MIKA GIGS

France

Solidays in Paris 29/6/2024

Solidays is a charity event with a meaningful topic working against AIDS/HIV and the theme was successfully pointed out throughout the festival day. Everything was in French and I couldn’t catch details from different speeches but the emotional message came through. It was good to see Mika being a part of the event and I loved how in his own performance he managed to introduce not only his music but also his own values and all that in a just one hour festival show.

Everything in that hour was well considered. The setlist that was suitable for the event, the sharp and energetic yet at the same time smiling performing, the classy impression given by the particularly stylish outfits both on Mika and the members of the band and the choir. Every single part was good quality: the music and performing, the meaningful message that was sung and spoken and gestured, the beautiful visual style and the added details like the choir that always adds a bit extra class and the giant red heart symbolising love. It’s always special to be in the audience when Mika shows his full, extremely classy artistic creativity and obviously makes an effort in every possible way to make the crowd on fire.

Mika came on stage wearing a new white suit with appliqued decorations like cactuses, stars and the text “Apocalypso”. The colour was fresh and cut for the suit stylish and flattering, his figure looked beautiful on stage. The band was wearing creamy white outfits that had details in the same colour and each choir member had a fancy dress or suit in different white, champagne or silver colours. In the middle of Origin Mika took a pride flag from the audience like he occasionally does and it was a nice gesture in the situation. After Origin one of his most known songs Relax and a good way to warm up the audience more. Before starting the song he took off his jacket and revealed the prettiest new top underneath. 

After Relax another extremely well known song Lollipop. It’s hard to imagine a festival appearance like this without Lollipop and this time we got a fiercely energetic performance where he did ”went walkin’ with my mama one day, when she warned me what people say, live your life until love is found ‘cause love’s gonna get you down” screaming the last words and then continued moving his hands up and down and after that did a wild little dance in the very end. 

Then changing the first outfit to a gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous new “rainbow” suit in glowing pinks and yellows. The first song of this part of the gig was Big Girl which started with Max and continued in the audience which must have been a bit harder than it usually is because the crowd was full and packed in tight and it was not easy to move in it at all as I found out when trying to find my way out after Mika’s performance. Next Jane Birkin making the audience sing and then a beautiful Happy Ending with the pretty guitar ending. C’est la vie had a good, strong  vibe and I was happy it was a part of the setlist together with Jane Birkin because I love them both and these two are the most important new songs for the big audience and simply just great for any festival crowd. 

For Elle Me Dit Mika changed to his glorious shiny white suit with the flower that we haven’t seen for a while and everything so far looked so spectacularly elegant I had to gasp a bit for delight because we hadn’t seen this kind of a cavalcade of beautiful, elegant suits the whole year and being able to see it still in daylight highlighted the experience. At this point the crowd was on fire and jumping and dancing Elle Me Dit and demanded more and after that it got ”Paris, for god sake I want to talk to you” and of course also the giant rainbow and then people demanded more making a lot of noise and got the final Love Today. 

A big wooden box signed “DANGER” was brought on stage and the excitement continued to rise. The giant red heart with the letter M came out and was raised on stage and it looked incredible - absolutely incredible - and after that there was a command “Solidays, GO”  and the audience went totally wild. The best possible ending for the show. After thanking the audience in front of the heart Mika and everyone on stage did the very final Yo-Yo dance and the last waving and then left the stage and I had to just state aloud how amazing it all was before making some desperate effort to get through the crowd to leave the place for those who came for the following artist. Such a fantastic “big style” performance, it felt wonderful to witness it from the audience. 

UK

Warwick Castle in Warwick 7/7/2024

The medieval castle in Warwick offered another particularly special environment for the 2024 summer festival tour and this time the surroundings and the whole atmosphere for the gig were like from a fairytale. It was raining during the afternoon and only a moment before it was time for Mika the sun came out and a giant rainbow appeared in the sky above the castle and the stunning view looked almost unreal. After that the weather was clear and sunny like it often seems to be when it’s Mika’s turn to be on stage.

The show started with Origin and in his opening words Mika pointed out the special atmosphere of the venue and mentioned the catapult on the other side of the castle promising that “the craziest member of the audience gets a ride in a catapult” and then continued “and to scare away the barbarians that may be outside we shall use laugh and we shall sing". After that he naturally made the crowd sing the ”love love love, love love you’re the origin of love love love” part.

