2023 - Mika @ Brava Madrid Festival, SPAIN, September 22 - REPORTS / VIDS / PICS

Vero Bott · October 3, 2023

1 hour ago, mellody said:

So finally here's the last part of my report...

PART 4, AFTERSHOW

So I had been told that someone would pick me up at the side of the stage after the show and that they had my phone number. I wasn't sure which side, but the side where the VIP entrance was didn't look wrong, so that's where I waited. I met some MFCers there, like @Anilado , @giraffeandy and @Roxane and said Hi, but sorry that I was a bit distracted because I was worried I might miss the phone call or the person picking me up. I'd had the yearbook with me in the bag for the whole gig - well, all of the gigs of the afternoon, and for the most part it was ok - when I still was in 2nd row, I asked Manuela to put it to her at the barrier, so it would be safer. And I still had it wrapped in bubble wrap, to protect it. Anyway when people started jumping for the act that was on before Mel C, they nearly jumped on the book, so I took it in my hand and held it for the rest of Belen's performance. Long story short, I had taken good care of it and was nervous whether it'd really work out that I could get it to Mika. Then the guy called me and asked me where I was - we had some problems understanding each other because it was so loud, but eventually he found me and took me backstage. Mika stood right in front of the dressing room container, he was taking photos with some of those VIP / Influencer people who had been standing in front of us during the gigs. I wanted to wait til they were done, because there were some more of them waiting, but the guy directed me to go straight to Mika - which didn't give me any time to mentally prepare for the situation, lol! 😅

The whole meeting felt like a dream - and I don't mean that like (well, a little bit of that too ) but rather like you don't really know or understand what's happening, it's all surreal and when you wake up you're like "wtf was that?!" There's a few bits I remember very clearly, and a few that feel like a haze, like "did he really say that or did I dream it?". We said hello and hugged each other, when suddenly he said something like "careful, your flower!" and I saw that the big flower I had pinned on my jacket was falling to the floor. I have no memory about who of us picked it up, but it must have been Mika, because he said "it's much lighter than mine!". I had thought before meeting him that if he said anything about my flower, I'd tell him how much I loved his big white flower and that it's so fluffy... but of course in that moment I completely forgot and just said something about the needle I had attached to the flower and that that at least for the gig it stayed on. I *think* he complimented me on my outfit, that it looks beautiful, but that's one of those things that I might have dreamt, lol! I didn't know where to put the flower and my rain jacket, so I just dropped it on the floor next to me, along with my handbag, and then Mika pointed on the gift bag and said something like "so this is the mysterious thing?", smiling - and so I gave him the book (and put the bag to the pile of my other stuff) and asked if it'd be ok if I filmed it, because the others would love to see his reaction (and at some point I also mentioned that they were waiting outside, also Roxane, who had done the back cover - not sure if that was when I gave him the book, or after the video) and he said yes, sure - so I started filming and you all know the result of that. I didn't even hear everything he said, because I was so focused on getting the video right. SO f*ing relieved that my phone camera didn't fail me, because shortly after, when I was outside and tried to save something, it told me the memory is full (which happened to me more than once this summer, I just film too much at Mika's gigs! 🙈). And at some point while filming I looked at his outfit - normally I never look at people's outfits while talking with them, so I have NO idea why I did it at this point - well, maybe because I wasn't talking but just watching him talk. He looked really nice and elegant. For some reason I thought that his shawl was a shirt and I thought that maybe I could comment on it later, that I liked it, but luckily I forgot, it would have been weird to tell him "I like your shirt" when it's actually a shawl, which I only noticed later in the video. 😅 After the video (I think... or was it before? ), Mika asked me if I enjoyed the show and I said yes, very much (and in my own perception I sounded like a complete idiot when saying that, because I couldn't think of any better words to describe this fantastic gig 😅), then he said something like that it was really good and he seemed surprised about that. I replied that they loved that he was speaking Spanish (not sure why that was the first thing on my mind because there surely were a million other reasons why there was such a fab connection between Mika and the audience, but well...) and he said "yeah, but it's hard!". Haha, I couldn't have told, to me his Spanish was perfect, because I even understood a few words (of the Italian, as I learned later )... Anyway, I didn't say that... But then he said something about finally coming back to Berlin, he made this little gesture to it, of touching my arm with his wrist, like "hey, isn't that great?!" and it took me a moment to react because that topic came completely as a surprise to me. I sometimes like to think I'm more flexible than I used to be, but nope, I guess my brain just works too slowly. So I stammered something like "yes, that's wonderful!" (again feeling like an idiot) and then Mika said "and it's selling really well! Actually the whole tour is!" and I replied that that's great and I'm happy for him, and he said "I'm happy for all of us!", with a look on his face that showed that he must've been really worried about it and is very relieved now that it's selling so well. Then came the bit about knocking on wood that I mentioned in my last post, and then he said that he'd get picked up at 6am the next morning so he has to leave, and we said goodbye and hugged again, this time without my flower getting in the way, haha! And I gotta say that those hugs really were the parts of this dream for me, his jacket felt so soft and warm and... well, I had missed hugging him, it has been a looong time since I last even touched him. The occasions for that are rare, if you're waiting for a moment where it's appropriate and you don't just grab him, like some people do when he comes in the crowd. It's nice when he walks by right next to you while he's in the crowd, it's always a bit of an inner fight of whether to make space for him or to just stand a tiny bit in the way so he has to brush past you , but usually I make space when I can, so that makes the occasions even rarer. And sometimes you try but you can't, but instead you get a full body check by Mika, as @holdingyourdrink experienced, lol! (not in Madrid, but at some other gig). Anyway, getting an actual hug by Mika is much rarer and I feel very very lucky for that.

