Centre Bell in Montreal, Canada 25/4/2022

When I look at my photos from the Montreal gig on April 25th the first thing that comes to my mind is that the show was such an aesthetic experience. The lights were absolutely stunning and definitely highlighted Mika’s performance and his different looks. Just seeing him singing We Are Golden the beautiful flowery cape flying and the stage glowing in gold was a full experience and a reason for me to be in Canada. Listing some other thoughts and observations below.

 Firstly. I’m incredibly thirsty for new music. We didn’t hear Modern Times in Montreal and it surprised me to understand how disappointed that made me. I don’t say this to complain but to compliment. In a very short time Modern Times has become a huge gig highlight and I expected to hear it also in Montreal. Luckily we still heard Yo-Yo and again not performed but played after the show. It made me happy and it made me dance and the only thing missing was the band partying it on stage like they used to do for Kick Ass years ago when it was played after the show. The audience loved it back then and would love it now and it would have looked cool. The song happened though and it made me smile.

There’s more new music coming later this year and I know - in my mind it’s a fact - that some of the new songs will be even more my style than Modern Times or Yo-Yo are. I know that because I know Mika’s talent and I know what he’s capable of and I know there are always one or two songs that will particularly blow my mind and I can’t wait for that to happen. However, I do like both Modern Times and Yo-Yo already and want to see them properly out, I want to see them performed again and again. I literally feel how thirsty my body is for new music and it’s such a real, actual feeling and not just a state of mind.

 Even though we didn’t hear Modern Times everyone in the Montreal audience was incredibly lucky and privileged, we got plenty of other treats that are rare these days and that made me quite emotional. Things like Mika performing in the middle of the audience. What a feeling to see him jump off the stage and run through the crowd like he did during “Big Girl, you are beautiful”. I never thought I would appreciate that moment as much as I do after the pandemic. We used to take it for granted and then suddenly for more than two years it was something from the past. Now it felt like a miracle, just seeing it happening again. 

We got things like Mika putting his microphone down and trying to silence the arena audience to be able to do the a cappella part of Happy Ending. Things like making the Centre Bell audience sing Underwater with mobiles lighted and things like putting the lights off in the end of Love Today so that the audience can jump. Shortly, we got things we have not been able to experience during the pandemic and it was incredible for all of us. It was easy to see how much the huge audience enjoyed the show. We were lucky and spoilt in Europe to see the full Revelation Tour, North America had to wait and see him now. Songs like Dear Jealousy and Platform Ballerinas would have fitted the current setlist perfectly but are not included now.

A couple of things specifically related to the Montreal show. The theme flower of the show was tulip. Tulip is one of my personal favourite flowers so I loved seeing that the show became such a spectacle, it will be a wonderful memory to later connect to tulips. At some point of the gig Mika took massive amounts of tulips from his suitcase and just spread them all over himself and eventually threw them in the audience. Also, as a special song we heard Boum Boum Boum with a local singer who came on stage as a special guest. Boum Boum Boum is one of my personal favourite songs and I would love to have it on the regular set list (but obviously also know it’s not as energetic as Elle Me Dit and that way doesn’t please the crowd equally much). 

 I have to say the crowd in Montreal was quite spectacular! Even though the gig was seated everyone jumped up the exact second the lights went off to start the show, I had hardly time to realise it and then I quickly jumped up as well and took my place. It happened incredibly fast. 

The ending part of the gig deserves a special mention. I think my very favourite song in Montreal was Tiny Love Reprise, it was emotionally done. I loved Happy Ending and Tomorrow a well. Generally, I enjoyed songs that made me focus on listening because during those songs I put my camera down and purely listened and that balanced the experience for the night. In the very end of the gig we got the full We Are Golden concept when the song was performed under beautiful golden lights. The last picture must be one of my all time favourite pictures. What an iconic look. The royal posing, the beautiful cape and the crown, everything glowing in golden. Gives me chills, I could stare that photo forever.

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