holdingyourdrink

Unlike Mika, I’m a small softie, because well he’s like 5 meters tall and I’m only 1 meter tall.

Just finished watching and I am sobbing like a baby. Sheesh, Nerys and the choir! I didn’t think it would affect me, especially knowing what was coming from a few preview clips on social media. I am definitely not a crier, now I officially am.

Maybe he’s in Montreal to discuss the songs and compositions with Simon Leclerc?

However, it’s not really fitting for a philharmonic concert

As a Dutch person my closet is filled with orange stuff!! It’s like me going out to celebrate King’s Day or going to a football match of the Dutch national team!!!

I love this, now I’m even more impatient for Sunday!

Although I don’t agree with the bad reviews, I do see what they’re talking about. Like Karin said, as if they are trying to recreate a Harry moment or a Lucy moment from the first series. However, I think there are many like Harry and Duncan (either living with a spouse with dementia or suffering from it yourself), I think there are also many like Lucy and Ethan who are on the autism spectrum. I believe the whole series puts the emphasis on how there are so many people from EVERY walk of life (coming from a bad neighbourhood, single parent household and no money…. to a law student… to a man who has lost his sight… to someone who was self taught in lockdown) can play the same instrument. How it connects, how it allows us to communicate without words and how much it provokes in us, even as bystanders in a train station. (Did I get a full card in the Mika-bingo-words? ) Also, I agree with CharlotteL and ACG, there is clearly no malice between Mika and Lang Lang. I also believe it was completely cut out of context to make it fit into the time restriction of 40 mins of show, I would’ve actually loved to see like a blooper reel of worst and funniest moments between those two per station. There is so much banter between Claudia, Mika and Lang Lang that I could watch that for an entire episode’s worth alone!

Hahaha! I appreciate that Yes! The mothership is called “holdingyourthings R Us”, but my franchises can be caught in the wild, like in Dublin

I actually think you can turn the question around and ask yourself “is there really so much going on in the world that you can fill an episode with all those stories?” And I am afraid to say that the answer to that is “yes”.

Just watched it, I completely agree! Those reviewers just don’t have taste, obviously

He’s clearly in denial

It’s obvious, he is STILL brushing all the glitter out of his hair and teeth. I mean, 6 weeks of glittery suits kind of rubs off on you - literally

How The Piano is portrayed now as opposed to last year: It’s a clear example of how a perspective change is so random, to be honest. And for the media to treat it like that, they should be ashamed of themselves. Then again: at least they are talking about it, it could also happen that people will then be curious and may be watching it just to see if the media is right. Of course they are not, but hey, bad press is still press, no?

I will have 2 outfits with me, will decide on the day. One will be more summery, the other one will be more classy, but both elegant.

OMG ich sage immer “der Fandom” Bin aber auch nicht die richtige um es zu fragen

I think he’s more of a Mr Busy! And a Mr Bounce on stage

There actually are earplugs that are specially designed for concerts, meaning you can still hear the music very well. They are not cheap (15-30 euros for one set, but you can use them 100+ times). I’ve used them both in the front and the stands and I could still hear both the music and Mika, just without the feeling that my ears are bleeding

I do have to agree, the sound was way too loud… I think I wrote it already in the Brussels reports thread: at the beginning of the gig there were apparently many in the front who said they couldn’t hear Mika, so that’s why he gestured to Massimo to fix it. Since I had already experienced in Strasbourg (front) and Amsterdam (seated) that it was too loud, I had my concert earplugs (reduce by 20-25 dB) in for following gigs, including Brussels. With earplugs I could hear him before he told Massimo to fix it, which means everyone who wasn’t wearing earplugs were exposed to way too many dBs, causing an acoustic reflex (read here to learn what that is). My brother had his smartwatch actually tell him that the sound exceeded 95 dB a few times. Which is not unusual at concerts, but knowing I didn’t need to rely on my earplugs in the previous years, tells me maybe it was a bit more this tour.

YES!! Just a 1000 times yes!! It pulls you RIGHT in, both the French and English versions equally!! It remains a shame he didn't include more of the French songs in the setlist outside of France, so I am also very thankful that I went to shows in both francophone as non-francophone countries, meaning I had the entire bandwidth of songs to enjoy during the tour. I believe it was a clear choice to make this tour a nostalgic one in the non-francophone countries, as he hasn't been there in quite a while. It may serve as a really good warm-up for whatever he has planned in the future for the next album and I think in hindsight that is a smart move. But of course I agree, he could've EASILY done more French songs of the new album. From the performer's side of things, this is very true. I used to be a competitive dancer and I trained to know my routine with my eyes closed, to be able to give it 300%....and when there is any deviation due to unexpected things (even good things, like my favourite song would come on!), I would be still able to react without losing the performance. I very much respect when I recognize this with other performers, because it shows not only pure professionalism, but is a reflection of the amount of effort and respect a performer has for its work and its audience. That begin said, this was the first real tour I have attended... so I have no way of comparing it to other tours Mika has previously done. Thinking about what was said in this thread, I actually think what the audience understands what connection is and what Mika understands what connection is, may be two different things. When looking back at the tour and looking at the second half of the tour, the part where he gets very emotional and is holding back tears... He is laying it all bare. To be able to dare to show your vulnerability to your audience, THAT is connection. Honestly his storytimes are the best!!

I adored all the pictures and videos I have seen of these fans all dressed up! Also the video where they are dancing on stage with Mika as triplets, that was amazing to watch!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this interview!! Just love how much banter there is between him and Claudia.

There seems to be a direct train from Marseille Airport to Orange, that is what I classify as good they sell train tickets on the SNCF website, 2 weeks ago (when I booked) they were priced 25.50 EUR one way.

I’m flying to Marseille and will take the train! Just a note of caution: the good train connections don’t go until late until the evening (last good connection to Orange from Marseille on the day before leaves shortly before 19h if I’m not mistaking).

Hello fellow Dutchie Glad to hear you agree! Especially since you saw him the first time live! It seems like you had a wonderful time, it really was an amazing show. I hope he will return to the Netherlands sooner rather than later. The audience adored him, he would sell out any show in any part of the Netherlands, no matter the setlist.

Next challenge: guess the dressing room in which part of the world