cathouzouf Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Here's my report about Taormina's gig...it was hard to find the words but since I'm sick I had a lot of time to think about it. Wow! Well where to start? Sorry this initial doubt, but I feel like a painter in front of a blank canvas that experiences that moment of panic ... there are so many things that i would like to share and so narrow are the limits of a simple canvas. To begin with let's say that there are two types of live shows: the "simple" concert and The Event. What happened in Taormina was more of an Event, it was unique, a dream came true. In these 8 years that I followed Mika throughout Italy, since I'm Sicilian born and raised, I always dreamed that one day he would have performed in my land in the same places that cherished a lot of my childhood and adolescence memories and emotions ... Well yes, I was a bit selfish: I dreamed that he could also feel my own emotions! But the patient and confident awaiting was starting to turn into the sad realization that the dream would not have been realized... instead about 3 months ago that dream came true and the most awaited concert became reality: Mika finally would have performed in the Greek theater in Taormina.The theater, which had seen the greatest names of Greek and Roman culture and that had enchanted also the writer Hemingway now it would have had the opportunity to host our Lebanese singer. After 4 years I have had the pleasure to be back in the second row just in front of the stage less than 2m from the stage so I had the opportunity to fully enjoy and live the show. When I walked into the theater I noticed the lack of scenery, there were only sunflowers resting on the piano and behind the band ( it reminded me a lot the concert of Cagliari in 2010) but who needed the scene when there was a landscape like the one that surrounded the theater of Taormina? To describe the concert I'll borrow the words of Goethe "We must admit that an audience of a theater never had in front of itself a similar scenario" and it's exactly what I felt when they dimmed the lights and Mika went on stage dressed in white, with a pair of sneakers and ethnic necklaces turning on fire the 4,500 people present that evening. When the band played the first notes, I think my heart skipped a few bits: for the first time I heard "No Place In Heaven" live and in that magical atmosphere we all sang as if we were also asking him to enter in that heaven that it's the wonderful world of Mika. At the beginning he had some problems with his voice perhaps for the emotion or perhaps because a naughty mosquito that apparently, while Mika was walking up the stage inadvertently entered into his mouth ;P At the "Hello Taormina" a roar from the whole audience welcomed Mika, charging him up and also, as he had never done before, He never stopper going on song after song not giving himself never a pause and dialoguing with the public on several occasions that it became fully part of the Event. At one point, Mika snatched the lineup improvising, singing songs like Over My Shoulder that led the audience in silence, broken only at the end with a liberatory applause. Another magic moment was hearing him speak in Sicilian, even if with some mistakes, to tell the story of the birth of my beloved Sicily, where, he said, you can eat very very well ... I post here the story so that you too can know it: 'N jornu ca Diu Patri era ****enti e passiava 'n celu cu li Santi, a lu munnu pinsau fari un prisenti e da curuna si scippau 'n domanti; cci addutau tutti li setti elementi, lu pusau a mari 'n facci a lu livanti: lu chiamarunu "Sicilia" li genti, ma di l'Eternu Patri e' lu diamanti. A day God the Father was pleased and he was walking in heaven with the saints, he thought of making a present to the world and from the crown he broke away a diamond; he gave it in dowry all seven elements, He put it down to the sea in the face to the east: The people called it "Sicily", but of to the Eternal Father it is the diamond. His performance and the one of the band were great but honestly talking about technique or precision is useless for a concert where has reigned the emotion and he has put his heart in it. It is one of the fewest times that I saw Mika really happy to be there and sing for us ... when he admitted that there were 10 years that his Italian fans kept asking him to come to Taormina I was moved because it was like he was talking directly with us at that time and knew very well how we felt to finally have him there. After the concert, he was a little moved and thanked all his friends (the audience) and the theater that was hosting him... the magic was suddenly over leaving a sense of happiness mixed with sadness in all of us. What else to say ... Mika