REPORTS/PICTURES/VIDEOS - MIKA@Liège, Belgium - Festival Les Ardentes - 10 July 2011

[IngievV]

Is there any singer like mika, there wish his fans just to stand and look like zombies!?

 

The Tindersticks:mf_rosetinted:

[Hippieibbie]

The Tindersticks:mf_rosetinted:

 

But's that's also The Thindersticks. you can't compare them to mika! atleast i don't hope you can!

[CrazyChloe15]

The Tindersticks:mf_rosetinted:

 

:roftl:

 

They were so bad. I nearly cried at how awful they were...

[Jazzy]

Shame peeps can't wait to join in until MIKA invites them to:

Believe me, if MIKA wants you to chime in he WILL let you know!

 

If I want to sing I will f*cking well sing. We're not at the opera, we're at a god damn festival.

 

If you don't like our singing, don't watch the f*cking video, go to a gig and get a video yourself. I take these videos because I know that there are people who can't get to gigs as easily as I can, but like f*ck am I going to stifle my own enjoyment just because you don't like it when we have a good time.

 

And I don't know how well you know Mika's style of performing, but he never NEEDS to tell people to chime in. He never has to say 'sing!' nor does he even really need to point the microphone at the audience (he only does this if he needs a breather in my opinion).

 

So, in conclusion, don't watch the video if you don't like it, don't tell me and my friends how to behave at a concert, and get a sense of perspective. He is not a five year old at a nativity play who needs hush as he says his line about there being a star in the f*cking sky. He's a popstar, a popstar who loves it when his fans are singing and dancing.

 

Watch the Kickass video. We were singing and dancing then, he came over, he grinned at us, he pointed, he jumped, he did his thing, because he was happy we were having a good time, and to him, all that matters when it comes to his shows is that everybody, both him and us, has a great time.

[Jazzy]

Laura's arguments would make a great book!

 

Thanks for the report!

 

She missed out a few details of the argument, but believe me, the novelisation will be up later today. It's an action thriller, about one woman's journey to the front row. It's about not giving up, it's about not making the first mistake, and it's about being a total BAMF.

[IngievV]

And that is how we roll!

[Jazzy]

Also I don't get the whole Grace Kelly quotage - 'You only want what everybody else says you should want' but that's not the case. The fact of the matter is, we sing because we want to, not because other people say we should. YOU want us to want what you want but we refuse. So your point is completely invalid.

 

If you're gonna use somebody else's coherent phrases to make a point, at least make sure they bloody well back up your point, otherwise it's just pure idiocy.

 

 

And on that note, I finish with this:

 

She put the lime in the coconut, she drank em both together.

 

 

THERE. TOLD YOU.

[CrazyChloe15]

Alice, Mika's songs were created to be sung! Do you not see his face when his fans sing along? He absolutely loves it!

 

It really was a silly thing to say we shouldn't sing along! If we just stood there like zombies he'd be like pfffft, what crap fans I've got, they don't even know my lyrics!

 

Mika loves it when we sing along, haven't you observed he always smiles at the crowd?

 

In Porto, we all sang! Yes, it was out of tune, but the atmosphere was amazing, and basically no-one gave a crap. Mika loved it too.

 

I honestly think you've have got the wrong idea about Mika's songs, and just Mika in general.

 

Maybe you're not a great fan after all if you don't understand what Mika likes and doesn't like.

[ilseh1983]

Nooo Ilse, you misinterpreted it. He quite clearly said: 'This is so rude! You dare to sing and dance! Wait til I tell mummy about it! She will go after you!'

 

ooh, yes, well i must have misunderstood with those earplugs in my ears:roftl::roftl:

 

 

 

 

 

 

edit: (did take them out for Mika's gig )

[Jazzy]

Okay, nearly two weeks on, here comes the report. Actually, it's an epic tale which begins straight after the madness that was Compiegne.

 

So, we got back to the car, and started the drive to Belgium. Ingie was asleep within minutes, Luke soon followed, but I felt I should stay awake with Niko because I know how tough it is to do a long drive when you're tired and it helps if you've got someone to talk to as it keeps your brain active.

 

Anyway, towards the end of the journey, without even realising the words were coming out of my mouth I said 'But didn't he floo-' and then I stopped, realising I was talking out loud. What I was going to say was 'But didn't he flood his bathroom?' and at that moment, in my head, was the image of Mika treading on towels to soak up a load of water in his bathroom. I know it sounds silly, but it felt really weird, and thus had to share it with you all. (I was totally going to ask him if he'd flooded any bathrooms lately but then I forgot when he looked at me with those bloody eyes of his).

