So we heard a lot about the introductory ‘DJing’ these 2 amazing musicians did during Mika’s recent North American tour and the views were conflicting. Most people tolerated it, some loved it, some hated it.
I finally got a chance to experience it first hand at the Le Poisson Rouge gig and my immediate reaction was a giggling fit. XD Throughout the set my reactions evolved through incredulousness, bewilderment, mild appreciation, then outright enjoyment. This maybe because the songs snippets went chronologically by decades and everyone knows I’m biased towards the latter part of the 20th century…
As I experienced the set I wrote down the thoughts for its raison d’etre as they pooped into my head and here’s what I came up with (in no particular order):
It’s a form of decade prejudice – done to highlight how much better the more recent music is (as opposed to the 40s, for example)
It’s a test of dance adaptability, to see who can adjust best and effortlessly to the varied rhytms
A test to see exactly how drunk the crowd is
The songs are a form of conversation between Max and Curtis…one that’s obviously coded..
Some of the songs correlate to Mika songs like ‘Singing in the Rain’ (Rain), ‘Big girls don’t cry’ (Big Girls), etc..but the link can only be identified for a few songs…this theory might be pure coincidence or we’re missing something XD
It was all an effort to have the best ‘worst’ DJ set – sort of like winning from behind…
A statistical test to see which songs people knew and how many people knew them…they then compiled data sheets and the result will be released shortly
A really slow burn method of getting the crowd to do some dancing
Subtle brainwashing to get us to buy the products they had jingles for…the music was merely a cover-up
See how best they could get us to forget about Mika coming on to perform
There’s a pretty good chance I entirely missed the point with these theories and Mika merely wanted some filler music before he came on…naaaaahh…
I’ve already written some mini-reports on my recent experiences for MFC, so expect some repetition if you’re a member of that club, but I need a place to consolidate my thoughts, especially about the “Best Gig Ever”, and this blog is the lucky winner! ding ding ding!
I recently sojourned to the Eastern United States to kill 2 birds with 1 stone – catch Mika on two stops of his ‘Intimate Tour’ (or the Dirty Laundry Tour as he wanted to call it XD) and have some quality time with the spouse (whose birthday is next week). The Mika stuff would be done and out of the way after the first 3 days, anyways.
The first gig was at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC and the day was remarkably warm, given the previous temperature trends, which I took as a good omen. All the right elements were there – fun queuing with fun people, strangers constantly asking us who we were waiting in line for, then either looking puzzled at the name or exclaiming how lucky we were, a quick beer, some bathroom breaks, efficient venue crew and then shock and awe! It was the smallest stage I’ve EVER seen! Being in the front row we sat on the stage, since there was no barrier and it was all I could speak about for half an hour. I think the people around me got tired of me yapping on about it after a while…The gig itself felt like it was taking place right in my living room – he was that close – and I left feeling that given this venue, it probably doesn’t get much better than this.
Turns out I was oh so wrong.
We hopped on a train to DC, which left at 3am, and I was sure I’d sleep on the train. Instead, I spent the whole time on my phone, and when I finally started dozing off, our stop was called. This was going to be the day I knew what it was like to feel like the walking dead, I thought. We met our hostess (who was awesome and picked us up from the station) in Maryland, had showers, breakfast, I picked up a few things from the 7-11 and then it was back to the train station for the trip down to the venue. I walked with my pillow and an extra jacket for sleeping (hopefully) on any available space. The ride into DC was quick and painless, though I found their metro-cards to be quite flimsy XD The venue was the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue, which it turns out is so named because it’s on the corner of 600 (locally known as ‘sixth’) and I streets (yes they have streets named with single letters!) and not some Hebrew reference as I’d previously thought. I only had to ask for directions once, then found it quite easily. The Synagogue is on the edge of Chinatown and the walk to it was interesting – I’d never seen so many suited people in a Chinatown before! The weather was gorgeous and I already liked the vibe of Washington…
When I got to the venue a little after noon, 2 other girls were already there, one of them a friend I’ve known for a while and the other a new person. We quickly caught up and then I laid down on the ledge we were so conveniently queuing on, to try to sleep. Turned out I was quite tired but not sleepy, so I gave up that idea after a while and just enjoyed the view. More people came; we explored nearby restaurants (and their bathrooms XD), I had a huge meal of chicken carbonara, some of our fellow queue-rs took a bike trip around the city…XD. It was the most enjoyable and pleasant queuing experience I’ve ever had. The time raced by. Earlier on, the guys at the venue had asked us to place traffic cones on the street so that Mika’s tour bus would have enough space to park. Of course we took our jobs very seriously. The tour bus had all the equipment (but no Mika or musicians) then stayed there heating up the area we were sitting in. After a while they noticed and moved the bus further down.
