2008 - REPORTS/PICS/VIDEOS for Mika @ The Hammersmith Apollo - London (25 Feb)

[babspanky]

I got there late because I had to work till 5pm, I didn't leave my house till about 5.40, got there about 6.45, a bit worried because I had Kata's ticket and needed to get there before the doors opened, which I did.

The queue went in then and I waited for jems, and we got a crap spot somewhere in the middle next to a guy with sweaty armpits, mmmm.

It was ok though, I guess, when you could see anything.

 

We saw Fortune in the hall, and Paloma, Yasmine and Ma Penniman outside.

Yasmine asked if we were the ones who made her lovely book. ( I wasn't but the others said yes) and she thanked them, I think she was impressed!

 

We were sitting on the bollards and Martin walked past and said "see you tomorrow" - blimey are we that predictable?

 

We saw Cherisse and said good night to her too, then off she went. After a while we went off to go to the car, only to find Cherisse still hanging around,round the corner, waiting for a lift or something so we said goodnight to her again.

 

That's the crap report from a crap fan.

 

I have now seen Mika in seven(I think) times in London and he has only been out briefly at two of them. I don't hold out much hope for the future in this respect. He seems either to stay in longer and not hang around afterwards, or shoot straight away. Maybe he just likes going home (I know I do)

[FREDDIESDOUBLE]

No bunny wabbits????

[ewokwicket]

Thanks for all your reports guys, shame about the meet and greet but maybe its finally time Mika stopped doing these as other people have said it just builds peoples hopes up too much (mine included!) and then everyone would just enjoy the concert and go home on a real high, rather than being dissapointed about not meeting him and getting photos etc with him.

 

*thinks thats my snog with Mika gone out the window for Thursday*

[babspanky]

No bunny wabbits????

 

No, I think they live in Brixton! But only on Thursdays......

[sariflor]

Oh yes also saw ICEMAN pop out at one point and shouted Ice man Ice man at him =- as we didi at the Fiat launch - so he ran back in -Wuss -what sort of security guard is he - if he came and said hi he would prob get his own fan club!!

 

 

yeah, I noticed he looked a bit scared:naughty: :roftl:He always probably worries he'll bump into us, hahaha!

[Mirtilla]

does john act different overseas? everyone thought he was so nice on this side of the bond

He does:sneaky2: USA are like Fairy Lands comparing to Europe.

 

Ring Ring was also really good, more rocky than usual!!!

 

errm...what else?

 

LOVE TODAY WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. At the beginning with the snow...when Mika turned and saw Grey Skelly he flinched and OMFG IT WAS CUTE!!! And then they hugged

 

and THEN Mika grabbed loads of snow, came to OUR AREA, AND CHUCKED IT AT US!!!!!!!! I got home a few minutes ago and it was all down my top LMAO.

 

he was singing Love Today and he gave me EYE CONTACT FOR DEFINITE. I felt my heart skip a beat, i'm not lying.

 

so then he started drumming and he took his top off im telling ya, the pix are nothing compared to seeing it in the flesh!!! (literally )

 

Mika and Cherisse were on fire. Mika stuck his finger up at her but i cant remember why

 

next...

He'd better put HJ in the next album!! Jokes apart, he said it once, and personally I hope it will be the first single..

[sariflor]

He does:sneaky2: USA are like Fairy Lands comparing to Europe.

 

 

He'd better put HJ in the next album!! Jokes apart, he said it once, and personally I hope it will be the first single..

 

 

I love Holy Johnny, but I get the feeling that it will not be in his album.....I do hope I'm wrong!

[FREDDIESDOUBLE]

He does:sneaky2: USA are like Fairy Lands comparing to Europe.

 

MMMMM...........

 

Must say many have said that today on and off the MFC

[Gatagordinha]

I love Holy Johnny, but I get the feeling that it will not be in his album.....I do hope I'm wrong!

 

I cannot bear the thought it won't be on the album!!! I love that song. SURELY it'll be on???? It's not looking like it though is it..

[sariflor]

I cannot bear the thought it won't be on the album!!! I love that song. SURELY it'll be on???? It's not looking like it though is it..

 

Well, the reason I say that is cause when he speaks of HMDYLM he always makes a point that it's on the new album, but with HJ he just says that it's not in the album but they like to do it live......plus the lyrics "w*ore" and all that, makes me think he may have a hard time putting it in....I hope he will, but I realistically think he won't:boxed:

But I absolutely ADORE that song:wub2:

[elanorelle]

Holy Johnny is not on the albuM??

 

BOO! an orphan song with no home!

**caresses song*****

[Gatagordinha]

Well, the reason I say that is cause when he speaks of HMDYLM he always makes a point that it's on the new album, but with HJ he just says that it's not in the album but they like to do it live......plus the lyrics "w*ore" and all that, makes me think he may have a hard time putting it in....I hope he will, but I realistically think he won't:boxed:

But I absolutely ADORE that song:wub2:

 

Yes I keep telling myself he is keeping that as a surprise track for the new album but perhaps I'm kidding myself.

