2024 - Mika @ Musik im Park, Schlossgarten Schwetzingen, GERMANY, 1 August REPORTS / VIDS / PICS

[MFC_Hasi]

16 hours ago, Kumazzz said:

Here is an article behind the PAYWALL...

 

Die Rheinpfalz

https://www.rheinpfalz.de/startseite_artikel,-schillernden-show-mika-im-schlossgarten-_arid,5677361.html

02. August 2024 - 15:38 Uhr

 

Schillernden Show: Mika im Schlossgarten

 

Was Mika so alles drauf hat? Sein Auftritt im Schlossgarten in Schwetzingen stellt es eindrucksvoll unter Beweis. Der 40-jährige versprüht farbenfrohe Duftnoten, wirkt energiegeladen, topfit und kostümverliebt.

 

Manchmal genügen schon ein, zwei starke Songs, um einen Künstler gut zu finden und ein bisschen Fan zu sein. Der britisch-libanesische Sänger Mika ist so ein Fall: Unweigerlich klingelt

 

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  Reveal hidden contents

 

Dazzling show: Mika in the castle garden

 

What can Mika do? His performance in the castle garden in Schwetzingen impressively proves it. The 40-year-old exudes colorful scents, appears energetic, in top shape and loves costumes.

 

Sometimes just one or two strong songs are enough to like an artist and become a bit of a fan. The British-Lebanese singer Mika is one such case: Inevitably, the phone rings.

 

 

 

 

Here‘s the full article:

 

Was Mika so alles drauf hat? Sein Auftritt im Schlossgarten in Schwetzingen stellt es eindrucksvoll unter Beweis. Der 40-jährige versprüht farbenfrohe Duftnoten, wirkt energiegeladen, topfit und kostümverliebt.

 

Manchmal genügen schon ein, zwei starke Songs, um einen Künstler gut zu finden und ein bisschen Fan zu sein. Der britisch-libanesische Sänger Mika ist so ein Fall: Unweigerlich klingelt bei seinem Namen der Song „Grace Kelly“ im Ohr, mit dieser herrlich-schrillen, ausgeflippten Falsettstimme. 

Mika mag es bunt. Mika wirbelt, er springt und rennt umher. Stillstand ist an diesem Konzertabend nicht angesagt. Als hätte er sich in den niemals zu bremsenden Bus aus dem Action-Film „Speed“ mit Sandra Bullock verirrt, brennt der in Beirut geborene und in Paris und London groß gewordene Künstler seine Show ab. Dauernd steht er unter Strom, wechselt die Kostüme von Knallbunt zu Glitzerglamour, schüttelt wie ein Hund seine lockigen Haare, um die Zuschauer in der ersten Reihe an seinem Lustschweiß teilhaben zu lassen – und strahlt in all seiner Überdrehtheit doch eine gewisse Ruhe aus.

„Ice Cream“ im 90er-Neon

Als hätte er sich von der prächtigen Parkanlage inspirieren lassen, steht Mika zunächst in einem legeren, sommerlichen Outfit mit Pflanzenmuster auf der Bühne. Freudestrahlend, grinsend, voll ansteckender Vorfreude. Und zack, hält er schon vor dem ersten Ton einen Bund Hortensien in der Hand. Dabei hat er doch für seine rund 1500 Fans - und jene, die es vielleicht an diesem Abend erst werden - einen bunten Blumenstrauß voller Überraschungen dabei. 

 

Das Intro „Ice Cream“ kommt nicht nur aufgrund der neonfarbenen 90er-Jahre-Kulisse wie ein Autoscooter-Song daher. Schon da ist klar, die Live-Band ist eher Zierde, viele Musikeffekte, ob Trompeten- oder Geigenklänge werden künstlich eingespielt, doch das tut der Stimmung und auch der Strahlkraft keinen Abbruch. 

Märchenhafte Fantasiewelt

Denn die eigentliche Unterhaltung fängt erst an, wenn die mal bekannt (wie „Relax, take ist easy“), mal weniger bekannten Songs (etwa „Origin of Love“) enden. Mika gibt sich bescheiden, aber er spricht erstaunlich gut Deutsch. „Es ist das schönste Konzert“, sagt er schon nach ein paar Songs – und schwärmt über den „Magical Garden“. Ein bisschen fühle er sich wie bei Alice im Wunderland, und genau diesen entrückten Zauber legt er auch über das Publikum. Bei Liedern wie „Lollipop“ oder dem epischen, wie ein Avatar-Soundtrack klingenden „Underwater“ darf man in eine märchenhafte Fantasiewelt eintauchen – und mitsingen. 

Die Zuhörer werden zum Chor, und da das nicht gleich gelingen oder wohl klingen mag, packt Mika sie an ihrer Ehre. „Sing, as if you would own the garden“, macht er die Fans spontan zu Schlosspark-Besitzern. Und tatsächlich weht ein sanft-sinnlicher Gesang über die weiten Wiesen. Immer wieder lässt Mika seinen Charme und seine Entertainer-Künste spielen, bekommt bei „Good Guys“ von einem Good Girl ein Bier ausgegeben, lernt das Wort „großzügig“, gibt mit „Popular Song“ allen vermeintlichen Verlierern und Außenseitern eine Stimme und schwenkt bei „Big Girls (you are beautiful)“ ein Regenbogenfähnchen – mitten im Publikum. 

Seinen großen Hit schrieb er aus Wut

Schon lange geht der Sänger, dessen Eltern 1984 vom Bürgerkrieg im Libanon fliehen mussten, offen mit seiner Homosexualität um. In „Billy Brown“ singt er von der Liebe zu einem Mann. Aber auch „Grace Kelly“, sein Megahit, der vor 17 Jahren die Charts stürmte und als positiver Ohrwurm bis heute nachwirkt, hat eine große Botschaft. Zu Beginn seiner Karriere wollten Produzenten, dass Mika so klingen sollte wie der damals populäre Craig David. „,Grace Kelly’ wurde geschrieben, nachdem Musiker versucht haben, mich zu dem zu formen, was ich sein sollte“, sagte Mika einmal in einem BBC-Interview.