 

So we got to the hotel around 6am, and slept until midday, then headed into town because Ingie was on the brink of becoming a monkey woman and we were all hungry. We had lunch in a lovely little brasserie (when I say lovely, I mean it had free wifi) and we spent all our time on our phones not even looking at each other. We headed back to the hotel, and Luke and I went for a swim in the pool, which was empty bar us most of the time, which was awwwesome. Then we went in the sauna, but departed shortly after an old man in very restrictive speedos joined us. We got ready, and then headed down to the festival after a little trouble with a police car blocking the road, but sh*t like that doesn't faze us so it was fine.

 

We got to the festival around seven, and heading down the right hand side of the audience (Imma's side) with Ingie in the lead. She kept looking back the closer we got as if to say 'this is too easy!' but then suddenly we were at the barrier with a pretty good spot. There was a French fella sitting on the floor and I accidentally nudged him with my foot an apologised. He took the apology very well and didn't mention any sort of wife, elephantine or otherwise.

 

Anyway, I think we'd been there for about 45 mins or an hour, and we were sitting down, but because there wasn't enough room for all three of us to sit at the barrier, I sat down in the 2nd row, kind of. Then this woman lumbers over and just plonks her arse down on my bag, which I'd left there as a bit of a placeholder.

 

I'm not sure whether I was more concerned about the fact that her arse was now where my spot was, or the fact that my prescription sunglasses were in my bag and most likely shattered into a million pieces. (Thankfully they withstood the trauma and are still with me to this very day).

 

Naturally I jumped up, and said "You're sitting on my bag!" She moved her backside about an inch so I could tug it out, and before she got herself settled, I shoved my foot back into my space. Unluckily for me, this was the foot that Luke and his bloody stupid bed had fractured the night before Compiegne. She told me to move and I told her that it was my spot. She then kept elbowing the back of my leg, but it was okay because my knee was in her shoulder. Five minutes later she stood up (and the joke of the whole thing was was that there was plenty of room for both of us) and she kept elbowing me.

 

Then she repeatedly told me to move, that she'd been there since 3 o'clock - she hadn't been there since 7 o'clock, so what the f*ck does 3 o'clock matter to me? Then she turned to me and said "I will push you!"

 

This was what I had been waiting for. When dealing with somebody like that, you must ALWAYS goad them into making the first mistake. Once they get physically aggressive, every point they may have had flies out of the window.

 

SO. In my best bad ass Romford accent, I leaned forward a little bit and said "Go on then," cool as a bloody cucumber.

 

And then she pushed me. Granted, I hardly moved (surprising with the amount of weight she was able to put behind such an action) but the second she touched me, I called security over and told them she was pushing me, that she was being aggressive, and that she hadn't been there the whole time we had. She started jabbering away in French (probably not realising I could understand more or less every word) and saying that she'd only been to the toilet. I know festival food can be dodgy at times but more than 45 minutes for a toilet trip? Are you kidding me?

 

Anyway, the husband piped and said "Excuse me! This is my wife!" to which I replied "Er...well done?"

 

They then started appealing to the security girl again who just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, making it quite plain that the old walrus didn't have a leg to stand on. Then the husband decided he ought to attempt some masculinity again and told me to stop. I said "stop what?" This went back and forth several times until finally I just said "No." Whatever I was supposed to stop was clearly something I was not willing to stop, as the only things I was doing at the time were standing, breathing, and raising my eyebrow at his ridiculousness.

 

Anyway, after that, all was fine and we had a lovely time.

 

Mika came on stage eventually, after much anticipation, and Relax started. It was mega. He came over to our side of the stage and as soon as he saw the four of us his eyes lit up. I know it sounds silly and self absorbed, but you CAN tell when it's you he's looking at, and the look on his face when he saw us made me feel like my organs were about to jump our of my skin. It was great.

 

The gig continued in the usual badass fashion. I took a load of videos because the lighting for photos wasn't that great, and also because he was on really good form. He didn't come to our bit too often (as we were pretty far over) but when he did his eyes were on us. (See the Kickass vid for further fangurliness, hahaah.) He sang his new songs, which were still stuck in our heads from the night before, and we sang along to Karen (though granted the only words we knew were 'elle est libre' and 'quatre-vingt deux') and YES, WE SANG ALONG TO BLAME IT ON THE WEATHER, SOMEBODY CALL THE POLICE AND HAVE US ARRESTED FOR CRIMES AGAINST MUNDANITY.

