the info

 

I'm still not sure when we should get there. I'm hoping 11-12 is not late so we could all be first row Hmmmm sounds good though...

Last tour we came as early as 9am but i REALLY don't feel like doing that again... LOL

Yeah, I'd like to get there as early as possible so we can all be in the front row, too. I agree that getting up that early (~9 am) to stand in line in the early morning would be kind of exhausting. haha. So hopefully 11-12ish will work out for us. So, I'm guessing we're aiming for 11-12 as a general consensus?

So excited! 4 more days, guys!

(Oh, and does anyone know how parking is around the venue by any chance?...)

ONE MORE WEEK GUYS. ONE MORE WEEK.

!!!!!

Still cannot believe it's just around the corner!

Can't wait to see everyone there.

:woot_jump:

(Oh and 11-12-ish sounds good to me. Is anyone planning on getting there any earlier than that?)

Same dilemma with me. The ticketmaster price is not as attractive as the presale... and I wouldn't want to miss out on a second night with Mx, especially since he's been gone for 3 years... But I think I'll wait to see how fast tickets start to go for the 2nd night before I think about purchasing....

Are any of you guys also buying tickets for the 2nd show at the Fonda in LA? I don't know whether or not I should purchase tickets

Is anyone here also buying tickets for the 2nd show at the Fonda in LA?? I don't know if I should buy another set of tickets or not...

Has anyone gotten the email for the LA presale yet? There are a bunch of people who have said they've gotten it on the FB page, but I still haven't gotten mine.

If anyone has the presale password, can they please message it to me? I would REALLY appreciate it!! I can also give you my personal email address if you'd like to forward the email to me.

Is Mika actually performing at the Olympics??!!

Thank you everyone for all the amazing pictures! And for all the video footage! Mika looks absolutely fantastic! What a powerful performance! Such a beautiful collaboration between all the artists. Would like to see more of these type of events where talented musicians get together to raise awareness about noteworthy causes. Brilliant performance! BRAVO! :biggrin2:

I'm glad so many good photos are coming out of this gig because I wanted to kick the photographers at the time for getting in the way. They were totally intrusive for several songs and not just the standard two. One was using a stepladder and another left so much gear on the stage that Mika tripped over it.

I remember when that happened. It was at the beginning of the show in the opening song for Relax. I saw him trip over something belonging to the cameramen, but couldn't see what it exactly was because all the other cameramen were blocking my view. Didn't know they were using a stepladder...

Thanks for posting. Such exciting news. Do you know if this is only for fans in the UK? Or will it work for fans in the US as well?

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114105196

Mika: In Pursuit of Pure Pop

October 25, 2009 - Lebanese-American singer-songwriter Mika gained worldwide attention in 2007 with his debut single ("Grace Kelly") and album (Life in Cartoon Motion), which blends the influences of '40s stage and screen music, '60s feel-good pop and Elton John-style songs of the '70s. He's hoping to duplicate that album's success — it has sold more than 5 million copies — with The Boy Who Knew Too Much.

But Mika's early life was far from a happy-go-lucky pop song. In 1984, when he was a year old, his family was evacuated from Lebanon to escape the civil war there. During his school years, he suffered from severe dyslexia and says he was bullied by a teacher and his classmates. Today, however, he's considered a rising star.

The Boy Who Knew Too Much features a collaboration with singer Imogen Heap on a delicate and dreamy song called "By the Time."

"She's very talented," Mika says. "She's very connected to the tools she uses. She's a very tech-savvy artist who kind of weaves together her songs. I met her, thought her hair was amazing, and I told her that. We ended up working together two days later."

Mika says there's great power in the pop music he admires and hopes to make.

"I am totally unapologetic about pop music," he says. "I think, 'How could anybody mock a good pop song?' It is timeless; it transcends barriers; it breaks down every single type of social barrier that you can possibly have. It can deal with the most difficult subjects, even if it abstracts the subject matter."

What a nice review!!! Love it. Thanks. What's that about the puppet being a Mini Mika though, I thought that he looked ugly and evil

I don't know why the critic called the puppet a mini-Mika. It looked nothing like him. It had black, straight hair, not brown, curly hair. I thought it was supposed to symbolize Toy Boy because that was the song Mika played while the puppet was onstage. I think the critic just got it wrong.

I was lucky enough to have been able to see Mika perform last night at the Hollywood Palladium. One of his best performances! Here's a review I found online for the show. http://soundcheck.freedomblogging.com/2009/10/24/mika-delivers-over-the-top-fun-at-colorful-palladium-show/13469/

Here it is:

Mika delivers over-the-top fun at colorful Palladium show

The first sign that this would be a unique show came just after entering the Hollywood Palladium lobby.

