Christine Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 But it was a great experience to see him, especially as it was my first Mika gig too! Overall I had a great time, and now I can't remeber a thing! Ha, don't worry! Sounds like you remembered a lot and it will all come back to you when you read everyone's reports. Glad you had a great first gig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lena Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Thank you for your pictures and reports, girls:wub2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchAnnie Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 What a liar we know about Samsung party, Mika! You can't fool us He's getting old ... he doesn't remember that party ... MIKA official @mikasounds Heading home after Lovebox perf. First show in a Very long time. Was extremely nervous but the crowd made it so much easier. Thank you x Thank you everyone for the early reports and pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iliveforglitter Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Ha, don't worry! Sounds like you remembered a lot and it will all come back to you when you read everyone's reports. Glad you had a great first gig! yeah a lot has come back to me now, by seeing photos and over reviews! Also thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 OK, a brief summary of Lovebox, bearing in mind this is my own opinion only... Firstly the weather was good. It was raining a bit when I left home so I wore my wellies, which weren't that comfortable, and, in fact weren't actually necessary because despite all the recent rain the ground had dried out pretty well! Arrived at 4pm. In retrospect, this wasn't a minute too early because it certainly wasn't rammed, and there was a lot of space everywhere, including right in front of the Circus stage. I have no idea what was on - it wasn't really an "act", just a DJ playing total crap. Where's the talent in that? Anyone could stand there and play records, for heaven's sake. The DJ did change after a while, but the music (if it can be called that) seemed pretty much the same bloody thing for over an hour, and it was godawful. I went and found a wooden platform thing away from the front and sat in the sun. MFC friends came and joined me, and we only went further forward when Mika was about to come on, and it was easy to get fairly close, no jostling or anything. Could have pushed to the front probably, but didn't really see the point. Some people had been there for hours and stayed at the barrier, but it really wasn't necessary. Mika didn't play for long, it went by in a flash! I think it was about 30 mins tops. Short straight hair (OK, but a bit preppy looking). Black skinny jeans, which came ALL the way down to his feet (yay!) and black and white striped t-shirt . So, no dreadful hideous short pants today, and hopefully while his back was turned Melachi has chewed them to pieces and they’ll have to go in the bin! Still grey underpants so some things never change. I do like a bit of continuity. The sound wasn't good, but he seemed to go down pretty well. The new band - well, not sure to be honest. Couldn’t see what exactly they had that the old band didn’t, but I guess that will become apparent in the future over a longer set. Steel drums was a new and unexpected addition. Old familiars were Relax, Blame It On The Girls, Love Today, Lollipop (new stylee), and Grace Kelly. Did the new songs MYH and Celebrate. Sounded better live than the studio versions, but I still think Celebrate comes across as a very, very average song. It went down pretty well with the crowd, but in my book, popular doesn’t necessarily mean good. My yardstick is: if someone else released it, would I listen to it, or think it was great, or buy it, and the answer is no. There’s simply nothing to it – disposable forgettable pop, and Mika is capable of far better. MYH – well that was better, because live it sounds less electronic, but it still doesn’t grab me. I have no objection to an artist evolving or changing (all artists MUST evolve and experiment) but so far I find Mika’s new material a step backwards, not forwards. He was the one TRULY original artist to emerge in the last decade, and it feels like he’s conformed, dumbed down now, dare I say it – been influenced by other people too much? It’s brave for an artist to change direction, but perhaps even braver to stick to ones principles and fly in the face of what’s fashionable. In the threads about the new music, there are loads of comments about the two tracks – saying “I think it sounds a bit like X” or “it reminds me of Y”. Well I (and probably a lot of others) liked Mika because he sounded DIFFERENT to anyone else, and that spark, that uniqueness, seems to have been diminished. If I want to hear something that sounds like Daft Punk or Robyn or any of the other people who have been mentioned, I’ll listen to one of THEIR albums. I only hope I’ll hear something truly original on the TOOL album which fully utilises all the talent Mika has. I guess today wasn’t really a “normal” gig, and I’ll wait for a proper non-festival set before I abandon hope! The love has not completely gone, and of course I’ll be getting the album and going to shows, but looking at it purely objectively, I do feel it just doesn’t have the magic for me that it used to have. Didn’t take photos, because as you will all know, I haven’t managed to get a single in-focus picture of Mika since I joined MFC (and that’s a long time ago) so I leave it to those less pathetic with a camera! Oh and PS: I’m so glad I didn’t spend on a VIP ticket, I have no idea what superb facilities it entitled people to, but I can’t think it was worth the extra! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchAnnie Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Finally we saw his mum, Yasmine and Paloma (who looked healthy and well) sit/stand in the corner of the stage whilst the band FINALLY set up, and then the fun began! Awww ... that's good to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiaIchihara Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Pics from @Meggy http://twitpic.com/9xgo83 http://twitpic.com/9xkb5u http://twitpic.com/9xkd1e http://twitpic.com/9xkma7 http://twitpic.com/9xkocr http://twitpic.com/9xkqyy http://twitpic.com/9xmxet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milda Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 He's getting old ... he doesn't remember that party ... MIKA official @mikasounds Heading home after Lovebox perf. First show in a Very long time. Was extremely nervous but the crowd made it so much easier. Thank you x I'm sure he remembers it If "soon" means 11 months, then I wouldn't be surprised if "a very long time" means something like a few days. It all makes sense in Mikaworld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollipop161 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 wow guys it looks amazing! thank you for all the pics and reports! just lovely. there were also professional video cameras running around...