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2016 - Arena Geneva, Switzerland - 01 June : Reports/Pics/Vids


Kumazzz

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Hi there :)

 

Just a quick review about the gig in Geneva yesterday evening.

Can't be too long as I'm writting from my phone and have to leave in a few minutes to visit lausanne with some friends staying here for a few days ^^

 

We went to the venue around 5pm. There wasn't many people waiting and we found a food spot in the right side of the stage, somewhere near the 10th pr 11th row. Out spot was great! Not too crowded with a perfect view on the stage and we had loooot's of fun during the gig.

 

The opening act was fine, a swiss group called Jetlakes. It was their very first gig in front of such a big audience and they we're very excited about that which was very nice to see.

 

The audience was fine and sang and danced a lot. The setlist was the usual one, no surprise about it. During staring at the sun, Mika went to the seated area and sang the whole song there. It was great to see and the energy during the song was great.

Mika talked a lot and explained how he met à strange woman in the Jura (moutains between France and switzerland) the day before the gig, he was pretty funny. He also explained that someone bought a private piano lesson with him during the french telethon a few years ago and That he completely failed to have it done. Ad the boy was in the audience in Geneva, he went on stage on love today and played the piano (actually just one note) during the song. It was great and everyone was clapping and screaming at the end of the song. It probably wasn't what the boy (or his parents...) was really expecting after having spent so much money for a private lesson but it was a good moment of the gig.

At one point he told people he would wear whatever people were throwing him on stage and quickly regretted it as he ended up with a t-shirt, a scarf, shoes and some other ugly things (but luckily no underwear!)

 

I've had a very good time for this "special" gig for me as it was his first show near my place apart from festivals and i'm really thankfull he came in Geneva :)

 

I

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  • My Report:

 

I have always been a dreamer. But even in my wildest dreams, I never imagined this journey would turn out to be so magical.

 

I live in Tunisia, North Africa. For Mika, I crossed the sea. I paid what I had to pay; I did what I had to do: I bought my tickets, booked my hotel, took a plane and landed in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 1st 2016.

 

My sister and my mother were with me. We’re all Mika fans, and we were all incredibly excited. The airport was just next to the Arena where Mika was going to perform, and so – after a quick stop at the hotel to put our Mika t-shirts on – we headed for the Arena at 2 pm. As we arrived in front of it, we were singing, dancing, prancing around and generally unable to contain our excitement. There weren’t many people, just enough for us to feel surrounded by happy Mika fans.

 

We waited. Sitting on the floor and chewing on junk food, we waited. Then we waited some more, standing in the sun while the guards arranged the entry. While that was happening, suddenly music started playing from inside the Arena. Me and my sister jumped and turned to each other. Could it be? Was it him? We could clearly hear the instrumental to ‘Staring at the Sun’, and if we listened closely, we could even hear someone singing… I called one of the guards and asked them if it was Mika inside. They said that it was indeed him, doing the sound-check. We sang with him, ecstatic: we were hearing Mika live before the show even began!

 

We sat down in the sun and waited, more excited than ever.

 

At 6:30, the guards opened the doors. Much pushing ensued, but luckily my sister my mom and I managed to get into the Arena relatively early: we were standing in the very first row! We had made a few new friends while we were waiting, but they got lost in the crowd.

 

We waited another hour and a half before the first act. It was a Swiss band called ‘Jetlakes’, and they were actually very good. Their lead singer thanked Mika for having them there. I mentally thanked him too, although I still hadn’t seen him yet. When the lead singer of ‘Jetlakes’ proudly announced that he would be leaving us now with Mika, I felt my heart pound a bit harder in my chest. It was real. It was happening. I was going to see him.

 

We could see people moving behind the long black curtains onstage. We guessed they were the crew, and that they were preparing the set. They teased us a lot, pretending to be Mika, peaking from behind the curtains and making us laugh. As they left, a single beam of light was thrown onto the stage, right were a microphone was waiting on its perch.

 

Every minute seemed to linger a bit too long as we waited, for the last time. In my mind, images of Mika of course, but also many conflicting thoughts – “my goodness, this are the last few minutes I have to wait before I see him” – “right now, right now, right now; I must remember this moment” – “I should just have a good time and forget about the rest” – “but I must remember everything later; every little detail” – “right now, right now”.

 

And then suddenly past present and future merged. The audience roared, and into the spotlight stepped Mika, one foot at a time, as though he were slowly revealing himself to us.