People lined up there to get free balloons twisted in the shape of animals, fruit bowls, etc. Many concert-goers seemed to have raided their closets for the brightest attire possible. One young woman had a large black plastic butterfly attached to her back; her male companion sported tiny shorts and striped leggings. Others were seen wearing pajamas and metallic orange wigs.

Mika simply seems to bring out the kids in all his fans.

No surprise there, considering the Paris- and London-raised singer born Michael Penniman (seen here in a 2008 performance at his birthplace, Beirut) based the lyrics from his 2007 debut Life in Cartoon Motion on childhood experiences. Filled with giddy dance-pop, the album was a major success in the U.K. and Europe, where it sold over 5 million copies and nabbed a BRIT Award. In America, however, Motion only reached the 350,000 mark (although the single “Grace Kelly” moved half a million downloads) and Mika’s latest effort, The Boy Who Knew Too Much, opened at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Musically and thematically, the new work picks up where the last one left off, exploring more adolescent themes alongside still more elaborate storybook-illustration artwork, partially designed by Mika and his sister. The boisterous single “We Are Golden,” featuring the Andre Crouch Choir, is climbing the Hot Dance Club Songs tally and has been ubiquitous in promo ads on cable channel Teen Nick.

Appropriately, Friday night’s pre-show music included “Wooden Heart” by Elvis Presley (more on that later). Before Mika took the stage, a couch, lamp and flat screen TV mysteriously stood in front of the Palladium stage curtain.

Vegas-type lounge music played as members of Mika’s band slowly appeared for a skit. They sat down, conversed, had drinks and watched an old ’60s sitcom. The broadcast was interrupted by a faux news report about a space shuttle launch accident with a civilian on board. Smoke plumes shot out at the audience, the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey played, and an oversized spaceman walked across a platform — who undressed to reveal Mika standing barefoot underneath a few dozen planets.

The 90-minute set started with an exuberant “Relax (Take it Easy)” as wild fans pogoed to the rhythm. Mika –- now clad in a half-checked, half-striped, black-and-white jacket and trademark white pants, plus a green stripe strategically painted on his cheek –- worked the entire stage.

The bouncy, bass-led “Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)” celebrates voluptuous women — so three full-figured ladies shimmied behind the band as it played the tune. Mika, a classically trained pianist, comfortably transitioned between that instrument and connecting with followers packed in front of the stage. He scatted a bit and simulated a trumpet using his hand and mouth on a version of “Stuck in the Middle” that verged on ragtime.

Early in the evening, the vocalist told fans: “You caught us all in daft moods.” How could they not be with this music?

Mika put on a glow-in-the dark top hat for the joyful “Dr. John,” about a soothsayer, and busted a few impressive dance moves during “Touches You,” reminiscent of George Michael’s “Father Figure.” There were some dollops of drama nestled between all the high energy and Mika’s marvelous falsetto (notably during “Happy Ending,” highlighted by several sustained notes).

A pair of infectious Latin-tinged songs (“Blue Eyes,” “Blame It on the Girls”) worked well live, the latter leading to a audience-participation battle. In another skit, Mika opened a large suitcase and pulled out a small puppet, which eventually became a full-sized one holding a mini wooden version of the performer. “We Are Golden” was a pure adrenaline rush and ended the main set.

For the encores, Mika quietly played the nursery rhyme-styled “Toy Boy” on piano as the titular marionette moved in the background and brought that Elvis song from 1960’s G.I. Blues back to mind. “Grace Kelly” brought the house down, of course, and then Mika banged on a metal trash can for the silly, heavily percussive “Lollipop,” giving it an added Caribbean flair.

Many performers think they know how to put on a fun concert. They’ve got nothing on Mika, a true showman who revels in playfulness.

British newcomer Gary Go opened with a pleasant half-hour of adult pop from his eponymous first album that came out earlier this year. The soaring, heartfelt ballads are impressive, often bringing to mind Coldplay and David Gray.

Playing keyboards while accompanied by an acoustic guitarist, Go’s set featured some cool vocal and rhythmic looping; he even did “Brooklyn” using his iPhone. But the intimate textures of Go’s music tended to get lost in the big venue. Despite a valiant attempt to win over the crowd, most of them incessantly chattered away, though “Black & White Days,” “Engines” and “Wonderful” managed to rise above the din. Overall, Go is one to watch — preferably somewhere else, like the Wiltern or House of Blues.

So around what time is everyone planning on getting there...?

Yeah, I want to know this as well. Am going to aim for early afternoon, but am not sure.