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasia_xxx Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Awww ... that's good to hear. Fortune and Zuleika were in the audience (to complete the family portrait) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikasister Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Fortune and Zuleika were in the audience (to complete the family portrait) So, the whole family, aww that's so nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaraMay Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Mika was in great spirits! He seemed really happy and somewhat relieved to perform the new songs for the fans. After the show he greeted us for a bit, which was sweet. It was lovely meeting you all today! Once I get back home tomorrow night I will upload the many photos and videos I took trust me, they're really really nice. I filmed Celebrate and Make You Happy for you all to see as well! I'm exhausted now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Mika was in great spirits! He seemed really happy and somewhat relieved to perform the new songs for the fans. After the show he greeted us for a bit, which was sweet. It was lovely meeting you all today! Once I get back home tomorrow night I will upload the many photos and videos I took trust me, they're really really nice. I filmed Celebrate and Make You Happy for you all to see as well! I'm exhausted now Really looking forward to it. Thanks so much!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchAnnie Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Mika was in great spirits! He seemed really happy and somewhat relieved to perform the new songs for the fans. After the show he greeted us for a bit, which was sweet. It was lovely meeting you all today! Once I get back home tomorrow night I will upload the many photos and videos I took trust me, they're really really nice. I filmed Celebrate and Make You Happy for you all to see as well! I'm exhausted now Thanks ... I can't wait to see them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasia_xxx Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 I filmed Celebrate and Make You Happy for you all to see as well! I'm exhausted now That's sooo nice of you. Advanced thanks. I'll be moe than happy to relive it again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Sky Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) Great to see reports and photos - what a pity the set was so short, especially if you paid so much to travel so far... makes me wonder about going to festivals... Interesting to hear about the new band, new songs and new hair, and very glad to see he didn't wear those awful short golf trews... Edited June 17, 2012 by Blue Sky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krysady Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Many thanks for all your reports and pics waiting for the vids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 I have no idea what was on - it wasn't really an "act", just a DJ playing total crap. Where's the talent in that? Anyone could stand there and play records, for heaven's sake. Yes I mean I guess these guys are mixing music but I'm not quite sure why anyone wants to see that at a festival? It sounded like it went on longer than Mika's set too which is ridiculous!! Why not give the real musicians more time? Black skinny jeans, which came ALL the way down to his feet (yay!) and black and white striped t-shirt . So, no dreadful hideous short pants today, and hopefully while his back was turned Melachi has chewed them to pieces and they’ll have to go in the bin! Still grey underpants so some things never change. I do like a bit of continuity. My yardstick is: if someone else released it, would I listen to it, or think it was great, or buy it, and the answer is no. There’s simply nothing to it – disposable forgettable pop, and Mika is capable of far better. That is true enough although I think Mika's voice is still more interesting than 90% of that disposable pop. But it's hard to be objective at this point since I've been indoctrinated by it for so long. In the threads about the new music, there are loads of comments about the two tracks – saying “I think it sounds a bit like X” or “it reminds me of Y”. Well I (and probably a lot of others) liked Mika because he sounded DIFFERENT to anyone else, and that spark, that uniqueness, seems to have been diminished. If I want to hear something that sounds like Daft Punk or Robyn or any of the other people who have been mentioned, I’ll listen to one of THEIR albums. But you heard the same thing about all his other work. GK sounded like Queen. Billy Brown sounded like the Beatles. Erase sounded like Robbie Williams. Touches You sounded like George Michael. Relax was an outright appropriation of Cutting Crew. Are these better influences than Robyn and Daft Punk? That is certainly up for debate. But are we really talking about true originality versus being too influenced by others? I'm not convinced. It all seems like the same process to me, he's just ended up with a different sound this time. Anyway loved your report. Very entertaining and I always love hearing your perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellody Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 what a wonderful day! i never thought i'd be so happy after such a short gig... but i guess it helped that a) i knew in advance it'd be so short, b) it was just fab to see him again after nearly a year and hear the new songs live, c) it was a full energy show, so intense! and d) he came to meet us afterwards - just quickly, but i got my mika moment, that was enough to make me "queuing" (actually more hanging out with my friends than queuing ;-p) was really relaxed, no need to get up early but just sleep in and not having to hurry to get to the venue, that was nice for a change. :-) i went around the victoria park a bit and listened to mika's soundcheck... when i arrived back at the entrance shortly before the doors opened, there already was a bunch of people, not only mika fans but several others as well, and only then the real queuing started, maybe 15 minutes before the doors were supposed to open (they opened a bit later in the end). inside we still had to wait to get to the circus stage area, because they hadn't cleaned it yet from the night before. that was a bit mad, because we were sent to different places and when they opened, everyone rushed to front row at once - i think it was ca. 20 people, and a small front row, but everyone got their spots, more or less. apart from getting food