 

Mika was standing in front of me, only a few meters away. There he stood, smiling at the sea of people at his feet. I remember the way my whole world shook, my eyes watered, my lips trembled and I couldn’t help the scream that escaped me: “MIKA!

 

He was really there. My mind struggled with this fact. He became real in a way I couldn’t have imagined before seeing him there, flesh and blood and radiant smile, standing in the spotlight. He was wearing his black fireworks suit, and as he brought his open palms together, he spoke into the microphone: “Bonsoir Genève”.

 

His voice echoed through the Arena. He was there, truly there, and so was I. I could feel his presence. I felt his presence. My senses were flooded with Mika – I was the happiest person alive.

 

The first notes started playing as Mika made a small prayer (or, as he called it, “une petite prière”). It was funny and yet oddly emotional. The moment was pure, crystalline in its realness, his skin his eyes his hair his mouth moving against the microphone. His words were flying through the air, slicing through the Arena, landing right into my eager ears. He crossed himself, muttered “Amen”, and the music changed from an eerie organ to the intro of ‘Big Girl’.

 

I wish I could relate the entire show in its slightest details. But I’m afraid that in doing so I’d become a writer, not a storyteller. I don’t want my memories of Mika to become simple words typed onto a computer keyboard. I want my memories to remain mine. I want them to remain pure. I want them to remain unattainable, except in my mind.

 

What I will tell you though, is that Mika’s gig in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 1st 2016, was one of the highlights of my life. The magic, the love, the laughter… everything was perfect. Everything was perfect.

 

Mika finished ‘Happy Ending’ by singing the chorus acapella and with no microphone. It was absolutely, stunningly beautiful. His voice was raw, natural, piercing and powerful.

 

During ‘Boom Boom Boom’ he got a pair of “BOOM” sunglasses from the audience and wore it. He then told us that he’d wear whatever we threw onstage. He quickly regretted it (“Putain,” he said into the mic) as a pair of glittery shoes were thrown onstage, as well as a scarf and a “My Little Pony” t-shirt. He wore them all though, with the shoe-laces around his neck. He looked fabulous.

 

During ‘Lollipop’, Mika invited a boy onstage. Apparently, the boy in question had bought a private piano lesson at last year’s French telethon, but Mika had never managed to give him the lesson. And so, to be fair, the boy was invited onstage. Mika sat him down at the piano and told him to keep playing a single note for the entire song. As you can imagine, Mika had a lot of fun during this portion of the show – jumping on the piano, (nicely) making fun of the boy, (ironically) admiring him for his great piano skills, making several jokes on how the poor lad would wake up late at night, thirty years from now, hearing that same nightmarish note.

 

My favorite part of the show, however, was when he unexpectedly sang ‘We Are Golden’. I wasn’t hoping for that song because someone told me that he rarely sings it anymore onstage. The surprise was enough to make me cry. ‘We Are Golden’ means so much to me; I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing it was to hear it live. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. I was laughing and crying and dancing and at that moment, while I was looking up at Mika, I felt free. I felt young. I felt alive.

I will never forget those precious moments of bliss. There is one image in particular that sticks to my memory, impossibly clear, undeniably one of the sweetest, most powerful visions I have: I can remember him standing on his piano while singing the bridge of ‘We Are Golden’, wearing a red flower-crown on his head, holding his hands up in the air as blue and red lights flickered behind him. It was intense. I was entranced.

 

I think I still might be under his spell. I think I will always, forever be under his spell.

 

His performance gave me goosebumps, tears and laughter. And the rest of my trip was wonderful as well. Mika was there every step of the way, guiding me, pushing me forward.

 

Thank you, Mika, for being who you are.

 

I love you, Mika. You will never know how much I love you.

 

 

  • My Pictures:

 

I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I wanted to share the ones I took with you guys. Needless to say that these are very special pictures to me - I set 2 of them as my phone background and lockscreen. 

 

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After the show, me and my sister stayed a bit to wait for Mika. We had presents for him. Sadly, our Meeks was tired and he left quickly: we saw his car leave. However, Max (Mika's guitarist) was there, and he came out to meet us when he saw us! 

He was absolutely adorable: such a kind, talented man! He promised to give our gifts to Mika.

