dcdeb Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (edited) (Pretty nice review of the Philadelphia show the other night... I can't tell you how the Leo Sayer, Sparks and Elton John reference made me laugh -- they were some of my favorites back in the day. Do any of you even know who Leo Sayer and Sparks are? You better know EJ!) By A.D. Amorosi For The Inquirer It might not seem the job of the skinny, Beirut-born Michael Penniman - son of an American dad and Lebanese mom - to encapsulate all of British glam's past. Yet that's exactly what he does under the name of Mika: zealously appropriate the garrulous glitter-pop first made famous by the '70s sensations Leo Sayer, Sparks, and Elton John. And he moves through them so quickly you can barely catch the influences. Mika crafts elegantly energetic and daftly melodic pastiches, and sings each frothy song in an unwaveringly high voice - which, judging from his packed show at Electric Factory on Sunday night, absolutely thrills little girls and their moms to bits. Ebullient to the zillionth degree and doubly theatrical, Mika started the show dressed as an astronaut before stripping down to his undies, then changing into a wildly striped suit. That came after a fake-news video with "anchorman" Sir Ian McKellen announced that a rocket had exploded and its passenger had disappeared. That there was no logic to all this mattered not. Mika and his crack band snapped to the piano-plinking "Stuck in the Middle" and the disco-licious "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)," with corseted plus-size models dancing behind the ensemble. With barely a breath between songs, Mika followed with the finger-snapping "Dr. John," the precociously hammy "Happy Ending," and the irredeemably chipper "Blame It on the Girls," the last off his new album The Boy Who Knew Too Much. There were staged sequences done in black light. The mood was upbeat. The songs were manically contagious, and Mika's bubbly stage presence was as elastic as his voice. Yet for all his frenetic flamboyance, the cool precision of it all made things seem rote. His perfection even seemed a bit tedious. Not opening act Gary Go. The bespectacled geek-chic Brit with the big open voice was like a two-man Coldplay, grand, distant, yet more intimate than Chris Martin's ensemble. Go's warm, high vocals and tinkling keyboards combined with oddly dreary atmospheric sequencers to make spacey anthems out of the self-penned tracks "Heart and Soul" and "Speak," to which the kid-crowd responded with a sea of waving hands. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20091020_High_notes_that_thrill_the_girls.html Edited October 20, 2009 by dcdeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Thanks for posting!!! x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel_tinydancer Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 T4P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzie Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Thank you for posting this review, Deb:thumb_yello: Of course I know the Sparks- they were great. PS:I think the 'two-man Coldplay' comparison for Gary go was spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlindee Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 They always make it sound like the only people in the audience were little kids:lmfao: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaMariaPetra Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 They always make it sound like the only people in the audience were little kids:lmfao: Uhuh: and their mothers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kodes100 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Thank you for posting Deb. The last couple of reviews are kind of strange. I grab a sentence or two to satisfy myself. I can't find one this time. I don't get it??!!??:shocked: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine64 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 They always make it sound like the only people in the audience were little kids:lmfao: Kids, mothers and Gays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAK1 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Kids, mothers and Gays I don't fit into any of those catergories! Well maybe kids:naughty: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom4Mika Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 disco-licious "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)," with corseted plus-size models dancing behind the ensemble Sorry I'm giggly over this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FREDDIESDOUBLE Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Wow no guys in the crowd .. amazing:mf_rosetinted: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Wow no guys in the crowd .. amazing:mf_rosetinted: Yes they seem to think Mika only appeals to kids and their mums. I'm sure there were men in the crowd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom4Mika Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 There were plenty of men in the crowd. If it was a for a few nice ones we BG's couldn't have got back to the front of the stage to enjoy the show. Chris and Mark? were right up front queuing up. Nice guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunnyangel Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 oh i like that review! lol, his stage activity being as elastic as his voice bit made me laugh a bit and gary go... x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romis Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I don't fit into any of those catergories! Well maybe kids:naughty: I was about to say 'mothers' instead:blink: but anyway... I do not fit at all, they forgot about the young adults in the show (if there were any ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soaring Simpson Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 It starts well, but then he whips round and seems to prefer Gary Go! Sounds like Mika was having a (rare) perfection day! which put him off I thought of you when I saw "plus size MODEL" Jamie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkLight Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Mika started the show dressed as an astronaut before stripping down to his undies whaaaaa:shocked: he strips to his undies what like in wag? ohhh that sounds really good I think i'll buy me another ticket for a 3rd gig then lol:teehee: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom4Mika Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 It starts well, but then he whips round and seems to prefer Gary Go! Sounds like Mika was having a (rare) perfection day! which put him off I thought of you when I saw "plus size MODEL" Jamie! goodness Thank you. More recognition then when I was size 8 a doing some modeling. fancy that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cozy Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 goodness Thank you. More recognition then when I was size 8 a doing some modeling. fancy that. Ahhh, we got called models! I may pee my pants with glee! <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertina Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 awwwwwwww our MODELS! and yes deb, i know who Leo Sayer is, i used to love him a lot! acually, i thought of him the very first time i saw a pic of mika's on the papers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiza Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 I don't fit into any of those catergories! Well maybe kids:naughty: haha we all fit in the kids category Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cozy Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 haha we all fit in the kids category Haha, true story! You know you're a kid at heart when you still go, "Oh my GOD, look at all the shiny COLORS! *_____*" every video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatagordinha Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Since when has Mika's stage performance been 'perfection'? I'd argue that it never is. There is always a hiccup or at least one high falsetto note he doesn't quite nail, or something. I've heard Mika's show described as many things but perfection has never been one of them..until now Sparks were great, I was terrified of Ron Mael as a small child though!! The eyes!! T4P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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