thanks for giving me once more an emotion that I will always carry in my heart. SETLIST: No Place In Heaven Relax (Take it Easy) Talk About You Popular Song Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) Rain Billy Brown Blue Eyes Grace Kelly Underwater Good Guys Elle me dit Stardust Happy Ending Over My Shoulder Last Party Origin of Love Lollipop We Are Golden Love Today Thank for your detailed report. I could feel your raw emotions and happiness 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Valeria MalavendaUnderwater https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS947Z5wcS0 Happy Ending https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oZq5qHa21g Elle Me Dit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDxl6SBFGY4 No Place In Heaven https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwOc4RFQMNI 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Marika dbRAIN Love Today 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marika.db Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 (edited) Here's more videos! Sorry for the low quality but with my camera i couldn't do better LOVE TODAY OVER MY SHOULDER STARDUST BILLY BROWN GRACE KELLY HAPPY ENDING Edited July 26, 2015 by marika.db 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiibet Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 The gig was amazing! He started with No Place In Heaven, i was hoping to hear that song live so I'm SO happy! Plus he sang Over My Shoulder and the crowd was totally focused and silent, I can assure that everyone enjoyed an unusual song like OMS....pure pure magic! The stage was quite low and I was in a great position so I enjoyed it even more and the venue is unique indeed! He seemed in a really good mood, chatty and happy, just how we like and I agree with Nina, his outfit was amazing The security and crazy fans were the annoying part tho cause many people kept pushing to reach the stage and the security didnt do enough to stop them so they stayed near the stage for long time... Aaah, people behind me were not silent during OMS... But I'm glad it didn't disturb the whole area and to be honest it's possible it disturbed only me. I'm a bit sensitive with sounds especially if Mika is singing OMS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarina Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Aaah, people behind me were not silent during OMS... But I'm glad it didn't disturb the whole area and to be honest it's possible it disturbed only me. I'm a bit sensitive with sounds especially if Mika is singing OMS Ouch, silly people!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Here's my report about Taormina's gig...it was hard to find the words but since I'm sick I had a lot of time to think about it. I loved your report. I didn't know you were Sicilian. Nothing like a hometown gig and such a beautiful backdrop for a gig. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucrezia Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Thank for your detailed report. I could feel your raw emotions and happiness Thank you so much I loved your report. I didn't know you were Sicilian. Nothing like a hometown gig and such a beautiful backdrop for a gig. Thank you Christine! Yeah, I'm Sicliam but for my university and family issues, about 4 years ago we moved to Milan where I live permanently. But you're absolutely right: it's totally another thing when you are at home I think that I'll never forget all the emotions I felt that night 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyaboutmika Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Wonderful pics Eriko Thanks to everyone who shared periscopes of the concert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyaboutmika Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 (edited) Thank you Lucrezia for your very moving heartfelt report It made my eyes water it must have been so special :and emotional Edited July 26, 2015 by crazyaboutmika 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggie112 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Hi everybody! As you already said, this is was one of the best venues ever for a Mika gig I wasn't in the best place ever (second row but at the side) but I enjoyed it so much, I loved the setlist (I had never heard OMS live) and as NPIH is one of my favourite ones of the new album, I was so happy to finally hear it ( even if maybe he still needs to practice a bit ) Mika seemed to be in a really good mood, loving the venue and chatting with the audience, even enjoying fans becoming crazy and wanting to touch his hand During Love Today the audience became totally crazy and many people started dancing on the chairs (including me, as the ones who were in front of me were