We had a lovely, lovely Apocalypse Calypso night at Palais des Congres in Tours. The venue is a concert hall and after seeing a gig there four years ago I had some expectations. To be honest, the sound wasn’t as good as I remembered. Also, the crowd had many fans in it and it felt a regular tour crowd and not a calmer concert hall crowd like I had imagined in advance. Still, I immensely enjoyed this night and it leaves a beautiful memory. 

I love the big show for Mika because it offers him a huge challenge and a possibility to use his huge creativity and he needs those both as an artist and I want him to have them and I definitely want to see the result of his work, preferably many times. However, there’s no way the atmosphere at big arenas can ever compete with smaller gigs at proper music venues. The show in Tour was almost the same as it is at arenas with the setlist and elements but it could also offer a taste of that warmth and coziness and intimacy that smaller venues can and that I love and miss in my heart. 

It was absolutely lovely. The stage was low and it was close and I could practically feel the sweat and the breeze when Mika was dancing around and around like he does during several songs like Big Girl or We Are Golden. C’est la vie was done without the big sign and close to the audience. During Moi, Andy et Paris he sat down and asked people to sit as well which immediately created some intimacy and during Any Other World people sat without asking and I leaned back in my seat and simply stared the water lilies on the background while listening and it was meditative and there was just that moment. Lovely experience indeed. 

It was quite dark and my photos are not great but I post the ones I took of the new blue suit. Depending on the light the suit can look more purple or darkish blue and the colour here is probably not exact. At some point a security guy told me off with my camera (even though pocket size) so I have no photos of the smoke that appeared in the beginning of the Happy Ending and looked breathtakingly pretty or the new white sailor boy suit with the dotted collar which I find very cute (not sure I would have managed to take any good ones in that light any way). Really happy we could have a smaller gig like this between the big venues. The tour continues in Dijon.