 

Anyway, the gig ended, and Niko said he had seen where the artist cars came out, so we all gathered on our side of the stage before heading off to hunt the boy down. I sent him a tweet (which was a bit optimistic) and also p*ssed myself off when I looked later because I'd left out a question mark and it made the whole thing sound weird. Lesson 1, don't tweet and walk.

 

We spent the following few hours sitting on bin bags (new ones, not salvaged ones) and doing a Big Brother style commentary on the night's events. We waited a hell of a lot longer than we did at Compiegne, but because of the people who were there it didn't really feel like waiting at all. Gradually, 60 dwindled down to 30, and after we saw Mrs P leave in the back of a Merc (she travels in style that woman) we thought we'd better get to our feet. Then nothing happened for a bit, and we ended up doing more Big Brother commentary, and more copying of Rose's accent (an endless source of megalolz). Eventually, Kath, who was on Mika watch, thought she spotted him getting into a car. I asked if he was wearing lovely knitwear and she said yes. I decided that that settled the matter and it was definitely him.

 

The car pulled over right next to where Ingie and I were standing, Ida was chucked out and then this brown and red curly head emerged, looked up with a massive grin on his face (which didn't match the expression of the friends he had just clambered all over to get out to us) and he said "What the f*ck are you all still doing here?"

 

He then went on to say that he had no idea that we were still here and if somebody had told him he would have come out earlier. It's a bloody good job I was in a great mood because if I had been as wet and miserable as I was at Porto, or as irritated as I had been at Compiegne, I would have told him to check his b*stard twitter every once in a while.

 

Anywho, Ingie and Luke spoke to him for a bit, then he got to me and I told him I'd recorded the new songs in Compiegne and at the gig that evening and asked whether it was okay to put them on youtube or not. I know after the secret LA gig a load of the videos were taken down so thought I'd better check with him. And also, my account is in good standing copyright wise, and I'd like to keep it that way.

 

He said "Oh yeah, go for it, put them up, they're already up there anyway." And then he took my arm and rubbed it a bit (sounds weird but if he did it to you you'd be in fangurl mode too) and said "But thanks for asking." And he smiled and I kept my cool externally but inside I was just a big old gloopy mess of joy.

 

After that, Ingie and Luke asked if they could get a video message for mf.net and he was all ready to do it but Ingie's camera refused to work. He was like "Sort your **** out! How many hours have you had to prepare?"

 

Of course I swept in and came to the rescue with Captain Lumix (yes, my camera's name is Captain Lumix, what the f*ck of it?) and he was talking to Dark Angel so I got a bit of that (video link is a few pages back, before sh*t got real cos we dared to sing) and then he was ready to do his message. He introduced himself, naturally, because nobody on a Mika fan site is EVER going to know who he is, the idea is utterly absurd. Then he stumbled over his words a bit (it was 4am and they had only had an hour's sleep the night before - breaking news from Ida!) and grabbed my hands and turned the camera towards Luke.

 

Honestly, I deserve some sort of medal for not going into fangurl mode when he was holding my hands. You'll notice that my filming remains on top bloody form, even after the unexpected contact. And his hands are so warm and soft (bitch must use clinique or some sh*t like that). It was mega at 4am. Just what the doctor ordered. (Yes yes, I know, I'm a bloody fan gurl. Suis je bovvered? Non. Parce que je ne suis pas bovvered!)

 

Anyway, he moved along to the others, then did his little game of naming where everyone was from. (He has to keep his brain active at his age you know). Then after a bit he came back to us, and Niko asked him if we could have a group picture with the four of us. Ida (who was knackered and wanted to get to bed) took Dark Angel's camera and told her to get in. Mika put an arm around her and the four of us squeezed in on our side, mostly because we were too tired to move. Anyway, photo was snapped, Mika was heading back to the car, but Niko said, gesturing towards the blob in his hair "Mika, what kind of colour is this?" Mika then did his yuck face and said "It's disgusting isn't it? If you look on the box it says revolting!"

 

I then said "WHY did you do it? Were you drunk?" And he looked at me, smiled a bit, and didn't reply. So basically, that's a yes (but we all knew that already).

 

Then he said it was so good to see all of his old friends again, and he was genuinely really happy, and it was so nice to see. We all said our goodbyes and he headed off into the night, in his attempt at being an enigmatic b*stard.

 

Naturally I turned to twitter straight away and said 'Worth the f*cking wait. F*cking love you @mikasounds' and then as soon as I'd posted it I looked at my time line and squealed, because underneath my tweet was his tweet, and it was the best way to end what was essentially a day of us being massively jammy bastards.