By 3:30 pm we thought we had missed Mika getting into the venue, but he tweeted that he was running late. I replied that the line was getting to be quite long, and he re-tweeted this (you would only understand that this is a big deal if you’re a hard core fan XD) which was so exciting that I became instantly ‘untired’. The line would go on to stretch quite a ways around the block and it warmed my heart to see all the love Washington was showing.
They must’ve worked like crazy on sound check, because the door opened right around when it should’ve and for once I didn’t have to run. Instead we just casually sauntered up to the front, where single chairs had been placed in front of the first line of pews and plumped down. I could get up to go to the bathroom without losing my seat! Hallelujah! And that’s exactly what I did – and bought some wine (which they insisted in putting in an adult sized sippy cup, but I didn’t mind because it was branded with the venue’s name) to top it off. The wine wasn’t such a great idea because it started to make my eyelids droop, and I worried about falling asleep right in front of Mika XD. I needn’t worry however, since from the time he bounded onto the stage, sleep or anything similar became the furthest thing from my mind. My view of him at the piano wasn’t the best but when he came to the front of the stage it was perfect.
This one isn’t my picture – full credit to the photographer!
He started off with Grace Kelly, and initially everyone stayed obediently in their seats (which he remarked was only fair since he was also sitting at the piano), but by the time he got to Elle Me Dit, (which the crowd insisted he sing in French – weird I know!) everyone was on their feet and dancing. The rest of the gig we remained standing happily. The acoustics in that place was magnificent. He got to Lola and decided to take full advantage of it by ditching the mike. When the song was finished my jaw was left hanging open. All I could do was mutter ‘ wow’. The wonders of non-amplification was repeated again with Stardust, and it was at that point that I knew everyone in that audience had just been treated to a magical, religious experience. Why else would a crowd of almost 500 people have remained so uncharacteristically silent in all the right places?
Lola – many thanks to Deb for posting!
I have a confession at this point. I didn’t really know how much I would like an acoustic tour. I’ve always much preferred the ‘dance-y’ Mika songs, though I can definitely appreciate the slower ones, and his energy on stage during a typical concert is a huge part of the appeal. However, I didn’t even miss the up-tempo atmosphere during these gigs, and hearing him sing without a microphone reminded me of the main reason I love him: his voice. It’s easy to get caught up in all the other aspects of Mika, but ultimately it’s all about the voice… and the music… and that’s what this amazing night forcibly brought home. Opera and classical singers might do this sort of stuff all the time but when and how often do you find a ‘pop’ artiste doing something similar? The talent in this man is prodigious I tell you!
Stardust – huge thanks to Christina for sharing!
After the show ended (to thunderous applause of course), we were all in a daze. Even friends who normally start dissecting and analyzing were surprisingly silent. Awe and gratitude are the closest descriptive words. I took another bathroom break and we stood around outside waiting for him to come out. There was a huge crush of people just mingling around waiting for him as well and when this ‘disorderliness’ happens, he would usually just sign a few things from people at the front then leave. Some one from the venue did come out and say we should form a line, which was then created only in the loosest sense of the word and which we ended up on the very end of XD. I figured if he ever got to us I’d ask him to sign my ticket (though in retrospect I could’ve gotten a picture) but mostly I was just caught up in how to adequately thank him for this experience. We stood at the back astonished to see him actually meeting and chatting with everyone and as the crowd slowly dissipated I was in an almost panic since ‘thank you’ was just not going to cut it. Just before it was my turn, the word transcendent popped into my head, and that’s what I told him: ‘Thank you for a transcendent experience’. He squeezed my shoulder and said a reciprocal thank-you with conviction. *insert squees* XD He then finished up seeing everyone with so much grace and charm and our little crew walked away commenting what a wonderful person we had chosen to travel to see.