Aus einer gewissen Wut heraus schrieb er „seinen“ Song. „Ich habe versucht, wie Grace Kelly zu sein, mmh. Aber alle ihre Blicke waren zu traurig, aah. Also habe ich es mit einem kleinen Freddie versucht, mmh. Ich bin identitätsverrückt geworden!“, heißt es darin. Tatsächlich hat sich Mika aber längst selbst gefunden und seinen Platz irgendwo zwischen der Queen-Ikone oder der Monaco-Monarchin gefunden. Gerade diese sympathisch-authentische Art macht ihn im idyllischen Hofgarten zu einem Erlebnis. Und so ist es ja oft bei Konzerten. Nicht die ein, zwei Songs, die man eh schon in- und auswendig kennt, hallen nach, sondern die vielen Neuentdeckungen und Einblicke auf eine Persönlichkeit, die man sonst nur aus Spotify oder dem Radio kennt.

[Kumazzz]

11 minutes ago, MFC_Hasi said:

 

Here‘s the full article:

 

 

Was Mika so alles drauf hat? Sein Auftritt im Schlossgarten in Schwetzingen stellt es eindrucksvoll unter Beweis. Der 40-jährige versprüht farbenfrohe Duftnoten, wirkt energiegeladen, topfit und kostümverliebt.

 

Manchmal genügen schon ein, zwei starke Songs, um einen Künstler gut zu finden und ein bisschen Fan zu sein. Der britisch-libanesische Sänger Mika ist so ein Fall: Unweigerlich klingelt bei seinem Namen der Song „Grace Kelly“ im Ohr, mit dieser herrlich-schrillen, ausgeflippten Falsettstimme. 

Mika mag es bunt. Mika wirbelt, er springt und rennt umher. Stillstand ist an diesem Konzertabend nicht angesagt. Als hätte er sich in den niemals zu bremsenden Bus aus dem Action-Film „Speed“ mit Sandra Bullock verirrt, brennt der in Beirut geborene und in Paris und London groß gewordene Künstler seine Show ab. Dauernd steht er unter Strom, wechselt die Kostüme von Knallbunt zu Glitzerglamour, schüttelt wie ein Hund seine lockigen Haare, um die Zuschauer in der ersten Reihe an seinem Lustschweiß teilhaben zu lassen – und strahlt in all seiner Überdrehtheit doch eine gewisse Ruhe aus.

„Ice Cream“ im 90er-Neon

Als hätte er sich von der prächtigen Parkanlage inspirieren lassen, steht Mika zunächst in einem legeren, sommerlichen Outfit mit Pflanzenmuster auf der Bühne. Freudestrahlend, grinsend, voll ansteckender Vorfreude. Und zack, hält er schon vor dem ersten Ton einen Bund Hortensien in der Hand. Dabei hat er doch für seine rund 1500 Fans - und jene, die es vielleicht an diesem Abend erst werden - einen bunten Blumenstrauß voller Überraschungen dabei. 

 

Das Intro „Ice Cream“ kommt nicht nur aufgrund der neonfarbenen 90er-Jahre-Kulisse wie ein Autoscooter-Song daher. Schon da ist klar, die Live-Band ist eher Zierde, viele Musikeffekte, ob Trompeten- oder Geigenklänge werden künstlich eingespielt, doch das tut der Stimmung und auch der Strahlkraft keinen Abbruch. 

Märchenhafte Fantasiewelt

Denn die eigentliche Unterhaltung fängt erst an, wenn die mal bekannt (wie „Relax, take ist easy“), mal weniger bekannten Songs (etwa „Origin of Love“) enden. Mika gibt sich bescheiden, aber er spricht erstaunlich gut Deutsch. „Es ist das schönste Konzert“, sagt er schon nach ein paar Songs – und schwärmt über den „Magical Garden“. Ein bisschen fühle er sich wie bei Alice im Wunderland, und genau diesen entrückten Zauber legt er auch über das Publikum. Bei Liedern wie „Lollipop“ oder dem epischen, wie ein Avatar-Soundtrack klingenden „Underwater“ darf man in eine märchenhafte Fantasiewelt eintauchen – und mitsingen. 

Die Zuhörer werden zum Chor, und da das nicht gleich gelingen oder wohl klingen mag, packt Mika sie an ihrer Ehre. „Sing, as if you would own the garden“, macht er die Fans spontan zu Schlosspark-Besitzern. Und tatsächlich weht ein sanft-sinnlicher Gesang über die weiten Wiesen. Immer wieder lässt Mika seinen Charme und seine Entertainer-Künste spielen, bekommt bei „Good Guys“ von einem Good Girl ein Bier ausgegeben, lernt das Wort „großzügig“, gibt mit „Popular Song“ allen vermeintlichen Verlierern und Außenseitern eine Stimme und schwenkt bei „Big Girls (you are beautiful)“ ein Regenbogenfähnchen – mitten im Publikum. 

Seinen großen Hit schrieb er aus Wut

Schon lange geht der Sänger, dessen Eltern 1984 vom Bürgerkrieg im Libanon fliehen mussten, offen mit seiner Homosexualität um. In „Billy Brown“ singt er von der Liebe zu einem Mann. Aber auch „Grace Kelly“, sein Megahit, der vor 17 Jahren die Charts stürmte und als positiver Ohrwurm bis heute nachwirkt, hat eine große Botschaft. Zu Beginn seiner Karriere wollten Produzenten, dass Mika so klingen sollte wie der damals populäre Craig David. „,Grace Kelly’ wurde geschrieben, nachdem Musiker versucht haben, mich zu dem zu formen, was ich sein sollte“, sagte Mika einmal in einem BBC-Interview.