doing the same and I couldn't see anything ) Oh, I have to say that I was pretty jealous about the Cattolica setlist, as I love Promiseland too, but I appreciate that he's practicing many new songs , and I hope to hear them in the Autumn tour dates 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggie112 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 my videos : Origin of love No place in heaven Mika talking before Elle me ditmaybe it seems you are on a rollercoaster because I look at Mika and not at what I'm filming 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiam Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Thanks a million, to all of you, being present at the last two wonderful MIKA shows in Italy, for sharing all your great stuff, like pics, vids and lovely reports!! I will need quite some time to see it all, but I'm sooo happy that you all had such wonderful experiences!! I'm especially happy for Lucrezia, who finally got MIKA live, where she wanted him most! You really deserved it, and your report touched me deeply! Ever since MIKA started with XF Italy, I've seen in my head, that he should perform at such an ancient place - and I can only imagine what it was like to be there!! Hopefully I can be present the next time something similar takes place... Love,love me 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 GiuchoosemusicLast Party Over My Shoulder 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 (edited) Grazia's ( Tillymilo ) PERISCOPE video VK Whole of the Concert ( 2 hours ) http://vk.com/video232312753_171341648 YouTube Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfkwp5oQ7MKtKrWT0_HlewPR5oR58Jxkf No Place In Heaven Relax (Take it Easy) Talk About You Popular Song Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) Rain Billy Brown Blue Eyes Grace Kelly Underwater Good Guys Elle me dit Stardust Happy Ending Over My Shoulder Last Party Origin of Love Lollipop We Are Golden Love Today Edited July 28, 2015 by Kumazzz 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyara Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 You girls are amazing!! Thanks for recording/posting the whole concert. I'll watch it as soon as I can 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mine Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 We juste come back home (Philippe and I) after a wonderful holidays week in Taormina First, I want to say a big "thank you" to the italian fans for their very nice welcome!!! it was great to spend the day with you and the other fans!!! As we were a little far from the stage, our pics are not very good. As everybody say, the gig was magic, the acoustic of the beautiful theater is just magic!!! The set list was perfect (even if I would like to hear more new songs... ) 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honey Pie Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Hi, you all! I’m Luisa (Honey Pie here on MFC and @DropOfSea on Twitter), I’m the winner of the Taormina tickets contest. I’m finally home after the Sicilian and the Cattolica gigs, recovering a bit from the rush… I wrote a long report in Italian for myself, but I want to write also a short one here to share with you my experience and my happiness… The highlights of the Taormina show were, for me: The venue itself (with all these ancient stairs, the crowd, the stage with antique columns and sunflowers, the sea aside, the moon above… the perfect acoustics of the theater!) The beginning of the show when Mika walked on stage wearing his white clothes, his necklaces and singing No Place In Heaven !!! <3 His prayer not to God, but (as he said) to the “special guest” of the night, the Moon, during the intro to Big Girl The fact that he sang Rain (because I didn’t hear it live in a while) The sweet sentence Mika said after Good Guys (wearing a crown thrown to him by a fan): “I don’t need a proper crown, a plastic one is enough, because I have many friends”… <3 The dance with Giulia on stage during Elle Me Dit -The gift of the Italian Edits of Stardust and Origin *.