To date, I haven’t seen a single less-than-glowing report about any of these shows. This Intimate Tour was like the best little secret that people in North America missed out on, but someday I hope all fans get to experience a bit of the unexpected magic that was that night in a Synagogue in DC. Even a fraction of that would be enough to blow your minds.
We got back to the apartment around 2:30 am, and I fell asleep around 3:30 utterly exhausted. Then inexplicably I was awake at 7am and unable to fall back asleep. A quick browse of the internet and MFC showed that indeed, Mika was supposed to be on CNN right then! I was wary of putting on the TV but by then everyone else had awakened for one reason or another so we turned on the idiot box. While we waited (it would turn out to be an hour plus wait) some dozed off again but I couldn’t. Then there he was! Walking into the room to be interviewed by Soledad O’Brien and almost tripping on some cables on the floor (le gasp!) To fully understand the excitement in the room you have to realize that this is the first time 3 of us had seen him live on a TV screen – everything else prior had been streamed online and it had been that long since he’d been on american TV.
Several plans got switched/aborted that day, such as meeting up with my friend from NY, or again with the one from Vancouver. Also, two of the roomies were not going to the second concert since they couldn’t get tickets.
The morning had a molasses-like quality – everything took forever to do – like packing and getting ready to post stuff to the other oddlings, but eventually we made it to the post office and back. Before heading off to the venue I had some amazing pho from the cafe right below the apartment. That day was starting out, and predicted to remain chilly so this southern girl had to fortify herself.
We parted ways at the subway station – 2 off to the statue of liberty and 2 off to see Mika…again XD. We got to Webster Hall around 1pm and there were about 10 people in line ahead of us, including a couple who was there from 3 am (!) Brave, but not the smartest planners, especially since they booked their return bus at 11 pm and would thus have to leave the concert even before it had ended.There was a very specific moment about half an hour into sitting on the cold steps,the chilly wind penetrating to my bones and staring at the very monotonous stone facade facing us that I wanted to chuck it all in. I was in the capital of the world, my friends scattered within miles and there I was sitting on my frozen ass bored to death.On reflection I guess I also felt the absence of some super fun people I’d met for the first time the night before and who couldn’t make it to this gig for various reasons. Fortunately I got distracted from that plan and eventually forgot about it, especially as we started to engage in conversation with the other queue-ers.
Time was passed by eating sushi, frequent bathroom trips, hilarious conversation and watching the band et al. to-ing and fro-ing. By 7 pm we were allowed in and it was a painless entry. There was no nervous anxiety on my part this time, since everyone had actual tickets. The cold had then numbed all my nerves anyways. I got a much better spot to the right of the stage, just about 5 persons to the center and the barrier was even closer to the stage. Touching it only required extension of the arm. I was standing next to my roomie and an MFC-er I first met in Montreal, and who had quickly become one of my favorite people. My feet felt almost normal. All of this portended very good vibes already for this concert.
The opening act was the same and they did the same routine as far as I could tell, but the crowd didn’t seem as enthusiastic as the night before. They built up a momentum though, and I eventually felt as if I was in a groovy trance club. They had added bunches of small roses and daisies to the ‘altar’ the DJ spun her grooves on and I was sorely tempted to take the roses as a memento after their set, but alas I wasn’t close enough to grab them since they were to my left. Luckily, a girl 2 persons to my left had the same idea so she got a big bunch and shared a smaller bunch with me. She said she was going to give Mika the roses during a song and I had the immediate idea to shower him with petals from mine at that same moment XD. It needs to be noted that I think of petal showers very highly, and would sometimes do it to myself for no other reason than to feel fabulous 🙂 This needs noting, because I was to learn later that people in the balcony thought I ‘threw’ petals at Mika’s face (!)