 

I've racked my brains trying to come up with a way around the dodgy lyric..but I can't think of anything to substitute that word which would both make sense and rhyme with twenty-four .

 

Suggestions on a postcard to Mika please!! Save Holy Johnny from recorded oblivion!

[elanorelle]

Yes I keep telling myself he is keeping that as a surprise track for the new album but perhaps I'm kidding myself.

 

I've racked my brains trying to come up with a way around the dodgy lyric..but I can't think of anything to substitute that word which would both make sense and rhyme with twenty-four .

 

Suggestions on a postcard to Mika please!! Save Holy Johnny from recorded oblivion!

 

"a little bit more"

"rotten to the core"

"finally got to score"

"its a hard and big darn chore"

"fell down and now he's sore"

"rose above the sky to soar"

 

ok nothing of these make sense...but hey! :roftl:

[Sivan]

Yes I keep telling myself he is keeping that as a surprise track for the new album but perhaps I'm kidding myself.

 

I've racked my brains trying to come up with a way around the dodgy lyric..but I can't think of anything to substitute that word which would both make sense and rhyme with twenty-four .

 

Suggestions on a postcard to Mika please!! Save Holy Johnny from recorded oblivion!

 

u know... i thought HOLY JOHNNY was kinda new....

but i realised i have a video of mika singing it on march... LOL and i was there!

i guess i forgot he did that so long ago!

and he still say its new

 

[Gatagordinha]

"a little bit more"

"rotten to the core"

"finally got to score"

"its a hard and big darn chore"

"fell down and now he's sore"

"rose above the sky to soar"

 

ok nothing of these make sense...but hey! :roftl:

 

Good try though!! That's better than what I could come up with!

 

although how about "well he loved to score, now he's a priest at 24". Ok I pinched your rhyming word:naughty:

[chickadee]

Holy Johnny is my new favourite! How can it not be on the album? I mean, all it needs is a language warning on the front like my James Blunt album. At least I wouldn't need to put my hands over my 2 yr olds ears though unlike with James. She already knows the "W" word, from watching "Lollipop" sung at that BBC thing too many times. haha, she'd already learnt that before I even laid my hands on the actual album!

[Humphrey]

Well, the reason I say that is cause when he speaks of HMDYLM he always makes a point that it's on the new album, but with HJ he just says that it's not in the album but they like to do it live......plus the lyrics "w*ore" and all that, makes me think he may have a hard time putting it in....I hope he will, but I realistically think he won't:boxed:

But I absolutely ADORE that song:wub2:

 

I agree.. I have the same feeling and fear, since I am also a huge fan of that song!

Though I hope he doesn't care about getting a sticker this time around and holds that against HJ. Maybe it doesn't fit in with the other songs?

I've lost almost all hope of seeing it on the next album but I have not lost faith.

[JackViolet]

I'm guessing HJ will be a b-side on one of the singles from the new album.

 

As others have pointed out, it's already been "out" and performed for too long to really go on the album. I bet Mika wants his album to be fresh and with a real element of surprise (watch how he refuses to say anything concrete about its sound in interviews!), and so he wouldn't want a song that people have been hearing since spring 2007 on it.

 

--Jack

[chickadee]

I'm guessing HJ will be a b-side on one of the singles from the new album.

 

As others have pointed out, it's already been "out" and performed for too long to really go on the album. I bet Mika wants his album to be fresh and with a real element of surprise (watch how he refuses to say anything concrete about its sound in interviews!), and so he wouldn't want a song that people have been hearing since spring 2007 on it.

 

--Jack

 

I could live with that as a b-side. I just got Big Girl today (yay, it's finally been released in Australia!!) and am really happy to have Instant martyr on it.

Edit: And Sweet Dreams!! That was a nice surprise!

[ewokwicket]

I could live with that as a b-side. I just got Big Girl today (yay, it's finally been released in Australia!!) and am really happy to have Instant martyr on it.

Edit: And Sweet Dreams!! That was a nice surprise!

 

 

 

Sweet Dreams................................amazing! I've always loved that live, takes me back to Glastonbury when I was singing along and my 11 year old looked at me as if to say, how do you know the words.

[Mirtilla]

Thanx to everyone for the great reports and Blue Eyes for

the pics, they're awesome!!

I feel so bad for the not-meeting after the gig, but maybe

since he had another gig right the day after he prefered to

meet his fans tonight, so he has a day off on wednesday... I

don't feel to blame him for that, someone said that he was

quite ill in the past few days and maybe he didn't want to

risk another cancellation?