 

Here's a picture of me and my sister with him:

 

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Here's a picture of me in front of the poster, after the show:

 

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ON STAGE

Publié: 02/06/2016

Mika plus proche que jamais de son public à l’Arena de Genève

 

En presque dix ans de carrière, Mika se produisait pour la première fois à Genève, en ce premier jour de juin. L’artiste était très attendu dans le cadre de sa tournée européenne No Place In Heaven Tour et a joué ses tubes et titres de ses quatre albums devant 7000 spectateurs.

 

 

De longues heures d’attente pour le public genevois de Mika, ce mercredi 1er juin, mais qui s’est régalé du concert donné par le chanteur. Quand Mika fait son entrée sur scène, on reconnaît tout de suite son originalité et son excentricité, la faisant à reculons et démarrant par une prière. On le reconnaît aussi dans son style vestimentaire, baskets à paillettes bleues, jeans noirs, chemise blanche, noeud papillon et veste queue de pie, mais changeant à plusieurs reprises de tenues. Il s’est même vu offrir une nouvelle garde-robe de la part de ses fans; des baskets, des T-shirts et des écharpes, lancés durant le concert.

La scène est aussi à l’image du chanteur. Colorée, lumineuse et extravagante de part une caravane et un trône géant ainsi que son piano d’où jaillissait des confettis, mais surtout belle. On y découvre la pièce qui avait servi à recréer l’Arc de Triomphe, lors de son concert en hommage à Paris, le 27 mai dernier, et qui se fond parfaitement à ce décor.

 

Durant 2 heures, Mika a offert beaucoup de joie et d’amour à ses fans suisses qui en redemandaient. Il les a conquis de ses singles qui sont tous des succès, Grace Kelly, Relax, Take It Easy, Rain, Elle me dit, … Les a transporté dans son énergie communicative et les a fait sourire avec ses anecdotes. L’artiste en Suisse depuis la veille, raconte sa balade dans le Jura, sous la pluie, et sa rencontre avec une dame peu sympathique. Une histoire qui menait nulle part mais qui amusa tout le monde. Mais Mika est toujours aussi naturel qu’à ses débuts et aussi proche de son public qui le surprend en montant dans les gradins pour y interpréter Staring At The Sun et en invitant sur scène le fan qui avait acheté une leçon de piano offerte lors du Téléthon, pour la lui donner enfin.

L’artiste reste lui-même aussi sur scène, ne pouvant pas rester en place, se tenant debout sur son piano peu stable et impressionnant toujours plus ses fans avec sa voix, en terminant Happy Ending, a cappella et sans micro.

Il y eut beaucoup d’échanges avec les spectateurs qui ne pouvaient pas le lâcher des yeux. Mika a touché le coeur des genevois qui battait sous toutes ses formes. En papiers, en ballons, en peluches, la scène en était recouverte, mais surtout des coeurs émus d’où sortaient de profonds remerciements.

 

PICS

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Edited by Kumazzz
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I wish I could relate the entire show in its slightest details. But I’m afraid that in doing so I’d become a writer, not a storyteller.

 

I think one can be both, and you most certainly are. This report is beautiful. So happy for you! Sounds like your experience was perfect  :wub:

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Omg Selma ! This is incredible !!! XD

Your rapport is completly amazing and i really enjoyed it XD

I just had the impression to live my first gig again... omg i'm spechless...

Just thank you for this beautiful trip above mmy emotional sea XD

What about your banner ? When did he took it ? Was it in another gig ?

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I think you will have to change your name to thehappychicken now :naughty:

 

A wonderful report.

 

I think so too :lol3:  I'm the happiest of chickens  :yes:

Thank you so much!

 

Yes!

 

Loved you report sweetie... Glad you had a blast :)

 

Thank you :hug:  I can't wait to see Mika again!

 

I think one can be both, and you most certainly are. This report is beautiful. So happy for you! Sounds like your experience was perfect  :wub:

 

It was, indeed, perfect  :mf_lustslow: Thank you for your lovely words! 

 

Omg Selma ! This is incredible !!! XD

Your rapport is completly amazing and i really enjoyed it XD

I just had the impression to live my first gig again... omg i'm spechless...

Just thank you for this beautiful trip above mmy emotional sea XD

What about your banner ? When did he took it ? Was it in another gig ?

 

Oh Deb, I'm so glad I could take you back in time to your first gig! 

:wub2:  Magical moments!

I gave all the presents I made for Mika to Max, and he promised he would give them to Meeks  :arf2:

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  • silver changed the title to 2016 - Arena Geneva, Switzerland - 01 June : Reports/Pics/Vids

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