The lights dimmed, band entered, then the man himself. After singing Relax, he sat down at the piano and looked transported by bliss. He said he was in a very good mood and though I confess I initially thought the reason was amorous (I can’t help my dirty mind XD) I quickly figured out it was likely because the album had ended its first day of release #1 on the iTunes pop charts. The setlist was the same as the previous day but it felt like a very different concert. During the slow songs I felt as if he was singing in my living room, just for a select group of us – the feeling was that intimate. I felt no other pressure than to fold my arms over the barrier and let the melody wash over me. This was alternated by periods of the best damn club ever, when the floor was shaking and I was raving. Though he was constantly over us, and easily within grab no one touched him gratuitously and I didn’t even feel the need to look at him all the time; full measure was taken of the band at various moments and there were lots of eye closing on my part to fully savor the moment. It was a roller coaster gig filled with a full spectrum of emotions and sensations that left me incredulous by the end. This was the best I’ve ever experienced thus far.
You can spot the roses at the forefront..
On fire!
Singing in the aftermath of the rose petals…
The (in)famous Perez Hilton was in the audience (balcony) and several times during the concert I watched up at him to see he was having an amazing time! After the show he was even tweeting to the Fan club Administrator about ‘arranging’ something :). There was word about us getting to meet Mika or something similar, so we stuck around to see what would play out. Turns out we were ushered up to the VIP area where we had a little chat with one of his U.S PR people and then with the man himself. It was short but sweet.
When we left the Hall we noticed a great many more people than the previous night gathered outside waiting for him to come out, and felt fairly lucky that we didn’t have to compete with them. We went to grab a bite again but in greatly reduced numbers and then sadly and wearily parted ways to various destinations. Safe to say, the people who were going on to the Chicago gig were the envy of the group! XD
We got back to the apartment around 3:30 am and my airport pickup was at 4:15am, so I stayed awake. The rest – trip to the airport, the sleepy sad hugs goodbye and the zombie trek through the airport – was a blur. But I made it home safely later that day, semi catatonic but happy as f**k!
Amazing memories, no regrets and can’t wait for my next trip!!
The next day we were up a little later because we had to wait on the ‘Final Oddling’ to join us. She was coming in from Philly via train which was slightly delayed, so in the interim I planned out the day’s activities and listened to my stomach growl.
She got there safe and sound and it was brilliant to finally meet her, especially since she brought us packages of candy and wonderful knicknacks!
The main event of the day was obviously the concert – the first Mika concert for two of the Oddlings – but due to a messed up situation with presale tickets and not being able to get them until the doors opened etc, we decided not to queue very early since it would likely be pointless. Instead we took the opportunity to explore a little more of the Island.
First stop was breakfast at the Chinese bakery down the street where I experienced a sweet pork bun-thing that shouldn’t have worked as a breakfast item but was so good and so did! Then of course the obligatory Starbucks…Afterwards we set off to Max Brenner’s, a place I was introduced to by my best friend earlier this summer and fell in love with. The theme there is basically the more chocolate the better! It’s like a grown up Wonka factory with amazing concoctions. Thankfully it wasn’t packed and we got seats with ease (this is normally impossible but I guess the early time helped). Let me let the pictures do the talking…
Tiramisu cocktail
Waffle fries dusted with chili and cocoa powder
Just a simple ice cream…
11 am chocolate cocktail never felt so good! I had great plans to get a little alcohol buzz before the gig and this was my first step. Turned out to also be the last step because somewhere along the line I forgot to drink! XD But everyone gave the place a thumbs-up, so that was good. We continued on the sweet tooth train by visiting a Godiva store next. Much delectable-ness was bought for a bargain and that was also good. At this time I got in contact with the other MFC-ers to ascertain their location. I found out they were already in line at the venue and there were 3 other persons in front of them. This made me nervous, but there was nothing I could do about it, since we weren’t scheduled to be there for at least another 3 hours. So I just took deep breaths and hoped the forecast of rain would deter any more queue-ers…
After getting slightly lost, which I take full blame for :), we made it to the next stop: Dylan’s Candy Shop! We were visiting here for 2 reasons -Mika raved about it in 2009 and it was THE candy emporium in NYC…and the Oddlings all love candy a little too much XD Dylan’s did not disappoint – from the shelf entirely devoted to mustache accoutrements and candies to the stairs with candy trapped in layers, it was a wonderland of all things sweet and cavity-forming. We left with lingering hearts…
Mika’s fave candy in a box…
We were supposed to make 2 more stops but time was rapidly dwindling so we had to choose between a Japanese toy store and the Evolution Store. We choose the latter and I’m so glad we did, because it turned out to be a truly amazing place! It’s the go-to place for minerals, taxidermy and other natural history thingys. We walked around in awe and everybody ended up purchasing something this time. Maybe it’s a good thing there are import restrictions, otherwise alligator heads and other oddities would’ve been bought that day XD. Then we were on our way back to the apartment full of nervous energy for the gig.