Lollipop started describing the winter with silence and the summer with full force music. After that Ice Cream and all three songs were performed in the white suit with applications.  Next change to the gorgeous pink tone rainbow suit. During Big Girl Mika headed to the crowd further away to take a flower crown given from the audience and had fun on his way making the crowd sing and occasionally just laughing out loud while watching people dance and jump from higher up, sitting on someone’s shoulders. After that he returned on stage for Underwater and surprisingly the audience could sing it very well and the song sounded really pretty and not screaming at all. He pointed to a group of 6 people who were watching the concert from the rampart because obviously something like that couldn’t go unnoticed. 

The crowd in Warwick was pleasantly positive and I loved the atmosphere. People were not overly enthusiastic but generally the mood was really positive and good and that could be felt throughout the show. Also the staff working at the castle was extremely nice and polite making the day that way more comfortable for everyone. Before Good Guys and this time in his tropical outfit Mika asked the audience where they came from repeating different cities after people shouting them to him and finally saying “wherever you have come from, the best part is that we are locked up here together” referring to the venue and our location inside the castle stonewalls. Summer festivals are often organised close to big, historical buildings but we are rarely literally inside the walls in the courtyard area which this time made the gig even more magical and us feel like at least for a moment transported to the medieval times. 

Introducing Billy Brown offered Mika a good opportunity to tease his sister a little bit. He mentioned Yasmine being in the audience and that for that reason he wouldn’t be able to share the full story of Billy Brown like he usually does because the song is based on her ex-boyfriend. We heard quite a bit cute funny laughing and he was obviously and very cutely pleased with the situation and being able to tease Yasmine on stage. Then the song itself and I loved hearing Billy Brown on the setlist again, it felt nostalgic in a good way.

Before Elle Me Dit it was lovely and also touching to hear Mika talking about his mother. He has done an introduction for Elle Me Dit numerous times but usually his little talk is always in French which unfortunately for me takes the emotion away from the words even though from the context I can understand the topic. This time he explained about writing songs already at an early age and all because of his mother who loved listening to music and dancing and made the kids do the same. The harder the situation, the harder the dancing with louder music and higher jumps. The songs Mika wrote were always miserably sad and his mother couldn’t understand that and screamed at him in French “just write a happy song for God’s sake” because life is hard enough as it is. 

For Elle Me Dit, Grace  Kelly and Happy Ending the outfit was changed to the familiar white suit with the face and during Happy Ending the new flowery piano was finally in the main role. Happy Ending had a new atmosphere once again, the flowers were visually so incredibly gorgeous. This was the moment I had waited for and looked forward to. The whole song was lovely and in the end Mika and his guitarist Clement sat down to do the very ending part with flowers flowing over them. The moment was quite funny and at the same time really pretty.

For Love Today the outfit was changed one more time to the strong pink with stylish, very flattering pants. At some point of the song Mika again listed the places people had come from making the crowd scream and then finally said the familiar words that were made suitable for the venue: “you have sung, you have danced together, you turned the Warwick Castle in all its elegance and history into something even more spectacular, a place called the Butterfly Lounge”. Then it was time to fly - at least in spirit - which obviously is the highpoint of the gig. Some more flowers were also flying in the air and the moment was full of energy and beauty. 

After Love Today he totally unexpectedly continued with Any Other World which was an amazing surprise and I couldn’t have been happier with the setlist. In the end still We Are Golden and great energy but no final dance exiting from the stage with Yo-Yo because the orders were strict and there was no time left at all and the gig had to end and we walked out admiring the castle from different directions, it looked absolutely beautiful dressed in its evening lights. 

Kew The Music at Kew Gardens in London 9/7/2024

So many special gigs in summer 2024, all different and beautiful in their own way, and the gig at Kew Gardens wasn’t an exception. The night was full of beautiful details and included sharing many childhood memories related to the time Mika was living in the area and also small introductions to the songs like Relax which felt hugely special because the song is based on the events that happened in London. The setlist included songs like Stuck In The Middle - I was looking forward to it because we didn’t hear it in Warwick - and the most beautiful version of Good Guys which must have been my favourite song of the night.

The opening suit looked beautiful in daylight. The green colour is pretty and the jacket had beautiful details in the collar. A controversial suit that might divide opinions but looked incredibly pretty in the Kew Gardens daylight. It was fresh and perfect for opening a show at a botanical garden. The concept for the gig was "picnic concert” meaning people in front of stage were standing and dancing but larger areas were reserved for people sitting and eating and it was even possible to book hampers in advance. 