Aus einer gewissen Wut heraus schrieb er „seinen“ Song. „Ich habe versucht, wie Grace Kelly zu sein, mmh. Aber alle ihre Blicke waren zu traurig, aah. Also habe ich es mit einem kleinen Freddie versucht, mmh. Ich bin identitätsverrückt geworden!“, heißt es darin. Tatsächlich hat sich Mika aber längst selbst gefunden und seinen Platz irgendwo zwischen der Queen-Ikone oder der Monaco-Monarchin gefunden. Gerade diese sympathisch-authentische Art macht ihn im idyllischen Hofgarten zu einem Erlebnis. Und so ist es ja oft bei Konzerten. Nicht die ein, zwei Songs, die man eh schon in- und auswendig kennt, hallen nach, sondern die vielen Neuentdeckungen und Einblicke auf eine Persönlichkeit, die man sonst nur aus Spotify oder dem Radio kennt.

 

Thanks a lot for posting @MFC_Hasi 

 

Google translator

 

Spoiler

 

What can Mika do? His performance in the castle gardens in Schwetzingen is impressive proof of this. The 40-year-old exudes colorful scents, appears energetic, in top shape and loves costumes.

 

Sometimes just one or two strong songs are enough to like an artist and become a bit of a fan. The British-Lebanese singer Mika is one such case: When you hear his name, you inevitably hear the song "Grace Kelly" with that wonderfully shrill, crazy falsetto voice.

 

Mika likes it colorful. Mika whirls, he jumps and runs around. Standing still is not the order of the day on this concert evening. As if he had strayed into the never-stopping bus from the action film "Speed" with Sandra Bullock, the artist, who was born in Beirut and grew up in Paris and London, puts on a show. He is constantly on edge, changing his costumes from brightly colored to glittery glamour, shaking his curly hair like a dog to let the audience in the front row share in his sweat of pleasure - and yet, despite all his overexcitement, he exudes a certain calm.

 

"Ice Cream" in 90s neon

 

As if he had been inspired by the magnificent park, Mika first stands on stage in a casual, summery outfit with a plant pattern. Beaming with joy, grinning, full of infectious anticipation. And before the first note is played, he is holding a bunch of hydrangeas in his hand. But he has a colorful bouquet full of surprises for his 1500 or so fans - and those who may become fans this evening.

The intro "Ice Cream" sounds like a bumper car song, and not just because of the neon-colored 90s backdrop. It is already clear that the live band is more of an ornament, many musical effects, whether trumpet or violin sounds, are artificially played, but this does not detract from the atmosphere or the radiance.

Fairytale fantasy world

 

Because the real entertainment only begins when the songs, some well-known (like "Relax, take it easy"), some less well-known (such as "Origin of Love"), end. Mika is modest, but he speaks surprisingly good German. "It's the most beautiful concert," he says after just a few songs - and raves about the "Magical Garden." He feels a bit like Alice in Wonderland, and it is precisely this enchanted magic that he casts over the audience. With songs like "Lollipop" or the epic "Underwater", which sounds like an Avatar soundtrack, you can immerse yourself in a fairytale fantasy world - and sing along.

The listeners become a choir, and since this may not work or sound good right away, Mika grabs them by their honor. "Sing, as if you would own the garden," he spontaneously turns the fans into owners of the castle park. And indeed, a soft, sensual song wafts across the wide meadows. Mika repeatedly uses his charm and his entertainer skills, gets a beer from a good girl during "Good Guys," learns the word "generous," gives all supposed losers and outsiders a voice in "Popular Song," and waves a rainbow flag in "Big Girls (you are beautiful)" - right in the middle of the audience.

He wrote his big hit out of anger

 

The singer, whose parents had to flee the civil war in Lebanon in 1984, has long been open about his homosexuality. In "Billy Brown," he sings about his love for a man. But "Grace Kelly," his mega-hit that stormed the charts 17 years ago and is still a positive earworm today, also has a big message. At the beginning of his career, producers wanted Mika to sound like the then popular Craig David. "'Grace Kelly' was written after musicians tried to shape me into what I should be," Mika once said in a BBC interview.

 

Out of a certain anger, he wrote "his" song. "I tried to be like Grace Kelly, mmh. But all her looks were too sad, aah. So I tried a little Freddie, mmh. I went identity crazy!", it says. In fact, Mika has long since found himself and found his place somewhere between the Queen icon or the Monaco monarch. It is precisely this likeable, authentic manner that makes him an experience in the idyllic Hofgarten. And that is often the case at concerts. It is not the one or two songs that you already know inside out that resonate, but the many new discoveries and insights into a personality that you otherwise only know from Spotify or the radio.

 

 

[Kumazzz]

47 minutes ago, Lexa said:

But is there a way to also download the YouTube videos?

 

Online YouTube Downloader : I always use this.

https://www.y2mate.com/en948

 

Original files

 

Selfie on Stage

 

 

 

https://instagram.com/provinztour/ 's stories Happy Ending

 

 

 

[Lexa]

@Kumazzz Thank you!!! 🙏 👍

[mellody]

On 8/2/2024 at 11:00 PM, Kumazzz said:

Schwetzinger Zeitung

https://www.schwetzinger-zeitung.de/fotos_fotostrecke,-fotostrecke-knallbunter-auftritt-mika-eroeffnet-musik-im-park-2024-in-schwetzingen

 

Konzertreihe

 

Knallbunter Auftritt: Mika eröffnet Musik im Park 2024 in Schwetzingen

 

Der libanesich-britische Sänger Mika verzaubert den Schlossgarten mit energiegeladenen Songs und ausgefallenen Outfits.

Der kauzige Freigeist weiß, wie man eine Menschenmenge mitreißt.

 

Google translator and PICS

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Concert series
Brightly colored performance: Mika opens Music in the Park 2024 in Schwetzingen

The Lebanese-British singer Mika enchants the castle gardens with energetic songs and unusual outfits.