My friend from Vancouver joined us at the apartment and we all changed into gig gear with Stardust being the ‘theme’. We managed to get glitter on everything so I would say it was a success. We’d bought rain ponchos and umbrellas earlier so we set off to our destination fully prepared. When we got to the venue it was a pleasant jolt seeing Mika’s name up on the marquee and even pleasanter to meet the other MFCers. There were a few new faces but we would quickly get to know them before the night was out. Because of the whole presale situation we stayed at the head of the queue with the others, and I felt guilty about jumping the line, but thankfully no one protested. New Yorkers can be nice after all! XD We passed the time by making up weather-appropriate lyrics to Stardust (new song on the new Mika album) and then proceeding to sing them out loud.
When it started to drizzle a little more we were herded into the bar in the venue and told to form an orderly line. All the Fan Club people were at the head of the line but I was a knot of apprehension I feared not being on the pre-sale list, I was angry about the mass of people who had come at the last minute and totally ignored the line to crowd the entrance, I was annoyed at the music in the bar; I was just a nervous mess. Turned out I didn’t have that much to worry about, the hard and much-appreciated work of the Fan club moderator ensured all MFC-ers got in first, our names were checked against the pre-sale list and we made it to front row no problem. My best friend and I got separated from the rest and so were to the left of the stage. It wasn’t a bad spot but I knew we won’t get much front row attention since Mika tended to favor his left side and the center. It was my friend’s first Mika gig and first front row. She was bemused by our intensity, but happy to be there I daresay.
The opening act – The Dolls – were actually very interesting and a nice crowd plumper but I was anxious for the main event. Amazingly, about 5 minutes early the show starts and I forget my throbbing feet and intense hunger. For the first half of the show I’m enthralled but eventually the hunger and pain come back and I’m distracted for brief spurts. The show was excellent, with great crowd interaction and much floor shaking (I swore it would cave in at some points), but it wasn’t better than my first gig in Montreal, just different. He employed the use of a choir (who would come to be called the Polka Dot Choir) for the first time, and they were a big success. It was especially endearing (and money-saving! XD) that he picked fans who submitted vids to be in the choir.
At the end of the gig I was happy but limping so sat right there on the floor as the room cleared out. Every one then went down stairs to buy the new merchandise and CDs that were on sale. I wasn’t going to get anything but ended up purchasing 4 CDs as gifts and a tee shirt. Hey, it saved me the trouble of going to Barnes and Noble where I was going to get them anyways! At this point my best friend had had enough and decided to make her way back to Queens. She said she’d had a blast but just wasn’t up to waiting an indeterminate amount of time for him to come out – which was what the rest of us were going to do. I bid her a sad adieu and went outside to wait on the performer.
Fortunately the wait wasn’t long. After getting hassled by security a few times about where we could conglomerate, and after about maybe a 20 minute wait, he came out. He was in a hurry because he had to get up early to be at CNN (we thought he was peddling some misinformation but turns out he was right). He did sign all the proffered items though, including my CD booklet. That it was a small group (maybe 15 persons) helped. I took that opportunity to give him my thank-you present, a 1960 first edition Miguel Street by Nobel prize winning Trinidadian author V.S Naipaul. I told him I heard he collected first Editions and hoped he would like this one; he thanked me with his usual grace, but I just hope he didn’t leave it in his hotel room XD It started to rain again so he was getting hustled away, but not before he was intercepted by a very LOUD and ‘indecorous’ fan who in spite of that ended up getting a picture with him.
