Les Nuit’s d’Istres Festival was definitely one of my favourites this summer. I didn’t have any expectations for the festival. I arrived late afternoon, checked in my hotel, went to the venue and was surprised to see several familiar faces. I was on stage in Marseille 2010 and in Nice 2012 and it was incredibly cool to see people I had met when being on stage with Mika. Nothing connects people like being two minutes on stage with their favourite artist. 

I started to realize the arrangement for the night was fantastic: no other artists than Mika meaning no supporting acts or even DJs, no queueing because the venue was seated with only a very small standing area, relaxed going in, time to buy drinks before the show and a beautiful looking stage.

I had bought my ticket last minute and my seat wasn’t a good one so I was hesitating between sitting and going to the small standing area in front of stage. The venue looked an amphitheater and most of the audience had a great view. A French fan I had just met told she had decided to go to the standing area and offered me her seat which turned out to be one of the best seats at the venue and I can’t thank her enough for the seat. 

I ended up having the best ever view over the stage. I was further away than usually but the whole stage opened in front of me. I was at the same level with Mika and the band and could see literally everything. The stage looked beautiful and the lighting was bright and pretty and I immensely enjoyed watching the show and didn’t want it to end. Watching everything as an outsider was kind of a new experience for me but I was glad to see everything from a new point of view.

The situation was different than usual also for Mika. The audience had bought their tickets to see only him, there were no other artists for that night, and certainly respected him and appreciated his music. However, the audience wasn’t prepared to be a part of the show as usual; people were watching the show as any theatre or musical piece, sitting comfortably in their seats, without making any effort to be an active part of the concert.

Mika was determined to make everyone move. He did every song a bit better than the previous one, sharing more and more of his energy, staying focused song after song and look what happened. Suddenly a lot of people jumped from their seats. The audience started to dance and sing and everyone had obviously a great time and in the end he was laughing out loud watching people party. You should have seen it! The stage looked beautiful, everything looked beautiful and he did a fantastic show with a lot of energy.

I was escorted back to my hotel from the venue in a police car as a helpful policeman offered me a ride after seeing me walking alone in the dark. I was staying in a small hotel and met the manager before the gig. His face when he opened me the gate and saw me coming in a police car after the show was priceless.