Las Vegas is too noisy and too everything for my taste but I was still curious to see it and I’m happy I did. It’s always nice to have a real mental picture of famous places so many films, books and songs refer to. I stayed two nights and saw only Strip but the street view was interesting and familiar from television and the night-time view especially impressive with thousands of colorful lights.

The main reason for me to travel to Vegas was of course the temptation to see Mika performing at this intimate, tiny venue and I loved the venue indeed. He did a show at Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas on Friday and I went to see the place on Thursday and was absolutely thrilled to see it. The upstairs night club was empty but people were allowed to go there and I had a possibility to enjoy a moment of peace and quiet and see how small and intimate the place was. The stage was low with no barriers and on Friday I got a great spot for the gig in front of the stage near the piano and immediately knew the show was going to be one of those rare moments I can hear and see Mika from close distance and on a small stage and decided to concentrate on enjoying every second.

The show was fantastic. The crowd wasn’t nearly as good as it was in California though, and I think even Mika was disturbed by people talking loudly at the back of the venue. He chatted to the audience, talking about Las Vegas to get their attention but mostly concentrated on his performance, singing partly even eyes closed. I’m definitely not complaining though, he sounded perfect and I really enjoyed listening to him and watching him, Max and Curtis working together (he made them drum until they were exhausted, so hilarious to watch). It was a lovely evening. He was so close and his voice was absolutely beautiful, I felt extremely lucky to be there. I especially enjoyed Underwater, Happy Ending, Stardust and Over My Shoulder (he added Happy Ending and Stardust to the original setlist, very happy about that).

The more I hear the new songs Hia Leah and Century Man the more I love them. When he started Century Man I felt like bursting with excitement and I had to seriously control myself to stay still because everyone else around me looked just calm and normal like not realising what was happening and I guess most of them didn’t because they heard the song for the first time.

I’m not sure if I should say it was just another tour for me. It wasn’t. It was perfect and exactly how I’ve always wanted to see Mika performing. I’m not sure if he prefers doing bigger shows but I think he should do more intimate shows like this. It maybe doesn’t bring him as much money as bigger shows or festivals do but it definitely brings him a lot of respect and real music lovers to the audience. Everyone can see how talented he is; it’s impossible to do amazing and special simple shows like this without being amazing and special for real. I loved the Intimate Evening Tour and saw my all time favourite shows.