Miguel Street…
He drove away and we stood around, giggly and on an endorphin and hunger fueled high. We started drifting aimlessly in search of food and at the next stop light met with the band who were leaving to catch a cab. It was a quick but happy meeting and I told Joy (the backup singer/drummer) how I thought she was reverse-aging (she really is!) She said her secret was baby lotion. 🙂
Eventually we ended up at a Ukrainian restaurant and proceeded to make a joyful mayhem in the place – all 16 of us. Later walking home from the subway, I reflected on how amazing the night turned out and thought it couldn’t possibly get better. I was wrong.
I’ve just returned from NYC. A trip that was supposed to be about seeing Mika in concert turned into something a lot more wonderful and well rounded.
Remember the mention about MFC? Well I originally signed up because I wanted to be the world representative for Barbados and Guyana XD (a title that means nothing really, by the way) and never expected to post much on the forum. Especially as how I didn’t know really how to use the forum! I quickly learned however, and was drawn into conversation and frequent postings by the wit and charm of these many fans scattered all over the world. By April this year, a group of MFC-ers (yes that’s a thing) with loads of time were frequently in MFC chat room (separate from the forum itself) and went on to develop a stronger bond by virtue of being equally foul minded and idle XD I jest of course, what I really meant is that we were especially awesome. We called ourselves the Oddlings and were frustrated by not being able to meet each other in the real world since we lived on different continents. The announcement of TWO mika gigs in NYC sent us into a frenzy of meeting possibility because two of the oddlings are from the states and I could easily travel there. Eventually another oddling (from England!) was able to make the trip, as well as my best friend from Vancouver. Lordy this was gonna be a regular par-tay! And that’s when planning and anticipation became more about quality time with friends and less about Mika XD
But let me hasten to recount my Big Apple adventure…The flight was delayed one hour due to inclement weather, then I spent over an hour in the immigration line at JFK, which was just that slow moving, and then the train into the city had a modified schedule on weeknights. All culminated in me being breathed upon by a very tall stranger in a very crowded shuttle bus, lugging a suitcase, backback and duty free alcohol up several flights of stairs in weather I was not appropriately dressed for, and reaching to my destination at a wonderfully late time to the frantic questing of my worried spouse.
But hey, I got into the apartment we were sharing in Tribeca and finally met these ‘people from the internet’ who I’ve spent so much time with over the last few months and it was all good and worth it! ❤ An unfortunate side effect of the lateness however, was not being able to go partying with my bestie uptown…Sleep came hard and fast to exhausted me that night.
The next day we all awoke early, partly out of excitement and partly because I was being a nag about having an early start for our packed schedule XD. The first thing we did was make a beeline to the 24 hour IHOP. We had massive portions and I had a massive coffee and all was suddenly well with the world…Afterwards we went up to Columbus Circle, then started over to Central Park. At the Southern Entrance to the park there’s a Ferrara kiosk that sells the most divine Canoli. It was a great start for all the walking. There was the NYC marathon happening just then so crossing the street in the park proved to be nerve-wracking but we did it! We would proceed to explore the Carousel, the lake and Strawberry fields. It was a wonderful Sunday to be alive and in Central Park with mild weather and gleeful shouts of ‘squirrel!’ from one of my companions ever so often…
Stampede of humans…aka NYC marathon
View of the lake
Sitting pretty..and high!
After we left the park, I visited a Tmobile to sort out my telecommunications issues and my 2 companions headed off for the American Museum of Natural History whilst I pursued the decidedly less cultured option of shopping. I went off to Herald Square, hitting up the Forever 21, H&M etc multiple times in different locations and ended up with 4 purchases after 3 hours (!) I know, I’m a very prolific shopper XD During this time I made arrangements with my favorite cousin who lives in NY to meet me and to reunite with my flatmates.