The quirky free spirit knows how to get a crowd going.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edit: in fact what I posted here is a different article (full gig review) in the same newspaper. This is the link: https://www.schwetzinger-zeitung.de/orte/schwetzingen_artikel,-schwetzingen-schrill-buntes-pop-wunderland-das-war-mika-bei-musik-im-park-im-schwetzinger-schlossgar-_arid,2231078.html

 

And a photo I got sent on IG: 

 

Schrill-buntes Pop-Wunderland: Das war Mika bei Musik im Park im Schwetzinger Schlossgarten

Das Auftaktkonzert bei Musik im Park setzt mit dem sympathischen libanesisch-britischen Sänger Mika ein lebensbejahendes Ausrufezeichen. Mit energiegeladenen Hits interagiert auf charmante Weise mit seinem Publikum.

 

Schwetzingen. Da hatte sich Mika dann wohl doch etwas zu viel vorgenommen, als er beim Auftakt der Schwetzinger Musik-im-Park-Konzertreihe zusammen mit seinem begeisterten Publikum den Regen wegtanzen wollte. Setzte er den drohenden Wolken und zuckenden Blitzen zunächst noch seinen Song „Relax, take it easy. For there is nothing that we can do“, man solle also entspannen und es leicht nehmen, weil man sowieso nichts machen könne, so versuchte er am Ende des tollen Konzertes mit „Happy Ending“ dem einsetzenden Niederschlag ausgelassen tanzend zu begegnen. Vergebens. Beim Performen von „Yo Yo“ ganz zum Schluss des Konzertes zeigten die Wolken ihre ganze Wucht und innerhalb weniger Augenblicke war das Publikum nass bis auf die Haut – da hielten es nur die ganz Hartgesottenen noch bis zum Schluss des Songs vor der Bühne aus.

Das allerdings war das einzige Missgeschick, das dem libanesisch-britischen Sänger bei dieser sommerlichen Popparty im Schlossgarten passierte. Der sympathische Künstler begeisterte sein – laut Angaben des Veranstalters – 1500 Köpfe zählendes Publikum mit einer fröhlichen Neon-Glitzerwelt, die es in sich hatte. Ganz im Stil der 1970er und 1980er Jahre präsentierte er seine 15 Songs mit einer ansteckenden Energie. Auch wenn Mikas Frage zeigte, dass viele Besucher zum ersten Mal ein Konzert von ihm besuchten, verließen am Ende sicherlich ausschließlich Fans das Festivalgelände hinter dem südlichen Zirkelbau, wenngleich auch fluchtartig. Die 19-jährige Valentina brachte es auf den Punkt: „Bisher war ich kein Mika-Fan, aber ab sofort!“

 

Mit Hits wie „Relax, Take It Easy“ und „Grace Kelly“ von seinem Debüt-Album „Life in Cartoon Motion“ feierte der libanesisch-britische Sänger schon früh riesige Erfolge. Seither zählt er zu den schillerndsten Gestalten des europäischen Pop-Universums. Mikas künstlerischer Ansatz, seine markante Fünf-Oktaven-Stimme, kreative Vielfalt und seine zeitlosen Hits rissen auch in Schwetzingen das Publikum sofort mit. Nicht nur die Hardcorefans direkt vor der Bühne mit ihren Blumenoutfits klatschten, tanzten und sangen vom ersten Song „Ice cream“ an mit – die Welle der Begeisterung wogte bis in die letzte Reihe des Festivalgeländes, wo die Zuhörer ausreichend Platz zum Tanzen fanden. Das war besonders beim einzigen auf Französisch gesungenen Lied „Elle me dit“, einer Hommage ans Tanzen, wichtig, wenn Mika alle aufforderte, sich „wie verrückt“ zu bewegen.

 

Lebensfreude ausgelöst durch Mikas einzigartigen Stil

Sein einzigartiger Stil, der anspruchsvollen Pop mit Humor und Glamour vereint, löste auch an diesem Sommerabend echte Lebensfreude beim Publikum aus – da konnte keiner stillstehen. Aber es war mehr: Mika flirtete mit dem Publikum, das teils weite Anfahrten für das Konzert in Kauf genommen hatte. Viele Franzosen waren dabei. So auch die 65-jährige Monique, die „natürlich extra für Mika“ nach Schwetzingen gekommen war und alles ganz fantastisch fand.

 

Augenzwinkernd, manchmal fast schon anbiedernd, doch letztlich immer sehr authentisch hielt Mika mit seinem Publikum Kontakt – mal in Englisch, dann wieder mit deutschen Einsprengseln. Er hatte keine Berührungsängste, sprang mal über die Absperrung mitten unter seine Fans oder holte zum Biertasting („Ja, sehr gutes Bier in Schwetzingen.“) eine Zuschauerin zu sich auf die Bühne.

In seiner temporeichen Show versprühte Mika jungenhaften Charme und wahrhaftig wirkende Fröhlichkeit – halt echtes „Lollipop“-Feeling. Das Publikum dankte es ihm, warf ihm zu Beginn einen Strauß Hortensien auf die Bühne, die Mika sofort in seine Show aufnahm. Und für „Happy Ending“ hatte eine Fangruppe für sehr viele Zuschauer Blüten aus buntem Transparentpapier vorbereitet, die vor die Taschenlampe der hochgereckten Handys gehalten, dem kaleidoskopischen Fest aus grellen Farben, Tönen und Stimmungen noch mehr Buntheit verliehen. Sein Hit „Grace Kelly“ wurde gar zum Regenbogen-Delirium.

 

Mika liebt erkennbar verspielte und grelle Showeffekte, allerdings haben die nicht die Aufgabe, von musikalischer Spärlichkeit abzulenken. Wuchtig einschlagende, die Magengrube massierende Basstöne, die zeitweise schneidende Falsett-Singstimme, dann wieder opulente Melodien oder leisere Töne am Klavier – Mika beherrscht die Kunst der popmusikalischen Vielfalt und Offenbarung. Beides setzte er in Schwetzingen wunderbar um. Dabei wurde er von einer hervorragenden Begleitband unterstützt – und vom Publikumschor, der einer Tradition folgend bei „Underwater“ von Mika dirigiert wurde.