The special feature of the gig was chatting and telling little stories and it started casually Mika referring to the weather conditions and the location where he as a child used to spend wonderful days outdoors in the park. He thanked people he knew from those times for coming to see the gig, then described little scenes and moments he remembers which were extremely sweet and lovely to listen to and later added small introductions to songs like Relax which is specifically based on tragic events that happened in London. Mika never talks this much about his childhood but it was obvious the familiar location brought back memories and also gave him a safe environment to share them and it was absolutely lovely for everyone at Kew Gardens that night.

Exactly as I had hoped we heard Stuck In The Middle which was rehearsed but not performed in Warwick. In the beginning of the song Mika talked about walking around the park with his family as a child and the performance itself was wonderful and one of the highlights of the night. During Underwater the front area was filled with soap bubbles and Mika looked seemingly happy by the gesture showing hearts and saying thank you and also jumped for joy when the audience joined the song and at the end of the song rewarded the crowd sharing more childhood memories making the moment that way even more special. Good Guys was absolutely beautiful and before starting the song he dedicated it to Scott Mills who had interviewed him the same day. The performance we heard was lovely, one of the loveliest details during the whole gig and my favourite song of the night.

The energetic ending for the show was done in a new, beautifully strong green and blue coloured suit that reminded me of both a gorgeous tapestry and a colourful peacock. This show remains a special, sweet memory. One of my favourites, during the summer and generally ever done in London. 

Spain

Atlantic Fest in Vilagarcía de Arousa 21/7/2024

Atlantic Fest in Vilagarcía de Arousa in Spain turned out to be a beautiful surprise. I was looking forward to seeing a more casual summer gig in Spain after two seated gigs in Barcelona in Spain and Lucca in Italy but the final result was in several ways even more amazing than I had expected.

The original festival schedule showed Mika a compact set, maybe only an hour like he did at Solidays and Deferlantes and I was expecting the similar style of a set. The black piano waited for him on stage and the band appeared at their places each of them wearing a different, strong coloured suit and finally Mika came on stage wearing his unique, patterned suit that we saw for the first time in Italy. He explained the band had lost their luggage and wearing the costumes like that was a quick solution in the situation, for him the outfit was planned. I was surprised to hear his words because with his multicolour suit the different colours on the band looked good especially the yellow we saw on Clement that matched perfectly also with Mika’s pink rainbow suit and the Apocalypso sign during Happy Ending. 

Mika started with Ice Cream, Lollipop and Origin and went to the crowd with Big Girl. At this point we thought he’s doing his shorter, more compact festival set. He continued with Underwater and now it was obvious the set wouldn’t be exactly the same as earlier times yet I still assumed he has a strict time limit. Stuck In The Middle made me realise he’s adding something and I hoped for 15 minutes extra time but unexpectedly the gig just continued. We heard Popular and, because in Spain, also Live Your Life. The mood was fantastic and I immensely enjoyed every song, also Live Your Life, much more than I have done before. When Happy Ending started I finally understood it wasn’t a festival set but a full, eventually almost two hour gig that in addition to the long setlist included also a lot of talking in Spanish and several special details like playing “air instruments” during Relax and special, The Piano related guest in the end.

Switzerland

Paleo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland 28/7/2024

Well organised Swiss festivals can be different styles but generally I enjoy them all and this time Paleo showed all the best sides. When the gates were officially opened the festival workers did a small drumming performance with their cups and water bottles to make the moment more fun. Everything was extremely relaxed but when the performances started I noticed the security kept carefully on eye the crowd. The line-up was good and just on the main stage we could see first classic music and then Gims (singer/rap artist) before Mika whereas Christophe Maé performed on the other stage. 

Mika did a full show and was the main artist on the festival closing day, a role that is an honour to any artist. I was there when Mika performed at Paléo last time and during years the event has grown and become one of the biggest festivals in Europe. I was able to guess in advance that the show will be quite hectic because of photographers and cameras moving in front of stage but also because any performance in a situation like that has to be tight to keep the crowd’s attention and to keep the big audience following the performance which he managed to achieve extremely well indeed. 

