Caribana in Switzerland near Nyon was the first festival of the summer. I didn’t manage to get any photo material and originally planned not to post a blog post but that felt somehow ungrateful. I did appreciate this experience a lot and thought it deserves a short description. The first festival of the summer was definitely a good way to start the season, we saw a very entertaining and energetic performance. 

 The event itself was a bit messy, small but not as organised as Swiss events usually are. As amazing as Mika’s performance always is we still have to handle also the practical side of the festival. Summer festivals are crowded and sometimes chaotic, no one really knows what’s supposed to happen, the weather is either really hot or it rains, and sometimes the festival area is so packed it’s impossible to dance or even move your legs which in the end of the day is obviously quite uncomfortable. 

 When Mika comes on stage all that suddenly becomes bearable and that happened at Caribana as well. My feet were hurting but I totally forgot that during the show and couldn’t help but just smiling. Mika’s performance was entertaining, he danced and he partied, he chatted jokingly, he took soft toys, flowers and sun glasses from the audience and made them a part of his performance. It was fun but best part was that at the same time he also added some small new additions and little changes in several songs which made them interesting in a new way and we heard some really great versions. Small things that have a big impact. 

 One of my personal favourites was definitely Happy Ending. The audience started to sing as soon as heard the first notes of the song and that gave Mika new enthusiasm and he seemed more excited about the song I’ve seen for a while. He sang to the audience and then waited for people’s reaction and looked extremely happy to get it and we heard a lovely, lovely version which was for sure one of the highlights of the show. 

 Another highlight was Yo-Yo. He started Yo-Yo with a pretty, pretty intro that made me in tears. I loved hearing Mika’s voice properly! It hurts my heart when his voice is processed unrecognisable, I can’t understand why that is done and who could possibly want it. Putting his heart in everything he does has always been Mika’s style and usually I hear it in his voice. In Yo-Yo I try to hear it also in the beat but still, hearing his voice properly during the beginning of the song was absolutely lovely. It was a short but truly important moment. After the intro he talked about the song shortly and then performed it and the energy was as good as I had thought in advance. Yo-Yo is one of those songs I love hearing at gigs and I hope that even the gig version will evolve, I hope we will hear less effects and more Mika. 

 Other highlights: Boum Boum Boum, always a highlight for me. I enjoy it more than Elle Me Dit even though we naturally heard both. Ice Cream on stage and not in the audience and I prefer it on stage. I love Mika walking in the middle of the audience, just not during Ice Cream, that feels wasting an opportunity to dance. We didn’t see his usual dancing but maybe not the right crowd for that, a lot of families in the audience. 

Tiny Love, Relax, Underwater. Highlights as always and then finally the cape dance during We Are Golden. Not bored with the cape dance and can’t see that happening. The cape dance is iconic, something that will stay in our memories. We got a proper, long festival performance at Caribana. 14 songs if I got it right and small new tones in many of them. Very happy to see both the show and Mika’s smile after it.