Next stop was Tiffany’s on 5th Avenue. Coming out of the subway onto 5th Avenue was a dazzlingly delightful experience. Most of the time I can be fairly anti-materialistic, but I won’t lie, all those huge bastions of dazzling wealth and prized objects made me temporarily want to live on 5th Avenue! My attention quickly turned to the more mundane though, as by this time my feet had started to feel as if they were dropping off. I retired to a doorstep to wait on my friends and my cousin and nurse my feet. Turns out one of the friends misinterpreted my directions and walked several blocks in the wrong direction! So the wait continued. It was made pleasant however by finally greeting my lovely cousin. Eventually we were all reunited and proceeded the short distance to the FAO Schwartz flagship – the next stop on our itinerary.
Toyful goodness!
FAO was a delightful wonderland and guess I should be glad my feet were acting up at this point, because otherwise we might never have left. But leave we did, and blessings be upon my cousin’s husband for agreeing to drive us back to the apartment We were entirely too shattered by then to attempt the subway. Though the madness of NYC traffic made me almost wish we did 🙂
Back at the apartment we dropped off our bags and then went to meet some of the MFC-ers who were also in town for the gig. Point of meeting was the rice pudding palace Rice to Riches in Spring Street. My rice pudding, in spite of the sexy name ‘Sex, Drugs and Rocky Road’ was the least delectable of the rice puddings we had, because it was just too chocolate-y. The others however were amazing! I would highly recommend this place for dessert, whether or not you already love rice pudding. We had a short little chat with the other MFC-ers, then it was back to the apartment and goodbye to my cousin and her hubby 😦 The next day loomed full of promise and excitement.
There was that sound again. It was a falsetto voice pulled into a prolonged ‘eeeaaaaasssaaayyy’. It was that ad on TNT….again. The singer looked like a mess of curls, a feather belt and not much else. I knew his name but confused him with Tokyo Hotel, probably because both sounded Japanese, and mostly because I’m obviously musically challenged. The sound was intriguing though, and i’m sure I’d heard it somewhere before but couldn’t place it.
Fast forward to a few days later and a quiet moment at work. Hey a clinic isn’t ALWAYS busy…:)I knew the singer’s name, but couldn’t remember the name of the song. Fortunately, a search in Youtube for said name combined with ‘easy’ gave me the correct search result. I can now say that clicking on that video changed my life. It sounds cheesy and trite, but it happens to also be true. Please allow me to explain.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet (because you’re a stranger reading this blog without being directed here, in that case WELCOME! :), the singer I speak of is MIKA – known formally as Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr. He of the convoluted lineage I still have problems succinctly explaining to people – born in Lebanon, to American and Lebanese parents, moved to Paris for 9 years, then finally settling down in London, but still travelling on an American Passport. There are many things I would come to learn about this talent-bomb of a man but at the time of very first viewing of that video I was simply dumbstruck by the pure showmanship, exuberance and frankly, Tall Good-looks of him. My first complete listening of the song – Relax, Take it Easy – also instantly cemented it as a favorite. It had a haunting melody, falsetto alternating with a deeply sensual low-tone voice and dark lyrics hidden behind an upbeat rhythm…a multifecta of all things I unknowingly craved in a song. I would proceed to view the video at least a dozen times that evening. At some point, tearing myself away from it long enough to Wikipedia Mika. Two things that especially intrigued me in his entry were the picture of him standing on a drumset, arms akimbo and a quote saying he was bisexual. I guess I knew from the video that any man who could wiggle his hips like that had to be at least bi…:)
From thereon followed the Youtubing of his other vids..I was pleasantly surprised to discover I did in fact know at least 3 of his other songs..then the reading of other internet articles. I constantly butted up with comparisons of him to Freddie Mercury, Elton John etc. I thought I must obviously be missing something in my musically unsophisticated state because I saw nothing but the most tenuous of connections between him and those other performers. I am slightly notorious for developing one night infatuations with various actors, television shows, and singers that involved intense Googling, and consumption of their work that culminates in waking up next day (or next few days) to discover I really couldn’t take in anymore information on this person, nor did I want to. I suspect that I would’ve had a shortened period of intense ‘obsession’ and settled down to being a ‘regular fan’ quicker if I hadn’t stumbled upon MFC, or maybe not…we’ll never know, because I did stumble onto the Mika Fan Club (MFC) and that totally changed the landscape of my interest in Mika. But more on that later…
After all, why has becoming a fan changed my life again? You know when you’re a child and everything is new and interesting and even a trip to the icecream parlor is exciting? Remember that sense of limitless posiibilities, passion and color your world had? Well my life had started to lack certain substrates in the spectrum of happiness by the time I turned 30. I was in a happy, committed relationship with a fantastic partner, and doing O.K on the professional front, so those boxes of my life were ticked and filled, but something by way of passion was missing…or maybe I’d just reached that stage where one needs a hobby…XD. Either ways, becoming a fan was that outlet, that view back into dreaming and color. The music was a perfect fit, because Mika is nothing if not a melody whore. He never let labelling or genre stop him from catching a beat and so I found music for every mood, filled with colorful stories, a haunting pseudo ballad for the down-times, and feet jerking ones for the dancey times.