I also knew that during the show he would keep his focus on the big picture to make as good impression as possible that was achieved as well. It was an amazing performance. It was exactly the kind of performance that was needed in the situation. I can only admire Mika’s capacity to handle pressure and I’m reminded of it every time he does a performance in demanding or particularly important circumstances. The bigger the moment, whether it’s live television or a big live performance in front of a new audience, the better he does his work. I’ve seen it many times and it’s always impressive to see and it was once again impressive to see the Paléo crowd dancing Love Today watching the big heart the way it did. Always beautiful. 

Nyon is fully French speaking area and we heard the new French songs C’est la vie, Jane Birkin and Bougez one more time which was naturally absolutely lovely. Before Jane Birkin there was a small speech about magic created when people sing together and he made the crowd sing not only Jane Birkin but also Underwater as always and for example Relax which was now ended with a little air instrument performance and the crowd singing. The scene for Happy Ending looked breathtakingly beautiful with the lights and the new piano and little flowers first piled on the piano and then flying in the air. The show was started in a customised Paléo suit and after a few songs he changed it first to the pink rainbow suit, then to his usually silver glitter suit and then to the face suit and finally ended the show in his herb suit which fitted nicely together with the red heart that appeared on the background. 

This man is a danger for small-minded people and I loved it that the giant red heart was delivered in a wooden box telling “DANGER”. Along with Mika’s performance the whole festival programme officially ended - with some tears from the host - and we moved with the crowd towards the gates to leave to Germany and to the next gig that was supposed to start in less than 24 hours. 

Germany

Bonn 29/7/2024 & Musik im Park at Schlossgarten in Schwetzingen 1/8/2024

The first of the two German summer events in Bonn turned out to be one of my favourite ever outdoor gigs. It was simply the sweetest thing. It was cozy and extremely interactive - becoming that way even quite intimate even though it wasn’t as small as regular small gigs - it was visually beautiful with gorgeous suits seen still in daylight and it offered numerous beautiful details that were included in different songs or between them. With all the chatting both in English and German and communicating with the audience it gave an impression of spontaneity but even though different details were created in that moment I still felt the gig itself was extremely thoughtfully and considerately planned to make the audience happy in an extremely relaxed way and it really worked like that. Just seeing him appearing on stage in his most beautiful light blue outfit made me happy and it felt wonderful to listen to him talking and having fun with people. Everyone I saw was smiling and the mood was lovely. Lovely, light summer night atmosphere. 

Mika made carefully sure he interacted with every part of the audience. He took time to have a look at the people in the front row during the whole show, not just quickly finding out who is there but really looking and that way messaging “I see you people there”. In the end of Lollipop he asked the crowd to raise their hands if it was their first time seeing his show and judging by his surprised face a numerous amount of hands were raised and he laughingly announced “oh my friends we’ve got a fucking load of catching up to do” and then the gig could officially start. He talked to the people in the bar and even asked for a beer from the staff. He saw a couple who was watching the show separately high up in the balcony and teased them several times calling them “the king and the queen” and asking them to sing during Underwater and later explained he had no choice because they were kind of offered to him, and added “I was gonna play with you like a bad cat” doing cat like gestures with his hands. The crowd sang wonderfully I have to say. Beautiful singing compared to many summer events. At first I thought they had asked people from choirs to join but maybe German people just like to sing. 

Because in Germany there had to be a small episode with beer included. Just before Good Guys, the music already in the background, he asked “can I have a Kölch, please, it’s the best beer in the world” and described the way it’s served. The bar provided him with a beer making him absolutely delighted and he jumped to the crowd to get his glass, took a sip and continued explaining the background for the song. The audience demanded him to drink the full beer which he did and then started a beautiful version of Good Guys. During the show we heard explanations also for other songs like for Popular and these little chats are always precious. We might have heard them before but there’s always something new and they add so much to the songs and obviously hearing explanations in English is always special to me so many gigs being in French, Italian or now in Spanish. The setlist included also Talk About You as a surprise song and generally I loved small details like intros or endings for the songs because during those moments Mika is always very gentle with his voice and I simply love that.

A big part of the beauty of this gig was seeing the show in daylight which always makes everything visually even more gorgeous. The outfits looked amazing and just starting the show in the prettiest light blue suit felt like a gift. Obviously, it wasn’t just seeing the outfit, it was also his presence on stage, either way a gig in daylight is always also a particularly visual experience. The elegant white flower suit looked even more elegant and somehow natural in daylight. Everything in this gig was really thoughtful. The front row couldn’t see the stage well so Mika asked his team to move the piano closer and we could finally see it during Happy Ending. He also brought the musicians closer a couple of times so that the full audience could see them. 

