That was me! It was lovely to meet you and chat with you too in the queue! Sumiko2 and I both looked for you when we got inside the building - neither of us had realised that you hadn't been able to get inside at the same time as us and were therefore still outside; we'd thought you'd joined another queue by one of the other doors! Hope to meet you again at another show in the future!
Well, my here's my report - first off, I thought Erik Hassle was really good, so it made the wait for Mika less painful!
I was lucky to have got to the second row just in front of where Mika's piano was on the stage, can't complain, was worth the long wait in the cold, lol! When he finally came on, the cold and the sore feet/back seemed to just evaporate, I just felt euphoric. Being so bloody short, if I hadn't got that close to the front, I'd only have seen people's backs so it was fantastic to see him and so close too!
This was my first time at one of his gigs on this tour (and won't be seeing him again for a few months now) so it was really exciting to see this new set and hear him singing his new stuff live, amongst the old favourites! He said at one point that there was a technical issue but TBH I hadn't noticed anything wrong - maybe those who've seen the show several times would've been able to have picked up on it, but otherwise I don't think it was that obvious (or maybe I'm just not very observant!?)
I felt that his voice was really good, which after so many shows, is impressive. He seemed 'fresh' and in really good (even high?) spirits too which was lovely. He also interacted/chatted with the audience a lot I thought (don't know how this compares with other shows at other venues??). I was pleasantly surprised at how long the set lasted. The band were great - loved Cherisse's big hair and Imma's lovely dress and also her colourful net skirt she changed into later.
I would love to have been able to dance more - when standing, there really isn't the room to do anything too 'expansive' (which I'd forgotten until we got inside the auditorium and remembered of course people are standing very close to each other), not without accidentally punching/taking out the eye/stomping on the feet etc of anyone in the vicinity LOL! So just had to hold arms up waving, jump up and down a bit and tried to be 'restrained' but I really desperately just wanted to 'let go'!!
I hung around outside until about 11.15 but then got paranoid about catching my bus and getting to my hotel so decided to leave. I knew I'd regret this decision and, boy, do I regret it or what???? Why, oh why did I do that?! I'd been so looking forward to having the chance to 'meet' or at least see him outside the venue at this show, but then I just panicked about getting to the bloody hotel...I need my brain examining. Oh well, I'll have to save this opportunity for another time...
All in all, the show was amazing (although TBH I'm not totally convinced about the need for the masks, interesting as they are, on the BG's and LG's...) - wasn't expecting anything less of course, but nevertheless, it's good when expectations are met (and exceeded!).
Been listening to Mika this evening VERY LOUDLY, lol, to relive my fantastic time last night. Can't wait to see him again!