Anyway, so I left (Mika was taking a few more photos with the other VIP's whom apparently had been waiting patiently - I have no idea tbh, I didn't notice ANYTHING around but just was focused on Mika) and on my way out thought "damn, I'd have loved to have a photo with him in my flower outfit!" and for a moment I considered going back and asking, made a feeble attempt of attaching the flower back to my jacket but didn't manage, and because of that and because I didn't want to bother Mika again, I decided against it. Once I was outside (back in the festival area), I felt completely stupid for not finding more enthusiastic words about the show and about his mention of Berlin and for not asking for a photo and so I had a little breakdown that luckily no one witnessed because the other MFCers were waiting outside. 😅 Michelle told me where they were, and so I slowly made my way to the exit, while uploading the video on MFC's Tiktok. So I joined my friends, hoping that Mika might at least wave and smile to them, or maybe even stop for a minute to thank them in person for the yearbook, but after waiting quite a long time, it became clear that he had left. Anyway it was great to spend some more time with my friends, even though it was getting pretty cold and I was super tired. Then Prisca and me walked for 25 minutes to get to the station where the night bus would leave to take us to the city center, most of the others were in hotels near the venue. So it was about 5am til I finally was back in my bed, and I certainly did a lot less sightseeing the next day than I had originally planned to. 😅 Was nice tho to meet up again with Michelle, Bea and the French girls for Brunch and a bit of relaxed sightseeing.

Thank you for the report (and for the lovely video again ❤️) - and you did great! Just reading about the hugs and all the other interactions shrank my brain just to one cell so I guess I would be just mumbling in real life :lmfao:

And I also had thought that he was wearing a shirt until someone mentioned a beautiful scarf :lol3:

holdingyourdrink · October 3, 2023

1 hour ago, mellody said:

And sometimes you try but you can't, but instead you get a full body check by Mika, as @holdingyourdrink experienced, lol! (not in Madrid, but at some other gig).

:ot:
Yes this actually happened at Caribana Festival in June 2022 and to clarify: I wanted to get out of the way to make room, but there was no space and people were pushing. I had no intention of touching him (still don’t: to me he’s like the queen, you don’t touch him unless he touches you, you know?), but he had no choice but to kind of bodycheck me… Needless to say I got my answer if the fabric of his suit was soft (it was!) and secondly, I got a full on Mika experience during a pandemic, who can say that!?! :lol3: