Umbria Jazz Festival was a lovely event. The vibe was very special and we could hear music everywhere. The festival area was practically just one street with three stages plus one big main stage area a few minutes away from the end of the street but in addition to official stages musicians played everywhere and people where sitting in restaurants, cafes and other places eating, having drinks, chatting and just enjoying the music. I loved walking around and sitting here and there, having a coffee or a glass of wine and watching people walking their dogs and listening to music coming from every corner. I couldn’t believe how many dogs I saw. They all looked relaxed and very used to crowds.

The show itself gave a very adult and professional impression. The atmosphere was quite formal and I’m sure it all was partly intentional because the setlist was carefully planned for the audience which was a bit older and obviously more music oriented than on average but came partly also from the formal seated setting and the big stage far away from the audience. I really enjoyed the setlist and small additions and variation. Finally No Place In Heaven again, I love the song so much! Over My Shoulder, one of my biggest favorites. Blue Eyes after a long time not hearing it. Very jazz style Boum Boum Boum with a long and pretty intro. Because of the theme I paid more attention than usually to Curtis playing Lollipop and enjoyed it very much. He is brilliant with so many instruments.

My seat was first row very side so luckily no one blocked my view  which always makes me extremely happy (I’m short and can’t see behind people) but the stage was big and far away so I still couldn’t properly see the details. The security said no to my camera and I took only a few pics to remember how the stage looked. The security was generally very strict and kept the audience still and people from back couldn’t rush in front of us but a bit before the end they decided to let people go front and even asked us to go as well. Isa and I were a bit shy but went to the left side of the barrier and suddenly the whole area was full of people and during the four last songs the gig felt like a usual high energy Mika concert people dancing and singing in front of him. Lovely short visit to Perugia.