* Over My Shoulder (the fun speech about mosquitoes before singing it, then his voice in that perfect venue, the religious silence of the audience, than the applauses that followed his performance…) Last Party (I always love the EDM part that they play live!) The “encore” with the story of the origin of Sicily, telled in Sicilian If I find some good ones, I’ll post also some of my pics Thanks a lot to MFC, to MIKA & TeamMika for this amazing esperience, from me and my guest Elena! Luisa 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathouzouf Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Hi, you all! I’m Luisa (Honey Pie here on MFC and @DropOfSea on Twitter), I’m the winner of the Taormina tickets contest. I’m finally home after the Sicilian and the Cattolica gigs, recovering a bit from the rush… I wrote a long report in Italian for myself, but I want to write also a short one here to share with you my experience and my happiness… The highlights of the Taormina show were, for me: The venue itself (with all these ancient stairs, the crowd, the stage with antique columns and sunflowers, the sea aside, the moon above… the perfect acoustics of the theater!) The beginning of the show when Mika walked on stage wearing his white clothes, his necklaces and singing No Place In Heaven !!! <3 His prayer not to God, but (as he said) to the “special guest” of the night, the Moon, during the intro to Big Girl The fact that he sang Rain (because I didn’t hear it live in a while) The sweet sentence Mika said after Good Guys (wearing a crown thrown to him by a fan): “I don’t need a proper crown, a plastic one is enough, because I have many friends”… <3 The dance with Giulia on stage during Elle Me Dit -The gift of the Italian Edits of Stardust and Origin *.* Over My Shoulder (the fun speech about mosquitoes before singing it, then his voice in that perfect venue, the religious silence of the audience, than the applauses that followed his performance…) Last Party (I always love the EDM part that they play live!) The “encore” with the story of the origin of Sicily, telled in Sicilian If I find some good ones, I’ll post also some of my pics Thanks a lot to MFC, to MIKA & TeamMika for this amazing esperience, from me and my guest Elena! Luisa Lovely report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honey Pie Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) I'll post also the report that I wrote in Italian, but is very very loooooooong... Sorry and don't worry, it's not so interesting!!! I wrote it for me, first of all, so all the essentials are in my previous post... REPORT ON TAORMINA CONCERT 23.07.2015 Inizio col dire che sono piuttosto logorroica nello scrivere in italiano e poco fluente in inglese, per cui ho scritto molto, soprattutto per me, per non perdere i ricordi, ma io per prima non sono in grado di tradurre tutto quel che ho scritto in inglese... Per cui grazie in anticipo a chi avrà la pazienza di leggerlo e scusate se dovrete usare Google Transalator... .-. Taormina non era nei miei piani perché avevo già programmato Barcellona e Cattolica e in più, non ostante fosse chiaro fin da subito che sarebbe stato un evento, mi sembrava un luogo lontano da raggiungere e soprattutto molto costoso... Poi, man mano che la data si avvicinava, le amiche di MFC insistevano, la curiosità era tanta e quindi, quando si è presentata l'occasione del concorso per vincere i biglietti, ho deciso di lasciar fare al caso… Inaspettatamente ho vinto, così come un fulmine a ciel sereno, nel giro di poche ore, l'avventura è iniziata… Mi agito incredula, avverto la mia guest, rispondo a Deb, prenoto il volo (anzi, un low cost bus + volo) e l'alloggio (con AirBnB, che consiglio per risparmiare!), organizzo il viaggio di ritorno non verso casa, ma verso Cattolica, preparo la valigia… Sono state ore movimentate, ma sono riuscita più o meno a organizzare tutto e a partire. Tralascio tutti i dettagli del viaggio (che comunque è stato avventuroso, tra percorso notturno di 12 ore in autobus e ritardo del mio volo per Catania...) e finalmente arrivata in Sicilia, sono stata raggiunta all'aeroporto da Elena, la fan siciliana che era mia guest, e insieme ci siamo dirette a Taormina. Posiamo i bagagli al b&b e poi ci rechiamo in teatro per ritirare i nostri biglietti: aprendo la busta scopriamo che sono 2 posti non numerati, erano le 5 del pomeriggio e la coda per quel settore era già iniziata da tempo… Decidiamo di tornare in albergo, di fare una doccia e cambiarci, tanto la nostra situazione ormai non sarebbe cambiata di molto. La scelta è stata buona, perché recandoci al teatro alle 20, all'apertura delle porte, abbiamo trovato, è vero, dei posti molto in alto, ma comunque con una vista stupenda su tutto il teatro, sul mare, l'Etna e il cielo con la luna… Come sa chi ha visto i miei tweet in diretta (@DropOfSea) la visione d'insieme dall'alto, un po' defilata, mi ha aiutato a condividere passo passo i vari momenti dell'evento… Cosa che se fossi stata sotto il palco, non sarei mai riuscita a fare… Quindi veniamo al concerto vero e proprio… È iniziato qualche minuto prima delle 22 e già dall'ingresso di Mika si è capito che sarebbe stata una serata speciale: lui in bianco, con collane, e sulle note di No Place in Heaven!!! Non so se a causa della zanzara che lui (verso la fine dello show) ha raccontato di aver ingoiato salendo sul palco, o per l'emozione di quell'inizio diverso, la sua voce in alcuni punti è sembrata un po' incerta, ma