enigma Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Don't know if this has been posted anywhere before... http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/149194209 ... but if it has, someone please delete this thread! MIKA BIG EFFORT TO IMPRESS ; A memorable night as the popster takes a break from By JOHN KELLY Why play a set when you can put on a show? That seemed to be Mika's motto at this Edge festival gig, where the stage dressing and many of the surprise set pieces that occurred were as arresting as the songs themselves. One particularly odd moment came at the start of Love Today, when a procession of women (presumably) dressed in bright neon-coloured wedding dresses paraded onto the stage in a funeral march, followed by a group of stagehands carrying a more thanlife-sized doll of a smiling ginger-haired boy. On they came and off they slowly went, leaving the doll sitting in the middle of the stage so Mika could knock it about during the song. If that sounds weird E well it was, but at least the singer was making an effort. Whatever you might think of his light, poppy and sometimes a bit over-the-top music, Mika (real name Michael Penniman Jr, from London) seems dedicated to putting on a show that his audience will remember. The singer, in white shirt and trousers, pointed out during the set that this will be his last gig in the UK "for a while", and it was clear he wanted to leave the live stage with happy memories. So among the distinctive extra touches were the sight of him performing Dr John while standing on top of his piano wearing a cape bearing multi-coloured feathers and a top hat, kind of like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat meets Cabaret. A huge pink and yellow flag bearing the word Billy! was winched up into the air until it was almost blocking out the stage during Billy Brown, while heart-shaped pink balloons were passed out to the front few rows of the audience during Happy Ending. Of course, it was all as camp as the proverbial row of tents, but there was also something playful and charming about it. Mika seems to treat his shows like playtime for himself and his audience, and heandhisfive-piecegrouparelikethe In the Night Garden house band. The backdrop of flowers offset by two giant, dove-filled wreaths at the sides of the stage emphasised the fact that he was trying to create a kind of innocent fantasy world. Musically it was also a sweet set, with the singer having sacrificed a bit of his over-the-top performance style for the new album The Boy Who Knew Too Much. The likes of Grace Kelly and Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) were still there and fans were delighted to hear them, but far more affecting were gentle Happy Ending and the tender piano ballad Over My Shoulder, while We Are Golden, Blame It On The Girls andthe housey Rain are more universal pop songs than what he's written before. It's tempting to say there was more style than substance here, but there was just enough of the latter to make sure everyone went home happy. JOHN KELLY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterflygal Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 I've never seen this before. Thanks for posting:thumb_yello: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Thanks for posting. It was an okay review in places, and good in others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloise.shaw Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 OOh. i like this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darriah Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Thanks for posting this review I don't know why, but John Kelly doesn't seem to be a huge Mika fan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAK1 Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 He mentioned the balloons! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FREDDIESDOUBLE Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 He mentioned the balloons! Well spotted! I read that twice and didnt even see that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treasa Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Mika seems to treat his shows like playtime for himself and his audience, and heand his five-piece group are like the In the Night Garden house band. Love this description. I know who'd be Upsy Daisy, don't know about the rest of the characters... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Thanks for posting this review I don't know why, but John Kelly doesn't seem to be a huge Mika fan... I agree. It seemed like the reviewer was longing to pick fault with Mika's show and performance, but couldn't find anything negative to say. A lot of the more recent reviews are like this. It's like the reviewers are - begrudgingly - realising that Mika is a legend. They just don't want to admit it. He is also getting a lot more glowing reviews, from wise people who have been won over by his brilliance and are proud to admit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darriah Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I agree. It seemed like the reviewer was longing to pick fault with Mika's show and performance, but couldn't find anything negative to say.A lot of the more recent reviews are like this. It's like the reviewers are - begrudgingly - realising that Mika is a legend. They just don't want to admit it. He is also getting a lot more glowing reviews, from wise people who have been won over by his brilliance and are proud to admit it. How could anyone ever find something negative to say? I think that those who don't appreciate Mika yet are too blinded by the male models that dominated the scenes in the past years... men like Ricky Martin or Enrique Iglesias (no offense to their fans if they're on MFC ). It's too hard for them to look at Mika behind his shiny appearence... let's hope they'll put on sunglasses in time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatagordinha Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Great review! I agree with Marilyn: the author isn't a great Mika fan but (s)he is fair-minded enough to give credit where credit is due. At the end of the day, that's all we can ask for isn't it . I love the reference to In The Night Garden. Now that is the trippiest kids TV programme of all time . Somehow the mention of it in the middle of a Mika review is very apt. T4P! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAK1 Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Love this description. I know who'd be Upsy Daisy, don't know about the rest of the characters... Are any of them chunky enough to be Makka Pakka? Mika could be Iggle Piggle:naughty: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helli Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Mika seems to treat his shows like playtime for himself and his audience, and heandhisfive-piecegrouparelikethe In the Night Garden house band. thats funny. my daughter loves night garden! "the pennimans are friends of mine although theyre very tall and even when theres 7 of them they're hardly there at all!" lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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