The location for the Schwetzingen concert was in a corner of the big park area surrounding the Schwetzingen Palace. The gig started when it was still daylight and Mika could see the gardens from backstage and he was obviously impressed by the place. This is something I hope every time when we are in a particularly beautiful place, that he has a moment to appreciate where he is. Mika talked more about the location when the gig started and mentioned it as one of the most beautiful venues they had ever performed. During Origin he continued with a reference to Alice in Wonderland: “Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we are in the garden of the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland” then asking “who is the Rabbit” (pointing Max), “who is the Madhatter (taking the role for himself) and “who is the Cat” (pointing Clement). As usual, “love” was the first word to teach the audience. 

During Lollipop - the second word - he said the word in several languages to learn where people came from and quite a few came from France which wasn’t a surprise the French border being that close. It was good to hear Mika speaking German and English after not seeing many gigs there in the past years but it was also good to hear many languages from the audience. It was raining heavily earlier during the day and the weather forecast had actually predicted even big thunderstorms and there was a small threat of cancelling the gig in the air. However, when it was time for the gig the weather was actually very nice and we all felt lucky. During Happy Ending it finally started to rain and after noticing it Mika came down at the barrier in front of the crowd to show solidarity and the end of the gig it was raining quite strongly and we were all wet when we left the venue but at this point it really didn’t matter any more, the gig was successfully over. 

UK

Brighton Pride at Preston Park in Brighton 4/8/2024

Brighton celebrates Pride in a massive and absolutely marvellous way. I was looking forward to the event since Mika was announced to headline their Sunday and I couldn’t wait to see him on that stage. I generally love Pride events. They’re cozy, they’re colourful, they make me feel at home and they give me hope that the world can be a better place, at least in that time and location, we all know it’s not equally good everywhere and for everyone. Pride line-ups are often my taste and that makes waiting for Mika’s performance easy. Brighton Pride - called Fabuloso - was all that and much more. The event was enormous and it was not limited to the two day festival, the whole town was literally coloured by the Pride. 

Mika started at 8.30 pm and did a full 1,5 hour performance. He had his non-French setlist that includes Elle Me Dit but even though EMD was written on the list it was left out and this time I preferred that way. There was a strict time limit once again and if something had to be left out I preferred it to be Elle Me Dit and not We Are Golden which had already been skipped several times and which, as a song, is more familiar and that way more suitable for the UK audience. The day was good in many ways before Mika’s performance, but the moment he took over the stage it became pure magic. There was something so special in the situation and the love coming from the audience that it’s hard to even put in words but he shined in a way I haven’t seen him shine for a while and those one and a half hours were filled with joy and happiness.

Performances like this remind me how much Mika is sometimes holding back his performance. He’s pushing boundaries every night, for example making fancy seated audiences stand up and dance in a way they have never done before, but he does that in an extremely discreet and the most professional way, step by step, carefully reading his audience considering what the crowd is ready for and what it’s not. This time, like already knowing this audience will only love and accept him, he came on stage his body language fully open, already owning the stage, took someone’s cowboy hat and was ready to flirt with the audience as much as needed. If the person having glasses “kiss me” thought he wouldn’t dare oh he did dare, as soon as he saw the glasses. 

He was talking about love and pride and sharing his own experiences making it very clear he’s aware that many people in the audience have been in the same situation as he was back in the days and that many people are in that situation right now and that’s one of the reasons these events are organised. Everything he said was genuine and not planned on a detailed level and the audience could definitely feel it, he was making himself very relatable. The next moment he was that icon the audience wanted to see on stage. He looked absolutely amazing just standing there. He had a dashing, fully confident posture and his every gesture was expressing the freedom he felt that moment and I couldn’t take my eyes off him and I felt happy and grateful with all my heart just to see him that way. I had a camera with me and I wanted to take photos but it wasn’t easy at all with so many people between us and the situation was quite overwhelming, it was a full body experience to watch him and to feel all the emotions.