Übers Wasser zurück zum Regen. Da wusste Besucherin Katja (53) aus einem Ort südlich von Stuttgart im Gespräch mit dieser Zeitung eine schöne Geschichte zu erzählen. Sie hatte mit ihren Kindern, als diese noch im Grundschulalter waren, im Auto immer den Mika-Song „Rain“ gehört. Als ihre inzwischen 20-jährige Tochter vom Konzert in Schwetzingen erfuhr, „mussten wir einfach kommen – da gab es auch bei zwei Stunden Anfahrt keine Diskussion“. Bereut hat es die Familie nicht, verriet sie, auch wenn dieser Lieblingssong diesmal nicht gespielt wurde.

 

Hockenheimer Klein-Zwillinge Used machen Lust auf Mika

Beim Konzert hatten übrigens zunächst Marco und Dario Klein aus Hockenheim den Support für Mika übernommen. Sie boten eine halbe Stunde lang eine Mischung aus ihren drei bislang veröffentlichten Alben und einen brandneuen Song. Allerdings hatten sie es trotz ihrer musikalisch sehr guten Darbietung nicht leicht, auf dem zunächst noch eher spärlich besetzten Festivalgelände eine zündende Beziehung zum Publikum aufzubauen. Doch die häufig zu hörende Frage, wer denn die Jungs auf der Bühne seien, zeigte, dass sie dann doch für wirkliche Aufmerksamkeit im Vorfeld von Mika sorgten – Chapeau für Used.

 

Spoiler

A loud, colorful pop wonderland: That was Mika at Music in the Park in the Schwetzingen Palace Gardens
The opening concert at Music in the Park sets a life-affirming exclamation mark with the likeable Lebanese-British singer Mika. He interacts with his audience in a charming way with energetic hits.

 

Schwetzingen. Mika had probably taken on a bit too much when he wanted to dance the rain away with his enthusiastic audience at the start of the Schwetzingen Music in the Park concert series. After initially setting the threatening clouds and flickering lightning with his song "Relax, take it easy. For there is nothing that we can do", i.e. people should relax and take it easy because there is nothing they can do anyway, he tried to counter the onset of rain with "Happy Ending" at the end of the great concert by dancing exuberantly. In vain. During the performance of "Yo Yo" right at the end of the concert, the clouds showed their full force and within a few moments the audience was wet to the skin - only the really hardy ones could hold out in front of the stage until the end of the song.

 

But that was the only mishap that happened to the Lebanese-British singer at this summer pop party in the castle gardens. The likeable artist delighted his audience of 1,500 people - according to the organizer - with a cheerful neon glitter world that was something special. In the style of the 1970s and 1980s, he presented his 15 songs with infectious energy. Even though Mika's question showed that many visitors were attending his concert for the first time, at the end it was certainly only fans who left the festival grounds behind the southern circular building, albeit in a hurry. 19-year-old Valentina summed it up: "I wasn't a Mika fan until now, but from now on I am!"

 

The Lebanese-British singer enjoyed huge success early on with hits like "Relax, Take It Easy" and "Grace Kelly" from his debut album "Life in Cartoon Motion". Since then he has been one of the most dazzling figures in the European pop universe. Mika's artistic approach, his distinctive five-octave voice, creative diversity and his timeless hits immediately captivated the audience in Schwetzingen too. It wasn't just the hardcore fans directly in front of the stage in their floral outfits who clapped, danced and sang along from the first song, "Ice cream" - the wave of enthusiasm surged all the way to the last row of the festival grounds, where the audience found plenty of space to dance. This was particularly important during the only song sung in French, "Elle me dit", a homage to dancing, when Mika asked everyone to move "like crazy".

Joie de vivre triggered by Mika's unique style

 

His unique style, which combines sophisticated pop with humor and glamour, sparked real joie de vivre in the audience on this summer evening - no one could stand still. But it was more than that: Mika flirted with the audience, some of whom had traveled long distances to come to the concert. Many French people were there. This was also the case for 65-year-old Monique, who had come to Schwetzingen "especially for Mika, of course" and found everything fantastic.

Mika kept in touch with his audience with a wink, sometimes almost ingratiatingly, but ultimately always very authentically - sometimes in English, sometimes with a sprinkle of German. He had no fear of contact, sometimes jumping over the barrier right into the middle of his fans or bringing a spectator onto the stage for a beer tasting ("Yes, very good beer in Schwetzingen.").

In his fast-paced show, Mika exuded boyish charm and genuine happiness - a real "lollipop" feeling. The audience thanked him for this and threw him a bouquet of hydrangeas onto the stage at the beginning, which Mika immediately included in his show. And for “Happy Ending”, a group of fans had prepared flowers made of colorful tracing paper for a large number of spectators, which were held up to the flashlights of the raised cell phones, adding even more color to the kaleidoscopic festival of bright colors, sounds and moods. His hit “Grace Kelly” even became a rainbow delirium.

 

Mika clearly loves playful and bright show effects, but they are not meant to distract from the musical sparseness. Powerful bass notes that massage the pit of the stomach, the occasionally cutting falsetto singing voice, then again opulent melodies or quieter tones on the piano – Mika has mastered the art of pop music variety and revelation. He implemented both wonderfully in Schwetzingen. He was supported by an excellent backing band – and by the audience choir, which, following tradition, was conducted by Mika during “Underwater”.

Across the water back to the rain. Visitor Katja (53) from a town south of Stuttgart had a nice story to tell when speaking to this newspaper. She and her children, when they were still in primary school, always listened to the Mika song “Rain” in the car. When her now 20-year-old daughter heard about the concert in Schwetzingen, “we just had to come – there was no discussion even though it was a two-hour drive.” The family has no regrets, she revealed, even if this favorite song wasn't played this time.