Plus, consider the fact that after such a long tour, he's

finally at home: no hotels, no tour-bus..just his own bed

 

 

I'm sorry Caz to hear that, I thought you actually met him

before! aren't you going ton the 28th as well?

 

 

Oh man Caz, that sucks that you

haven't gotten to meet him yet! Truly!!

 

Come to America? It seems easier here... Man, I

hope you get to have a moment with him soon, seriously.

 

--Jack

Seems? It IS easier! You americans should tell us what's the

difference: maybe the air?

[Mirtilla]

Well, you say that, but later after

Mika had gone, we were talking to John, and we complained

that our queue didn't get coffee and hot chocolate bought

for them, and Kata had a receipt for the donuts they had

bought earlier, and he said OK give me the receipt, and he

only gave her the money, didn't he. In fact he

gave her a bit more than the receipt.

Kata is my hero, seriously!!! *bows*

[Blue Eyes]

........oh well, we have recovered sufficiently to write up our experiences of last night and what a night it was!!

 

Thanks for the nice comments regarding the photos we posted last night (page 32 of this thread) we were absolutely exhausted but thought it would be worth putting a handful on, glad you liked them.

 

We arrived at the venue at about 12.15 and got numbers 41 and 42 in the queue so given the size of the stage at the Apollo we we're hopeful of getting in the front row, even if not in the centre. We've sort of got used to the fact that queuing is part of the MIKA experience now, fortunately it was a lot warmer yesterday than it was in December.

 

The doors opened at about 7.10 and we headed for the front left, we ended up right on the edge which was further left than we had hoped for but in truth the view (as you can see from the photos) was not too bad at all. It is a slight niggle with us that people who arrive a lot later seem to end up in better positions but I guess that's the way it will always be until MIKA starts playing seated arenas (Hopefully when this happens, MFC members will be given the opportunity to purchase the first few rows in advance)

 

Palladium were in fine form but I have to admit we both find their music a bit 'samey' It's ok to listen to and they are brilliant performers but each song seems to just flow into the next.

 

As for the main event.......we thought MIKA was incredible.

 

There were some nice additions to the show since we last saw him in Brighton, really enjoyed 'How Much Do You Love Me' and there was a string section (4 girls) for 'Any Other World' and 'Happy Ending' which worked really well. The highlight of the show for us (as always) was 'Love Today' To be honest we would pay the ticket price just to see this song, we love it soooooo much. The snow, Grey Skelly, the energy for the main verses and the drumming give us goose bumps every time we see it and last night seemed better than ever.

 

A few people have said they thought he was struggling in places but if he was then it went straight over our heads, we thought he was fantastic, some of the notes he hit and held were unbelievable, we've been lucky enough to see him 7 times now and his vocals last night seemed better than ever. The fact he has had a little bit of rest before and since the Brits seemed to have done him the world of good, this really showed in the amount of energy he expended on stage. We complain about being exhausted after a few hours standing in a queue and watching a gig, he must be absolutely spent given the fantastic show he puts on for us, which brings us onto the subject of meet and greets....

 

John came out and announced that MIKA would stop to say hello and thank you briefly but would not be signing or posing for photographs. Everyone was told to stand on the right of the exit but we followed a hunch and stayed on the left side, which worked out well as MIKA came out of the car on that side. As we were right next to him when he got out we were lucky enough to have a very brief chat with him and also managed to give him a copy of the calendar Kev made. Just in case you missed it you can download and print your own here He had a quick flick through, said thank you and accepted a few gift from other well wishers before leaving.

 

We have to admit we love getting to see MIKA after a gig, if only to thank him for the show he has put on for us but we can fully understand the need to keep these meeting briefs, or in fact to stop them altogether (which can only be a matter of time) He must be absolutely exhausted and as his popularity grows, the amount of people wanting to see him after a show grows with it.

 

One of the things we love about MIKA is the way he makes us all feel as if we are all along for the ride and a big part of what he is doing. At every gig we have been to he thanks his fans (in particular those who followed him in the early days) he has had fans up on stage as lollipop girls, big girls, Holy Johnny, he gave us the opportunity to be in one of his videos etc.... As artists go he probably cares more about his fans than anyone else we can think of so hopefully those of you who have yet to meet him don't get too downhearted about it. We've were lucky enough to speak to him a few times in the early days, so now that the crowds are getting bigger we will probably hang back in future and let others have their turn.

 

All in all it was a fantastic night, meeting old friends and making new ones is always a high point at a MIKA gig and last night was no exception, far too many of you to mention but you know who you are. The evening was tainted slightly by knowing that it is the last gig we have tickets for, so we don't know when we will get to see him again:crybaby:....at least we know that by the next time he tours the UK we will have a whole new batch of songs to discover and a whole new show to fall in love with:wub2: .......bring it on!!

 

...and last but not least, the rest of the photos, enjoy !!

 

 

 

 

[Blue Eyes]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blue Eyes]