I couldn’t stop admiring his every gesture like the way he was jumping along the new, gorgeous version of Origin while introducing the topic and starting to talk about love. Suddenly, the moment I was least expecting in the end of Big Girl, a huge amount of colourful streamers were shot above the audience and everyone was singing their hearts out, full of joy and wrapped in the paper ribbons in different colours (and yes I absolutely loved this moment and I love confetti in all forms and particularly in big amounts!). It was hard to calm down the adrenaline for Underwater after something that utterly amazing but the fantastic crowd at Preston Park did their part still well and thousands of lights were raised in the air and the view was absolutely beautiful. The incredible energy of the gig was definitely partly because of this incredible audience and surprisingly Billy Brown was one of my favourites during the night simply because the crowd took part in such a gorgeous way and I was admiring the audience almost as much as I was admiring Mika.

The moment when he appeared on stage for Relax in his red trousers wearing his giant red wings was the one I will never forget, just his pose and the look in his eyes showed he knew exactly how unbelievable it all was. We had never seen a Relax performance like that before but somewhere in the back of my mind I got a quick flashback from Popstarz at Scala in 2009 when he raised his silvery umbrella for Relax giving exactly the similar vibes. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him jumping with the wings that weigh 35 kg - honestly this slim man is pure strength - and after the song I was speechless and people around me were speechless as well. Afterwards this Relax seems to be the only thing people want to talk about and there will be a lot of talk about it years and years to come. The Brighton Pride crowd was rewarded for their love and acceptance with one of most stunning and most special performances ever seen on stage. 

A bit later the audience started to sing Happy Ending for him and after the song it was shouting his name and he looked at the crowd smiling and absorbing the love and my heart was totally full watching him. The whole night was a beautiful mix of feeling love and feeling freedom and I felt purely happy and I realised these two elements create my happiest concert memories, seeing him being so free in his performing and feeling the love both on stage and in the audience. At the end of Love Today the air above the stage was suddenly filled with fireworks and at this point I didn’t even know how to react any more, everything being so intense and wildly insane already. I had in advance wondered if there would be the big heart on stage at the end of the show but sometimes real life is more powerful than any show elements and we all can agree there was enough heart on stage already. In the end Mika and the band and the elegant choir gave smiling thanks to the audience and the crowd left chanting. I saw people singing Mika songs still at my hotel. What a way for Mika to do his first big Pride event, he couldn’t have made any stronger impression.

France

Festival Roi Arthur in Bréal-sous-Montfort 25/8/2024

Festival Roi Arthur in Brittany was the second festival of the late August weekend after Les Solidarités in Namur. The schedule was tight, I travelled to France directly after the festival in Belgium. Again, the festival day was long with several artists and also again, Mika’s performance was definitely worth the effort, everything looked and sounded absolutely beautiful.  The lights looked particularly amazing, the sound was clear and it was possible to separate details and also for that reason I very much enjoyed the performance. Mika started with Ice Cream and during the song he came down close to the audience to get a red cowboy hat from the front row and it fitted well with his white appliquéd suit and gave the same cowboy look as in Brighton a few weeks earlier where he also got a red hat from the audience. One of my favourite moments of the night was soon after that with Origin which was my regular favourite during the summer. 

During Big Girl he rushed to the crowd giving a camera man next to the stage a quick hug on his way. He did a walk in the audience and returned on stage holding a black and white flag. The flag of Brittany is often called a symbol of Breton identity and indeed, every time I’ve seen concerts in Brittany people have brought flags with them and every time one of the flags has ended up on stage and it happened this time as well. Mika was holding the flag in the beginning of Jane Birkin while talking to the audience and then put it aside to have his hands free to move and dance and to make the crowd join the song. At the end of Jane Birkin during the sing along part he - just like day before in Belgium - chatted a moment and then raised a plastic crown he had taken during his walk in the crowd making it symbolise magic. After Jane Birkin it was time for Underwater and people were holding lights in the dark and even the small view I could see from my spot was impressive and the full sea of lights Mika had in front of him on stage must have looked  stunning.

During Elle Me Dit Mika was wearing his elegant bright white suit with the big white flower and he spotted white flower glasses in the crowd and took them for a moment to complete the outfit. Then Grace Kelly and then finally Happy Ending which I had looked forward to the whole night especially for the pretty flowery scene. During the Roi Arthur Happy Ending Mika - instead of the usual tiny flower rain - suddenly and very loudly dropped a huge pile of flowers over Clement, the guitarist, and then laughed extremely pleased with himself and it was very funny. Not the usual Happy Ending atmosphere for sure, but very, very funny and the audience laughed a lot.