 

Hockenheim Klein-twins Used make you want to see Mika

At the concert, Marco and Dario Klein from Hockenheim initially supported Mika. For half an hour, they offered a mix of their three previously released albums and a brand new song. However, despite their musically very good performance, it was not easy for them to build a sparking relationship with the audience on the initially rather sparsely populated festival grounds. But the frequently heard question about who the guys on stage were showed that they did attract real attention in the run-up to Mika - hats off to Used.

 

Edit: And a few more photos of fans from the article. I can see @Liv1680, @Yavanna, @tiibet and a tiny bit of @Prisca 

Spoiler

 

[Deepblue]

23 hours ago, Kumazzz said:

Speech and end of Origin Of Love

 

 

I saw this, and something came to my mind again that touched me very deeply already during his gig in Bonn. As Mika talks about the 'first word for tonight', love, he somehow completely enchants me with his calm, sonorous voice, the soft piano music in the background and the whole atmosphere of the concert. Everyone becomes so silent, and it is these tiny little moments that make Mika really special for me. Everything he sings has got a meaning, and it seems to be extremely important to him to transport this meaning to those who want to listen - always with a lot of humour, but also a certain sense of significance. And then, he takes the audience with him on this journey and involves them with so much passion. It does feel a bit like the good friend who intercepts you at a noisy party, says something so profound out of the blue that it leaves you speechless and in admiration, and then gives you a big hug. I love that and how Mika does that, and it means so so much to me 

[mellody]

20 hours ago, Presci1108 said:

So, here is my little report. My first and last gig of the summer tour, my first open air, and also, my first in a no french-speaking country. It was the concert of the first times. It was also the last of the year and my way to celebrate my bachelor, so I was decided to enjoy it at the maximum. Because of this quite contraring element (the thunderstorms), I couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted, but it was amazing anyway ! 

 

Like I said, I loose myself twice in Schetzingen, a thing that is pretty much annoying when you don't understand a thing of the given explanations.  Now, I can tell my german is very bad, I learned it at school for 5 years, but apparently, I forgot nearly everything, it was apocalyptic, I undersood nothing ! So, the first time I was lost was in the morning. We arrived at Schetzingen, and Bam, we didn't find the castle entrance. We went and went for at last 30 min, I thought I found it, but it was a graveyard (yes...) so I entered some kind of city hall, the guy rapidly understood I'm french, but it's a english speaker he searched because nobody knew french. The guy told us the way, and we finally arrived at a little entrance to the garden. This entrance, not the principal one of the castle, was near an entrance to the concert area where there was nobody. So, being the shy girl I am, I stayed here all alone. Another french girl came, then a third : we were only 3 for several hours, it was strange, but, naturally, very relaxed and an easy way to be acquainted to each other, even for me. Actually, the most relaxing queue I ever experienced, so it was very nice. Except the following people started to ask for numbers, and so, one of the girls I befriended found herself asked to give numbers, and we made our own queuing and number systeme for our entrance. It started to pour down rain in the afternoon, we were soaked wet, that was pretty hard, but fun a the same time. At the end, we were all pretty acquainted with each other, and we all made the same sparkles make-up for being assorted, that was fun.

 

For once, I was lucky, having chosen the "good" entrance. We could go at the front row without even running, and our trio managed to stay together, and THAT was wonderful. It was the first time I could spend the gig with people I met and with whom I already lived some good moments, it was really nice to share that with other fans, usually I loose the people I spent the day with at the concert. Not being alone added a really nice touch to the atmosphere. 

 

I had an excellent spot, first row, left, nearly at the center. 

 

The supporting act was a rock group, I found it was nice. BUT at the same time,I already felt I didn't enjoy it to the fullest, because of the dark clouds starting to grow nearer. I have a phobia of thunderstorms. I don't  know how it started, I just know I'm able to make panick attacks when I'm under one. Having thunderstorms at my first open air concert was the worst possible scenario for me, and honestly, I'm surprised to see how well I managed it. I mean, it may seem little for most people, but for me, being outside while lightnings and thunder are there, is normally very challenging.Even in the concert, I felt the urge to sometime look at where the lightnings were. The thing is, Mika being Mika, I forgot the weather in the course of the show. Currently, the lightning clouds added to the atmosphere. 

 

It was the first time I went to a gig where Mika didn't speak french. But I understood most, and we laughed a lot. Seeing his efforts to speak german was adorable. I found him talkative, funny, and he seemed happy to be there and smiled a lot. I liked the way he played with flowers and petals with Max and a poor security staff that didn't ask anything     Or the little german song he sang. Or the fact that there was so much french accents and we had to make our "underwater" sounds more german. His mimics when we had to follow him for Underwater. He said it was one of the most beautiful venue he performed to. I also really loved when he filmed us. I never expected I could appear in a Mika's story, and being part of that audience felt suddenly like a great privilege.  I found the public reactive, happy, and it's hard to believe there was only 1500 people, since it screamed and sang a lot. It was nice, though, to have the room for dancing. 

 

The setlist could have been better for my taste, but at the same time, I was happy to hear songs I didn't hear since an eterniy, especially SITM and Good Guys. Ah, Good Guys, what a joy to hear it again ! Plus, it was cute with his "beer-friend" and fan near him. And Popular Song ! I never heard it live, so it's always a pleasure to discover new songs in live. I don't necessarly love the melody of the song, but I must admit I always felt strangely good with its lyrics. So when he asked the people that felt like losers at school to raise their hands, and then told this song was for us and our singing were our revenges, I felt strangely warm especially since I celebrated my own revenge on life with my bachelor that same night.  

 

At Big Girls, he went in and out the crowd in my area. He also stopped to dance with us, and for the first time, I could really dance with him near me.  And for Happy Ending... He was happy with the fan action, but the best moment for me was obviously this moment he came and stood at the barrier, just beside us. I didn't expect that at all. When I saw him coming in my area, just near us and near me, and stay here for some time and sing, it was very strong for me. It was the moment the rain started and the thunder became stronger and somehow, I found the rain falling precisely for this song magic, and having him near me like that was even more magic. Easily, my best memory of this concert. It was a suspended moment. 

