So many special gigs this summer, 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.

Just to begin, the opening suit looked absolutely beautiful in daylight! The green colour is so pretty and if you look at the photos you can see the beautiful details in the collar. A controversial suit and might divide opinions but looked incredibly pretty in the Kew Gardens daylight, very fresh, and was perfect for opening a show at a botanical garden. During the past a couple of years there have been several possibilities to see festival gigs in daylight - the lovely gig in Tarvisio last summer as an example - and I’ve noticed those are always my big favourites. Everything on stage looks even more stunning in daylight.

 Kew Gardens is a beautiful park area and on a sunny day it would be easy to spend hours walking around. I visited the garden on the gig day but saw only a part of it, it was a rainy day and the place is huge and would have taken a long time to walk around everything. 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 for 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 was extremely sweet and lovely to listen and later added small introductions to songs like Relax which is specifically based on tragic events that happened in London. Relax in my dearest Mika song and I always love it when he talks about the song in London because the story is so particularly related to the city and that detail alone would have made the gig special to me but we heard so much more. 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 from the front row coming from tiny bottles one of the UK fans had brought with her and Mika looked seemingly happy by the gesture showing hearts and saying thank you to the person organising and he also jumped for joy when the audience joined the song and in 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. Before starting he dedicated the song to Scott Mills who had interviewed him the same day and told choosing the song is a compliment because obviously, it tells about good guys. The performance we heard was lovely, one of the loveliest details during the whole gig and my favourite song of the night.

Before Elle Me Dit Mika talked about his mother and once again it was an emotional moment. I often wish he would perform C’est la vie in case only one French song has to be chosen because I find it better as song and it’s new as well but the memories in these two songs are totally different and I can fully understand him for choosing the memory in Elle Me Dit. After the touching speech and dedicating the song to his mother it was time to dance like his mother guided him to do in his childhood. There’s a strong legacy coming from his mother and it’s always beautiful to see it acknowledged. 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 and I wondered what was the inspiration. This show remains a special, sweet memory. One of my favourites, this summer and generally ever done in London.