 

Fini

[Jazzy]

Wow, have just seen that Alice saw fit to say the same on youtube about how I should behave at a gig. Consider yourself blocked sweetheart. I'm not going to have you come on my page and tell me how to behave. Watch somebody else's videos instead.

[camille*]

Anyway, I think we'd been there for about 45 mins or an hour, and we were sitting down, but because there wasn't enough room for all three of us to sit at the barrier, I sat down in the 2nd row, kind of. Then this woman lumbers over and just plonks her arse down on my bag, which I'd left there as a bit of a placeholder.

 

I had read about the altercation with the French woman somewhere else, I like this detailed version, I just wanted to say I hope you know we're not all like that.. Though I had a similar experience in Compiegne with the woman standing next to me.. She kept telling me to stop pushing while she was pushing me And then her argument was that at the start she was not exactly standing there but 50cm further left.. well, yes, that's a gig, there are thousands of people, the crowd sometimes moves

 

 

Mika came on stage eventually, after much anticipation, and Relax started. It was mega. He came over to our side of the stage and as soon as he saw the four of us his eyes lit up. I know it sounds silly and self absorbed, but you CAN tell when it's you he's looking at, and the look on his face when he saw us made me feel like my organs were about to jump our of my skin. It was great.

 

It does not sound silly at all, I've only been to a few gigs and Mika doesn't know me at all but I think it's true you can tell when he's looking at you (even very briefly of course). And with you, because he knows you, I can imagine what that must look like! Amazing feeling I hope you still have all your organs in the right place

 

Anywho, Ingie and Luke spoke to him for a bit, then he got to me and I told him I'd recorded the new songs in Compiegne and at the gig that evening and asked whether it was okay to put them on youtube or not. I know after the secret LA gig a load of the videos were taken down so thought I'd better check with him. And also, my account is in good standing copyright wise, and I'd like to keep it that way.

 

He said "Oh yeah, go for it, put them up, they're already up there anyway." And then he took my arm and rubbed it a bit (sounds weird but if he did it to you you'd be in fangurl mode too) and said "But thanks for asking." And he smiled and I kept my cool externally but inside I was just a big old gloopy mess of joy.

 

 

I had read about the Liège M&G too (no I am not a stalker ). What a nice moment you had with him. Maybe I should feel jealousy but on the contrary I am so happy to be a fan of his. This guy's awesome. As if we didn't know. And oh I feel guilty now that I had actually already put my vids from Compiègne up on Youtube.. Bad fan

 

Then he stumbled over his words a bit (it was 4am and they had only had an hour's sleep the night before - breaking news from Ida!) and grabbed my hands and turned the camera towards Luke.

 

Honestly, I deserve some sort of medal for not going into fangurl mode when he was holding my hands. You'll notice that my filming remains on top bloody form, even after the unexpected contact. And his hands are so warm and soft (bitch must use clinique or some sh*t like that). It was mega at 4am. Just what the doctor ordered. (Yes yes, I know, I'm a bloody fan gurl. Suis je bovvered? Non. Parce que je ne suis pas bovvered!)

 

Ok that's not a medal but that's all I've found (you said 'some sort' after all)

 

 

Then he said it was so good to see all of his old friends again, and he was genuinely really happy, and it was so nice to see. We all said our goodbyes and he headed off into the night, in his attempt at being an enigmatic b*stard.

 

 

Naturally I turned to twitter straight away and said 'Worth the f*cking wait. F*cking love you @mikasounds' and then as soon as I'd posted it I looked at my time line and squealed, because underneath my tweet was his tweet, and it was the best way to end what was essentially a day of us being massively jammy bastards.

 

 

I f*cking loved your report.

 

I had to comment on it because it caused certain reactions in me And, well, because it's my first day of holidays and I had nothing better to do than to be on the MFC commenting on a report of a gig I haven't been to

[camille*]

Wow, have just seen that Alice saw fit to say the same on youtube about how I should behave at a gig. Consider yourself blocked sweetheart. I'm not going to have you come on my page and tell me how to behave. Watch somebody else's videos instead.

 

I advise you to stay away from mine then

[IngievV]

Loved your report LauLau:mf_rosetinted:

 

And forgive her, youth these days are so rude anyway! We're just acting like the stereotype!

[Jazzy]

Ah Camille, I know there are some decent Frenchies around. I have met a few, but unfortunately there are plenty more un-decent Frenchies about, as Compiegne made clear to a lot of us. Still, it's always nice when another good one pops up to say hello. XD

 

Glad you enjoyed my report, I certainly enjoyed writing it and reliving all the little moments. They're still so fresh in my memory, but I guess that's what happens when you have a special gig. It was gig number 30 for me, and it was genuinely the best gig I've ever been to. Loved every second of it.