si è ripreso subito dopo sulle note ormai più consuete di Relax, Talk About Your e Popular... Mika inizia anche a parlare, sembra di ottimo umore e cerca il contatto con il pubblico. Dice che quello di Taormina è forse il teatro più bello del mondo e che stasera, a renderlo ancora più magico, c'è un ospite speciale… la luna! È un particolare che sottolineerà ancora... Di solito, infatti, nel presentare Big Girl si rivolge direttamente a Dio chiedendo perché non lo ha fatto più grasso, stasera, invece, si rivolge alla luna suggerendo, come sempre, che se fossimo tutti un po' più "big", saremmo tutti più felici. Poi ha cantato Rain, che da un po' non sentivo live, l'immancabile Billy Brown, Blue Eyes, Grace Kelly… E poi è giunto il momento di Underwater... Lo aspettavo perché già pregustavo la magia di tante piccole luci accese in quella magnifica arena e della sua voce in quel teatro dall'acustica perfetta... La mia attesa non è stata delusa! Durante Good Guys una ragazza (Federica, credo, la stessa che aveva fatto lo stesso gesto al Fabrique) riesce a passargli una corona gonfiabile e lui allora se la mette in testa e pronuncia la tenerissima frase "Io non ho bisogno di una corona vera, me ne basta una di plastica, perché io ho tanti amici!"...❤ Segue Elle Me Dit con il suo solito discorso preparatorio: "Adesso che ho quasi 32 anni, ho deciso di invecchiare con eleganza… Io non ballerò più!…" E, invece, poi, come al solito, si scatena e trascina con sé anche il pubblico!… A questo proposito devo aprire una parentesi: pare che nelle prime file i fan volessero alzarsi e ballare, ma fossero dissuasi dalla sicurezza e dal pubblico più indietro che li rimproveravano e dal poco spazio per muoversi... Giulia (Aichins) in un momento di genialità dei suoi, scrive di getto su un foglio "I WANNA DANCE, BUT THEY SAY NO!", Mika vede la scritta, mostra il cartello al resto del pubblico e la fa salire sul palco a ballare con lui ("Anche tu non hai il permesso di ballare?!? Vieni qui sul palco allora!"). Momento epico! Lei sembrava nata per stare su quel palco! Mika ci ha fatto poi il regalo di Stardust con la strofa in italiano (così come, poco dopo, anche Origin). Tutto sembrava andare verso il finale, perché lui presenta la band su Happy Ending, ma in realtà lo show va avanti ancora per un bel po' (in tutto quasi due ore!). HE è stato un altro momento magico (cantata benissimo!)...si pensava già che di più non potessimo desiderare, ma subito dopo lui ci sorprende ancora una volta... Si siede al piano e attacca delle note che per i fan più accaniti sono inconfondibili e coincidono con commozione e pelle d'oca… Over My Shoulder!!! :') Non mi sembrava vero di poterla sentire di nuovo dal vivo! In quello scenario, poi, è stata davvero insuperabile. Ovviamente lui, che ama mescolare i sentimenti, le risate con le lacrime, introducendo OMS, inizia a parlare di zanzare e fa sorridere tutto il pubblico… Poi inizia a cantare e il silenzio si fa irreale… Poi gli applausi… Momento fantastico!! Infine, in un crescendo di emozioni, sono seguite Last Party (io sono del gruppo che ama alla follia la parte EDM che fa ai live… Secondo me rende molto bene il mood della canzone ) e Origin (Italian Edit), finale con We Are Golden e Lollipop ed "encore" con storiella in siciliano sulla nascita della Sicilia e Love Today. Ma ora basta, mi sono già dilungata troppo! Non scorderò mai lo spettacolo di quella venue, l'acustica perfetta e le emozioni che abbiamo vissuto… Grazie infinite MFC, Mika e MikaTeam per questo regalo!!! ❤ Luisa Edited July 29, 2015 by Honey Pie 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertina Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Grazie Luisa! Un bellissimo racconto :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucrezia Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Luisa fantastico resoconto!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honey Pie Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Thank you, girls!! ???????????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari62 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Thank you Luisa for a detailed and lovely report! It was an adventure but all well that ends well, I'm pleased, that it was worth it! Watching a Mika show in that magic scenery must have been like a dream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honey Pie Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) Thank you Luisa for a detailed and lovely report! It was an adventure but all well that ends well, I'm pleased, that it was worth it! Watching a Mika show in that magic scenery must have been like a dream Edited July 31, 2015 by Honey Pie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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