sparkly1 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 ---- If Mika had never done any improvised banter I probably wouldn't notice it was missing. Paolo Nutini can barely open his eyes on stage and even when he talks to the audience no one can make out WTF he's saying. But you know, that's Paolo. Mika on the other hand is one of the most charismatic, quick witted people I've ever come across and he is perfectly capable of making chit chat in front of an audience. It does not have to be witty or stellar. It just has to be comfortable and relevant. When Mika came outside after the show in Toronto he wanted to know what was going on with the big truck outside with his face plastered all over it. This is exactly the kind of thing he could bring up on stage. Mika has Andy running around all day so he knows exactly what's going on with the audience and the venue. He's already prepped to strike up conversations with people in the front or ask about why there's a big truck outside with his face plastered all over it. er...tell me more lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sienna Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 maybe he's really the control freak he says he is... Yeah, I think we have to believe him when he says that! I will explain a lot of the question at issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauruslady Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovempls Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 And finally, I would like to say that being on stage is terrifying (in a marvellous way, but terrifying nonetheless) and I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it must be to try and banter with people when all you can really see is bright lights shining in your direction. I find it hard enough when I've got a set script that I'm meant to stick to and I've got other people there to support me, but being the centre of attention and having to come up with interesting things to say on the spot is verrrry difficult. Saying that being on stage is terrifying and that coming up with banter is very difficult is completely your opinion, though. Just because it's hard for you doesn't mean it's hard for him or anyone else! From a very personal point of view, I can't even count the number of times I've been on stage just in, like, this past year. I've always been a performer. I'm a zillion theatre shows and I sing for a zillion choirs, I'm in an improv troupe and I'm a musician who's done small gigs before. Listen, I don't get stage fright. Ever. I don't think it's scary at all, I love it. I LOVE being the center of attention. And banter? It's not hard, ESPECIALLY if you're a born performer, and you love entertaining people. Mika could DEFINITELY do it. Comedians, who are supposed to be brilliant at that sort of thing, spend months testing out their material on small audiences, and you'd be surprised how much of it is rehearsed, word for word, and repeat that exactly for their entire tour, so don't be too harsh on the poor boy. Stand-up comedians do. But their talent and job is crafting the EXACT structure, sound, and diction to make their joke the funniest. So when you find the perfect sentence structure, you have to repeat it every time you do your routine. But other types of comedy aren't like that. For instance, I'm in an improv troupe, so every night for us is something completely new and made up in that second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 er...tell me more lol. They have these trucks that blast music and hang around outside of gigs where you can walk inside and buy CDs. Naturally they're pushing the artist(s) at the gig to get people to shop there, so there was a huge Mika poster on it (the promo shot from LICM that used to be in the MFC banner). I think he was especially curious because there was also a Spice Girls poster next to his pic since they also had a concert in town around the same time. Someone told him that these trucks drive around to gigs and play music but they failed to mention that it was a CD shop, so he was like......I'm sure wondering what would possess anyone to do that, especially with a picture of him and the Spice Girls on the side of their truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzy Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Saying that being on stage is terrifying and that coming up with banter is very difficult is completely your opinion, though. Just because it's hard for you doesn't mean it's hard for him or anyone else! From a very personal point of view, I can't even count the number of times I've been on stage just in, like, this past year. I've always been a performer. I'm a zillion theatre shows and I sing for a zillion choirs, I'm in an improv troupe and I'm a musician who's done small gigs before. Listen, I don't get stage fright. Ever. I don't think it's scary at all, I love it. I LOVE being the center of attention. And banter? It's not hard, ESPECIALLY if you're a born performer, and you love entertaining people. Mika could DEFINITELY do it. I'm afraid to say you've just contradicted yourself. You said that my comment about being on stage is a terrifying experience etc is my opinion, and yet you've decided that Mika is just like you and able to improvise at the flick of a switch. Yes, he's a brilliant performer, but he's a brilliant performer doing what he knows. He might not have the confidence in himself to do on the spot banter and finds it easier to stick to his stories and being this big personality when he's performing his songs. Only he himself knows the real reason as to why he doesn't do a lot of ad-libbing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatagordinha Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 dont forget that Mika is getting new fans all the time, some might not have heard it. I agree he could reword a little, and a little more spontanaety wouldnt go amiss, but this isnt after all about the people who go to his shows constantly. Heck - sometimes I'm surprised you guys don't get sick of his shows who go all the time. Same songs, same order.... Caroline you always speak sense girl! I don't know what to make of the purpose of this thread really. If I'm honest I think it is being critical for the sake of it. Mika is doing a great job, he's still relatively new to all of this, he puts on a fantastic live show that puts many other artists to absolute shame in terms of effort, creativity and talent; he is by general critical consensus highly charismatic on stage and generally leaves his audiences on a high from the exuberance and quality of his performance. Am I wrong? I for one forgive him his repetitionary banter. If I were rich enough/lucky enough/responsibility-free enough to see him 8 times a year I wouldn't care if he recited the banter verbatim. I'd be going to hear him sing, not chat. A few people here really need a reality check. Not everyone sees a Mika concert week in, week out AND MIKA KNOWS THAT. Cut him some slack! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norwalk174 Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 how rude! mika probably spent days sweating over those script and you say this?! seriously though i don't think there needed to be a whole thread over that though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovempls Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 I'm afraid to say you've just contradicted yourself. You said that my comment about being on stage is a terrifying experience etc is my opinion, and yet you've decided that Mika is just like you and able to improvise at the flick of a switch. Yes, he's a brilliant performer, but he's a brilliant performer doing what he knows. He might not have the confidence in himself to do on the spot banter and finds it easier to stick to his stories and being this big personality when he's performing his songs. Only he himself knows the real reason as to why he doesn't do a lot of ad-libbing. Well I apologize, I didn't know my words would be looked at so meticulously. *ahem* IN MY OPINION, Mika could do it. Because not everyone finds it scary to be on stage, not everyone finds it hard to come up with interesting or funny remarks on the spot, and not everyone gets nervous when they're the center of attention. Just speaking from personal experience. The end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackViolet Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 A few people here really need a reality check. Not everyone sees a Mika concert week in, week out AND MIKA KNOWS THAT. I've already addressed that issue; it's not about that. --Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 A few people here really need a reality check. Not everyone sees a Mika concert week in, week out AND MIKA KNOWS THAT. Cut him some slack! He's smart(ish). He can figure out that everyone on the Mikafanclub has a computer and an internet connection. If he thinks this stuff isn't getting on YouTube, well then he should pull his big nose out of the dirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzy Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Well I apologize, I didn't know my words would be looked at so meticulously. *ahem* IN MY OPINION, Mika could do it. Because not everyone finds it scary to be on stage, not everyone finds it hard to come up with interesting or funny remarks on the spot, and not everyone gets nervous when they're the center of attention. Just speaking from personal experience. The end. And I didn't mean for you to take my comment in a negative way, more as a response to what you said to me. But again, you're saying you think he could do it, and fair enough, maybe he could, but just because you think it doesn't make it so. Not everyone finds it hard, but some people do. I'm just saying, so don't take this as anything other than my opinion, because you seemed to take my last response a bit personally. (That was how I interpreted your reply, anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norwalk174 Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 he should know that no matter what he does someone's going to complain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovempls Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 he should know that no matter what he does someone's going to complain LOL that's true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovempls Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 And I didn't mean for you to take my comment in a negative way, more as a response to what you said to me. But again, you're saying you think he could do it, and fair enough, maybe he could, but just because you think it doesn't make it so. Not everyone finds it hard, but some people do. I'm just saying, so don't take this as anything other than my opinion, because you seemed to take my last response a bit personally. (That was how I interpreted your reply, anyway). It might have been a bit much. I just simply don't buy into the whole "he couldn't do it, it's too hard" thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 he should know that no matter what he does someone's going to complain Especially me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatagordinha Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 I've already addressed that issue; it's not about that. --Jack Yes, I know you have addressed that issue and I do understand your points, and respect your opinion. I just needed to express mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norwalk174 Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Especially me. it's not your fault it's just because you're a pencil vain yan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 A few people here really need a reality check. Not everyone sees a Mika concert week in, week out AND MIKA KNOWS THAT. Cut him some slack! You tell 'em! Okay you're probably telling me too. Really Mika can do whatever he wants as far as I'm concerned. I was on such a friggin high getting non-stop eye contact from him at my last gig I honestly didn't pay any attention to his banter except to note that I'd heard it all before so it wasn't worth listening to. Those were the moments I'd fiddle with my camera or call Mana to let her hear the next song. What I'm suggesting here isn't a complaint...it's a suggestion...because in spite of all this protest some improvised banter is a very good thing and the audience will love it. Not all 11,000 people at his gigs are getting non-stop eye contact and Mika could connect with them just as easily with a bit of verbal communication. All these arguments that it's too hard and maybe Mika can't do it don't hold any water because I've watched him do it early in his career when he appeared totally comfortable and it went over fabulously with the audience. In fact it's one of the reasons why I'm now a Mika fan. I didn't sit around watching hundreds of hours of interviews. All I knew about his personality was what he managed to convey when he stopped to talk between songs so I think it's even more important for the people who haven't seen his shows a dozen times to get to hear Mika being himself. It's an extremely effective way to endear himself to the audience and connect with the people who are too far away to see his facial expressions. I think this is constructive advice and is far more useful to Mika than some of the other complaints I hear like the trash can drumming is too cheesy or Saranayde is too peacocky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 If Mika can do whatever he wants, then it's okay if he cancels. it's not your fault it's just because you're a pencil vain yan ...*sobs on Megan's shoulder* WHY DOES HE HATE ME SO MUCH?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovempls Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 All these arguments that it's too hard and maybe Mika can't do it don't hold any water because I've watched him do it early in his career when he appeared totally comfortable and it went over fabulously with the audience. In fact it's one of the reasons why I'm now a Mika fan. thank you. ...the trash can drumming is too cheesy or Saranayde is too peacocky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatagordinha Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 he should know that no matter what he does someone's going to complain If he goes completely the other way and starts spouting stream of consciousness c*** all through the gig someone will soon be begging for the Billy Brown tale again. *disgruntled fan yells*Oh God Mika enough of the spontaneity, it's not working for me, just tell us about that Victoria Wood documentary again pleeeaassse *sigh of relief from Mika*well I was sitting in a hotel room at two in the morning..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norwalk174 Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 ...*sobs on Megan's shoulder* WHY DOES HE HATE ME SO MUCH?! maybe it's your name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 If he goes completely the other way and starts spouting stream of consciousness c*** all through the gig someone will soon be begging for the Billy Brown tale again. *disgruntled fan yells*Oh God Mika enough of the spontaneity, it's not working for me, just tell us about that Victoria Wood documentary again pleeeaassse *sigh of relief from Mika*well I was sitting in a hotel room at two in the morning..... It won't be me. Although I was really starting to get tired at 2 am when Patrick Wolf was still carrying on. That boy wouldn't shut up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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