[Fran]

Okay, nearly two weeks on, here comes the report. Actually, it's an epic tale which begins straight after the madness that was Compiegne.

 

With your lessons, people could attend a Mika gig in Vietnam!

 

This was a great one, loved reading it. Thank you.

[MikaMadLuke]

Okay, nearly two weeks on, here comes the report. Actually, it's an epic tale which begins straight after the madness that was Compiegne

 

....

 

I loved reading this Laura, It made me laugh out loud so much. My dad even asked me if I was ok (you'd think he'd know by now)

[IngievV]

I had read about the altercation with the French woman somewhere else, I like this detailed version, I just wanted to say I hope you know we're not all like that.. Though I had a similar experience in Compiegne with the woman standing next to me.. She kept telling me to stop pushing while she was pushing me And then her argument was that at the start she was not exactly standing there but 50cm further left.. well, yes, that's a gig, there are thousands of people, the crowd sometimes moves

 

 

 

 

It does not sound silly at all, I've only been to a few gigs and Mika doesn't know me at all but I think it's true you can tell when he's looking at you (even very briefly of course). And with you, because he knows you, I can imagine what that must look like! Amazing feeling I hope you still have all your organs in the right place

 

 

 

 

I had read about the Liège M&G too (no I am not a stalker ). What a nice moment you had with him. Maybe I should feel jealousy but on the contrary I am so happy to be a fan of his. This guy's awesome. As if we didn't know. And oh I feel guilty now that I had actually already put my vids from Compiègne up on Youtube.. Bad fan

 

 

 

Ok that's not a medal but that's all I've found (you said 'some sort' after all)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I f*cking loved your report.

 

I had to comment on it because it caused certain reactions in me And, well, because it's my first day of holidays and I had nothing better to do than to be on the MFC commenting on a report of a gig I haven't been to

 

Don't worry, we met plenty of great French people as well. This was just an exception:biggrin2:

 

And yah for the fangurl moment. When he pointed at us several times, we first looked at each other to confirm the fact we all saw him do it and then we fangurled (and boyed) some more:naughty:

[Jazzy]

With your lessons, people could attend a Mika gig in Vietnam!

 

This was a great one, loved reading it. Thank you.

 

Know your rights, know how to deal with people like that, and always ALWAYS stand your ground. If you follow those three simple rules, you can deal with any Mika gig.

 

I loved reading this Laura, It made me laugh out loud so much. My dad even asked me if I was ok (you'd think he'd know by now)

 

Haha yes, you'd think he'd realise when you were reading one of my gig reports.

 

Don't worry, we met plenty of great French people as well. This was just an exception:biggrin2:

 

And yah for the fangurl moment. When he pointed at us several times, we first looked at each other to confirm the fact we all saw him do it and then we fangurled (and boyed) some more:naughty:

 

Hahahah yes I remember that! Thank god he was walking away by then, it's one thing to fan gurl but it's another to let him see you do it so openly.

[camille*]

Don't worry, we met plenty of great French people as well. This was just an exception:biggrin2:

 

And yah for the fangurl moment. When he pointed at us several times, we first looked at each other to confirm the fact we all saw him do it and then we fangurled (and boyed) some more:naughty:

 

I think Mika was the first one to fanboy about seeing you Ingie

Isn't that what you were about to say?

[IngievV]

I think Mika was the first one to fanboy about seeing you Ingie

Isn't that what you were about to say?

 

He fanboyed all over me after Eden:mf_rosetinted:

[camille*]

He fanboyed all over me after Eden:mf_rosetinted:

 

That's what I thought..

The funny thing is that I actually 'fangurled' about seeing you in Compiègne : 'Look, that's Ingie!!!' and then I was thinking wow her English accent is amazing

You are too famous to be real

[Jazzy]

He fanboyed all over me after Eden:mf_rosetinted:

 

Is that what they're calling it these days?

 

 

*goes to naughty corner*

[IngievV]

That's what I thought..

The funny thing is that I actually 'fangurled' about seeing you in Compiègne : 'Look, that's Ingie!!!' and then I was thinking wow her English accent is amazing

You are too famous to be real

 

Awww you make me blush:blush-anim-cl: I am quite surprised about how well-known I turned out to be during our trip:naughty:

[IngievV]

Is that what they're calling it these days?

 

 

*goes to naughty corner*

 

Lauraaa! There are kids here! And 60+ people.