 

This concert was for me the occasion to discover once more the incredible power Mika has on my well-being, since it was literally the first time of all my like I was under a thunderstorm and didn't even panick or felt bad. We didn' hear thunder anyway. Though, like I said, I'm sure it was partly because of that we didn't have WAG and an encore. Objectively, it started to become bad at that moment, there was more and more lightning, and for Love Today, we were soaked, to the point my clothes aren't even dry yet at that moment. It's true I would, too, have preferred the concert to continue, at that moment, I didn't gave a damn about thunder anymore. But it is what it is. End of the dream, end of the best year of my fan's life, my 4th gig of the year, and the beginning of a strong emptiness feeling... I'm without concert to wait for the first time in months, and that's hard. 

 

After the concert, I lost myself in the city for the second time : the security staff prepared us an exit totally at the opposite of the gathering point we had wih my family (who spent the day making some tourism, and at Sea Life, at the pleasure of my brothers and sister). And here I was, in a city I didn't know, with people talking a language I didn't understand, rain entering even my baskets and walking under thunder, my phobia. It was simply like in my worst nightmares. I don't know how I found the strengh to, but I didn't panick and managed to hide myself under an hotel's door and tell my parents some clues to find me, and it worked. Honestly, I wanted to tell that little adventure because I felt really pride of myself after that, now I feel like I can handle anything.   Having fresh memories of the day and the concert helped me a lot, and the positive feelings I had, still lingering in my heart, helped me to keep my head cold and remember I was an adult, and could manage this alone.   Now, the next time I feel stressed because of a storm, I know I can remember that under the same kind of thunderstorm, Mika was singing before my eyes, just near me and it was wonderful  

 

 

OK, so I told I would write a "little" report, and I wrote a novel, plus it's pretty disorganised.  But here are my fresh memories of this incredible experience, this new incredible concert. Gosh, the fact I don't have any left now hits hard... 

 

Thank you Presci for your wonderful report, that's exactly what I needed to read to just evaporate my jealousy into nothing (ok maybe the whole night of sleep last night helped as well ). I'm sincerely happy for you, for your wonderful gig experience and also that it helped you to feel less scared about thunderstorms. I know exactly what you mean, I had the same phobia - and also for me a concert was the first thing that made it go away for at least that one time. It was my fave band back in the late 90s, "Caught in the Act" (which probably no one outside of Germany and/or below the age of 40 has ever heard of) and there was a big thunderstorm at one of their concerts in the middle of a forest. I was scared at first, but at some point it was more like "and if it kills me, that's the way I wanna go", to quote Mika, haha!  Music has such healing powers.  

And please don't feel sorry or guilty in any way - it's absolutely not my intention to make anyone feel bad, or blame anyone. As I said:

On 8/2/2024 at 2:39 PM, mellody said:

I know though that it's a question of perspective

and if you say "dude, your perspective on this gig sucks!", that's probably completely the truth.  But I'm starting to feel better about it already, I love reading all the happy reports, to help me change my perspective.

 

@jatspeedy Obviously I know that a concert ticket doesn't grant me the right to meet Mika. I talked about FOLLOWING him, which includes much more than just going to a gig or listening to his music. And I'm well aware that if *I* don't feel good with that (anymore ... for whatever reason), I have to change something about what *I* do. It's MY responsibility to make myself feel better, not Mika's. He never asked me to follow him. Sorry if what I wrote came across as criticizing Mika for his choices, or as feeling entitled to anything. That's not my point. Anyway, I'd prefer to continue this discussion elsewhere, as this thread should be reserved for the gig reports. I started a discussion about this topic in particular back in 2019, because also at the beginning of the Revelation Tour it was similar to this year, and then it all changed, so this time I stayed silent for the most part and just hoped for things to change again. Anyway, if you want to discuss this, we can do it there (same topic, even if it's not the Revelation Tour anymore): https://www.mikafanclub.com/topic/34254-revelation-tour-without-mgs-your-thoughts/#comments

 

 

[mellody]

Starting to upload my videos...

 

Support act "Used" - nice music, the style was a bit like Beatles meets Oasis - definitely sounding quite British, tho they're from Germany.

 

Showstart with Ice Cream & Mika asking for the flowers

 

talk during OOL, speaking some German and talking about the venue, that it feels like Alice in Wonderland

 

talk before Lollipop, about languages - with @Statue_of_Liberty telling him the German word for Lollipop

 

talk during Lollipop, about hair chemicals in his eyes and always being late at school

 

talk during Lollipop, asking the crowd to sing louder

 

Talk about you

 

returning to the stage at the end of Big GIrl

 

Talk about speaking German, making the crowd sing for Underwater

 

Relax

 

talk during Relax, spraying popstar sweat from his hair onto the frontrow

 

talk about returning to Germany, reciting the beginning of Schubert's "Die Forelle", and asking a beer from the crowd - then getting his new "beer friend" on stage

 

A bit of Good Guys, with his "beer friend"

 

Talk about the inspiration behind Popular Song, taking off his jacket (I suppose no one would have noticed that he had his shirt on the wrong way round if he hadn't said it ) and the beginning of Popular Song

 

Talk during Popular Song, about feeling like a loser at school

 

Talk about what he has been doing in the last 48 hours (I think it had rather been 72, but I guess he was too tired to count ). Sorry for the bad quality, couldn't see him behind the piano and my camera lens was dirty 🙈

 

Elle me dit

 

 

Grace Kelly

 

 

Happy Ending in the rain, with our flower fanaction (and Mika saying something about it):

 

 

And links to the 3 IG lives I did from my DMFC account - they're just random concert impressions in bad quality, as the lives are always worse quality than filming and uploading later. That's why I'm just putting them as links - but if anyone wants to download them, let me know, then I can post the files.