For the final Love Today Mika appeared on stage wearing his fresh white and green “botanical” suit. In the end of the song he walked alone on the catwalk towards the audience with the black and white flag that we had already seen during Big Girl and Jane Birkin to point out we were in Brittany and did his usual ending talk. Mika holding a flag on stage is a powerful scene. In Brittany the flag represented the audience and it was appropriate. At the same time seeing him that way reminded me of the hugely impressive scene where he’s standing on stage alone and under beautiful lights holding his own flag, his whole appearance and the strong pose telling “this stage is mine” which is all thrilling just as a thought. Roi Arthur got a wonderful, strong Love Today. Mika was jumping and the audience was jumping and there was a good group spirit and the both sides were encouraging each other with their energies and in the end Mika did an appreciative, grateful bow to  thank the audience.

Spain

Fiestas de la Virgen de San Lorenzo in Valladolid 3/9/2024

The stage at Plaza Mayor was small and the location and generally the circumstances seemed perfect to end the summer in a particularly beautiful way. The gig day was quiet and relaxed until 9 pm when we saw the first act of the night called Dulzaro who turned out to be a fantastic discovery. Both his singing and stage performing were really good and the performance included two male dancers and some separate dance parts as well. I enjoyed the show and don’t think they could have found any better or more suitable local act to perform before Mika. During Dulzaro’s performance the pit had photographers during the whole performance and it came to my mind the same might happen during Mika’s performance as well. The event was free and there were no formal security routines at all.

That was not the case, the photographers were called away after only two songs and we actually saw Origin without any disturbance or anything blocking the view which was simply astonishing and felt like a huge gift. During the summer Origin got a new, extremely interesting intro. Gig by gig I became more captivated by it, I started to particularly look forward to it and often after gigs listed it as a highlight and it genuinely was that. In Valladolid I immensely enjoyed being able to fully focus on the song and paid attention to every gesture and thought once again that Mika looks amazing on stage. The magic comes even more from his gestures than his looks or appearance. From the way he moves or takes off his jacket revealing the prettiest top underneath or just from his postures and simply standing there. During Origin in Valladolid the effect was stunning. Without any distraction I could so easily pay attention to his every smallest gesture and the performance was fantastic.

He continued with long Spanish talks in the middle of the crowd during Big Girl explaining the Butterfly Lounge story fully in Spanish. After the show I saw many locals approvingly commenting on his language skills and indeed, he really did all the chatting in his now quite fluent sounding Spanish. Being able to speak the local language creates a new dimension for concerts for sure. In Valladolid we could obviously see the new, Spanish side of Mika. I see Mika everywhere in the world in front of a full variety of audiences and for me he is one person and one artist. Someone who is genuinely international, incredibly intelligent, talented in adapting to new environments and in every way sensitive and diplomatic with different cultures. What each country sees is a version of him. When a country like Spain is impressed by him I wish I could explain to them that the big picture is even more impressive. What he does is admirable.

Before Elle Me Dit Mika did a long introduction talking about this mother and I understood the context but not the full speech and soon after that he appeared on stage wearing his gorgeous, light blue flowery suit. He looked absolutely beautiful and seeing Happy Ending performed in this pretty suit and in the middle of the pretty, colourful flowers was an equally big highlight as Origin in the beginning part of the show. Being able to focus on music, dealing with even serious issues and themes in life through different songs and enjoying aesthetics around concerts - this absolutely elegant pale blue suit just as an example - gives life such much needed balance. Tour after tour saying goodbye in the end seems to be only harder and not easier at all. I was looking forward to Happy Ending because the song is stunning and at the same time aware it’s a sad song and would make me feel melancholic. The scenery looked gorgeous: the background, the beautiful lights, the prettiest ever shiny light blue outfit, the flower piano. Surprisingly Mika changed the lyrics and instead of singing “but not together” said “maybe together” which made the song less sad.

The ending of the gig was energetic, after Elle Me Dit and Grace Kelly the emotional Happy ending and then still an energy explosion with We Are Golden and Love Today. Valladolid was hit by an unexpected storm. After Valladolid I kept thinking how nothing makes me feel as united with other people and the world as Mika’s music does and how he removes the borders everywhere he goes. Feeling what he makes us feel is true freedom: the world is open and we are all equal. I want to remember numerous details from Valladolid but particularly the way he performed Origin raising the flag that was handed him from the audience and that said “you are the origin of love”. A beautiful ending for the European summer tour, really beautiful.