etc., i went around once to see what was on the other stages, but the music there sounded pretty much the same to me like on the circus stage, so i went back there. actually 2 of the DJs on the circus stage were not that bad, i even found myself dancing to their music, and quite enjoyed it. the djane that was on directly before mika wasn't my cup of tea though, so i went back to front row and waited... they built up his set, then we saw at the back of the stage first mika's band, then his family (aww it was so good to see paloma on her feet, although with a cast and on crutches... ) and then the man himself. i was happy to see that he didn't wear the outfit of the samsung gig... i loved celebrate live, i think it'd be a good replacement for lollipop as a last song... but seems like mika wants to keep lollipop, as he did a new version of it - which i didn't like that much, tbh. but i loved that he did love today, and the 2 new songs. imo make you happy is too slow for making a good live song, it's too slow to dance to but still sounds danc-ey due to the robot voice and electronic beat (btw, mika had an extra mic so he could do the robot voices live ), somehow weird. celebrate was great to dance and jump to though. btw, i think mika has given his old clothes to his new band, one of them was wearing his striped jacked (or at least one that looked like his) can't say much about the band apart from that, he didn't introduce them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Sky Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) Nina's video (she's at the airport!) Thanks Nina it's a great video. [YOUTUBE]Em6YaRZxST8[/YOUTUBE] Edited June 17, 2012 by Blue Sky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellody Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 of course it was over too quickly after only 7 songs... we then went to the small backstage area that was behind the circus stage, and waited whether mika would come and meet us - and after he was done with an interview and with talking to some people, he did. he first went to the entrance where most fans were crowded, but we stood at the side because we had a better view from there, and before he went in the car he came to us as well. he told me that he liked my shirt and that he had seen it from stage... and he took my hand. twice. i don't know why i stuck my hand through the barrier when he said hi, probably just out of habit because you shake hands with ppl you say hi to... lol! his hands were so soft and warm! (sorry, big fangurl moment here, don't ask me why, guess i haven't seen him for too long. ) anyway, after mika had left, i said goodbye to some other mfcers and then went with marion to see patrick wolf, but didn't like his music much, and went looking around the festival grounds instead. ended up watching chaka khan, i didn't know that all those songs were by her! she was great! actually i really loved the atmosphere at this festival, there were many great costumes, and i was happy i had taken my heart-shaped glowstick glasses... guess i could've walked around in my grey skelly costume there without attracting much attention. anyway, the atmosphere on the festival really fitted the motto "lovebox" - everyone was happy and relaxed (which partly might've had to do with all the weed that was smoked there... ), and there somehow was love in the air... hard to describe - it was just many different people with many different crazy spleens (some wearing crazy costumes, others occupying the front row for a certain singer... ), and everyone was tolerant towards the others, no aggressiveness or weird looks from the other festival guests or anything like that, it was a wonderful experience. besides, the weather was perfect, it wasn't muddy, and i indeed really enjoyed it that mika was on so early, so i got to watch chaka khan and got to experience the evening atmosphere of the festival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth.C Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 It was short (only about 35-40 minutes) but AMAZING!The first thing to be noticed was that the WHOLE band has been exchanged! Then was Mika's new/straight and short hair They opened with Relax which had a completely different intro than usual and the audience only recognised it after the famous "uaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaa":naughty: Next were Blame It On The Girls and Love Today. The audience was having fun and the crowd was really dense (despite the fact that just before Mika went on stage there was a loose crowd dancing here and there and you could easily get a spot in the first or second row). It only became crowded minutes before the show. Then it was time for Make You Happy which sounded unbelievable. Even the syntesier-generated voice sounded good, not to mention Mika's voice in the verses. Lollipop came next and what a surprise it was!!! The beginning sounded almost like Stuck In The Middle (I was sure that was what we were going to hear next) and then the tune suddenly changed to Lollipop:thumb_yello: The arrangement was different too and one of the guitarists played clarinet! Mika introduced Celebrate afterwards as a song they'd never played live before. Till today it wasn't my favourite at all and I never saw it as a song with a live potential. He really surprised me! First of all he sang it as a duet with his new background singer. She has a great voice and established the contact with the audience soooo easily! It made me laugh when Mika caught her hands attempting to have a little dance together Secondly, the song is so easily remembered that towards the end everyone around me was singing: "I want the whole world to celebrate!" Unfortunately when we were all in party mood Mika announced the last song, Grace Kelly. There was no encore, no band introduction, he just wished everyone a great evening, they all took a bow and left the stage. So, all in all, an afternoon full of surprises, new mysterious band members, new sound (which I definitely like) and Mika's vocals and stage expression at their best. OMG YOU ARE SO LUCKY !!!! I hope to see Mika live someday T.T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katydid1994 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Is that the same lady he used for "Just Can't Get Enough"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth.C Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Nina's video (she's at the airport!) Thanks Nina it's a great video. [YOUTUBE]Em6YaRZxST8[/YOUTUBE] AMAZING!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth.C Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Is that the same lady he used for "Just Can't Get Enough"? i also think she's a chorist Mika had before not sure tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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