Ice Cream: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-Iz1kpNKlQ/

Underwater: https://www.instagram.com/dmfc_mika/

Love Today talk & dance & Mika filming the crowd: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-JRYWSNoko/

 

and that's it!

 

[Presci1108]

12 hours ago, holdingyourdrink said:

So glad you got to queue and experience the concert together with your newfound friends! That’s what I think is the beauty of this fan community and the best thing of the whole concert experience. 

 

Yes, I really discovered that ! It really added to the pleasure of the entire concrt ! I hope it will happen again someday ! I really feel like I belong there, but experience it from the beginning to the end of a concert day is another thing, and a really pleasant one. 

 

 

1 hour ago, mellody said:

 

And please don't feel sorry or guilty in any way - it's absolutely not my intention to make anyone feel bad, or blame anyone.

 

 

 

Don't worry for that, I know it wasn't your intention and I didn't take it like that at all. Since I knew it first hand, I just thought maybe that would help a little to know how this happened. Anyway, I'm happy if what I wrote helped you to feel better. 

Plus, maybe I don't look like that, but in fact, I'm often jealous for whatever reason, so I can understand. 

 

And yes, we totally had the same experience of thunderstorms and concerts, it's exactly that ! 

[mellody]

16 hours ago, mellody said:

However, despite their musically very good performance, it was not easy for them to build a sparking relationship with the audience on the initially rather sparsely populated festival grounds.

About the support act - the reason for this wasn't the lack of people imo, but they just didn't try to connect with the audience at all at first. Just looking at each other, doing their thing without saying a word to the crowd. Only after a few songs one of the guys talked a bit. It would've been nice if they had introduced themselves and their songs, like Jaimi Faulkner did in Bonn. Maybe they were too nervous, might have been a bigger crowd than they're used to, but it's just a big difference whether someone is just playing their music on a stage, or performing for a crowd and letting them feel the songs. I enjoyed the music tho.

[Lexa]

Some videos.

Beginning with flowers

 Guten Abend Schwetzingen

 

[Lexa]

"Deutsch, no French" and Alice in Wonderland talk

     

Checking languages/Lolli

 

I don't know how to delete this error note above... It's no other video, don't know how it happened.

Edited August 4 by Lexa

[Lexa]

Big Girl returning from the audience

 

 

[Lexa]

Talk in Underwater, generous, theory of noise

 

[Lexa]

 

Relax piano miming, sweat and beer

 

[Lexa]

 I was a little disappointed here that we didn't hear more about why he didn't come to Germany for so long or was missing at least something like "I'll come more often in future"...

Just in case the person who brought the beer is reading this and wants the longer video with her on stage, let me know. My original video is longer.

 

Popular talk / Clark Kent

 

 

 

[Lexa]

Happy Ending in the rain

   

Love today / Thank you & Regen, Regen, gehe weg!

  Edited August 4 by Lexa

[Lexa]

End / Yo Yo

 

Sorry this are so many posts now, due to video size.

Also, if this is too much data, feel free to delete it.

[Lexa]

Photos

[mellody]

btw, if anyone wonders what he was singing in German, that was Schubert's "Die Forelle" (the trout) - here's a clip of it with English translation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF9DrUXowBo . The other lyric that he has recited a few times at German gigs (also in Bonn) was from Schubert's "Liebesbotschaft" (love message), "Rauschendes Bächlein, so silbern und hell": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lADq-KB45zY . I had never heard of the 2nd song before Mika, but "Die Forelle" was a song I loved as a child, it was on one of the vinyls my Mum used to play. So I loved hearing Mika singing it - even if he, the professional singer who has studied this and been singing on stage for 3 decades, acts like any other person who would casually sing 3 lines of a song quickly and feel kinda embarrassed about it (like me singing "Relax, take it eeeaaasyy" to the random grandpa on the bike who passed by the queue and asked who Mika was   - turned out I sang well enough for him to recognize it ) ... but it's just too cute, with his typical Mika-giggle.

 

 

[mellody]

On 8/4/2024 at 12:00 AM, mellody said:

Starting to upload my videos...

 

Support act "Used" - nice music, the style was a bit like Beatles meets Oasis - definitely sounding quite British, tho they're from Germany.

 

Showstart with Ice Cream & Mika asking for the flowers

 

talk during OOL, speaking some German and talking about the venue, that it feels like Alice in Wonderland

 

talk before Lollipop, about languages - with @Statue_of_Liberty telling him the German word for Lollipop

 

talk during Lollipop, about hair chemicals in his eyes and always being late at school

 

talk during Lollipop, asking the crowd to sing louder

 

Talk about you

 

returning to the stage at the end of Big GIrl

 

Talk about speaking German, making the crowd sing for Underwater

 

Relax

 

talk during Relax, spraying popstar sweat from his hair onto the frontrow

 

talk about returning to Germany, reciting the beginning of Schubert's "Die Forelle", and asking a beer from the crowd - then getting his new "beer friend" on stage

 

A bit of Good Guys, with his "beer friend"

 

Talk about the inspiration behind Popular Song, taking off his jacket (I suppose no one would have noticed that he had his shirt on the wrong way round if he hadn't said it ) and the beginning of Popular Song

 

Talk during Popular Song, about feeling like a loser at school

 

Talk about what he has been doing in the last 48 hours (I think it had rather been 72, but I guess he was too tired to count ). Sorry for the bad quality, couldn't see him behind the piano and my camera lens was dirty 🙈

 

Elle me dit

 

Grace Kelly

 

Happy Ending in the rain, with our flower fanaction (and Mika saying something about it):

 

And links to the 3 IG lives I did from my DMFC account - they're just random concert impressions in bad quality, as the lives are always worse quality than filming and uploading later. That's why I'm just putting them as links - but if anyone wants to download them, let me know, then I can post the files.

Ice Cream: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-Iz1kpNKlQ/

Underwater: https://www.instagram.com/dmfc_mika/

Love Today talk & dance & Mika filming the crowd: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-JRYWSNoko/

 

and that's it!

 

 

video upload finished!