Along the way I quickly discovered that the man himself was very worthy of respect, if not adoration. Dyslexic in early school days, he was taken out of school for a while and given music as an alternative. He excelled in it, mostly teaching himself to play the piano by ear and developing a classical music career which he quickly outgrew in his quest to create unchained melody. He writes or co-writes all of his songs, and has proven to be a engaging writer of prose as evidenced from his monthly Italian magazine column. All it takes is one interview to realise he is articulate, introspective, playful, charming, sensitive, funny and knowledgeable. He is not all these things relative to other popstars, but relative to any highly intelligent being. An aberration in today’s popworld. So basically yes, he is awesomeballs. I envy him XD
Now on the anniversary of seeing that video for the very first time, I can count among my ‘accomplishments’ in fandom – winning an autographed CD, chatting with him via live teleconference, seeing one of his best gigs for this summer, meeting/talking/shaking his hands. I am indeed a ‘lucky bitch’ (his words not mine :).But funnily enough,I take the greatest pleasure in the fellow fans I’ve met and bonded with, either online or at the actual gig. They have also added much color to my life ❤
Anyways, today his new CD – The Origin of Love- comes out in the UK and next week it’s the US. I think it’s the best yet, so I eagerly look forward to even more exciting and wonderful times ahead!
As long as I can remember, my fellow countrymen have played fast and loose with Copyright laws. Very many people have made themselves very much money by profiting off of the intellectual rights of others. You’ll be hard pressed to find an original CD or DVD selling in a shop in Guyana. When you’re a poor University student subsisting on 50US per month, the lax morals of these businessmen is a boon, but you know deep down that it’s wrong. The rationalization is that you will pay for future music/movies when you’ve gained meaningful employment, and in any case, these artistes/producers et al are all rich already! Surely they won’t begrudge a potential customer who’s currently impoverished?
Throughout University I tried not to use ‘pirated’ versions of textbooks, and was for the most part successful. That did not stop other students from making the practice of photocopying whole textbooks a very lucrative one. Sometimes this was even done entirely on one sided pages and I cringed for the paper wastage involved. In all of this, there was a sense of necessity. No one, that I knew anyway, who could afford a textbook would choose to photocopy it instead. We were outlaws by circumstances and did what we had to do. Concerning the CDs and DVDs, the cost of an original CD was around 25US back then..give or take…whereas you could get 3 CDs for 10US…economics won over morals 😦
Today facebook was all atwitter (mixing social medias, sorry 🙂 with reports that the Government of Guyana has actually sought for tenders on supplying pirated textbooks and then defended this position. Yes, Guyana isn’t a wealthy country but to sink to such depths makes me both sad and enraged. There’s a sense that this means all pretense of caring about intellectual property rights are stripped away. It’s nothing short of state sanctioned thievery. It’s one thing when a poor student photocopies a textbook, it’s another when a GOVERMENT rewards and enables a company for blatant thievery. I say it again: thievery. It makes me sad because it means pirating has become so pervasive in the country that this is acceptable behavior. Yes, economics are a factor in the Government’s decision, but do I believe they even tried to negotiate a low cost deal with the original publishers? No. And that is sad and disturbing.
In a case of colliding worlds, today also happened to be the day that MIKA’s new album leaked online. Well,one of the versions of it anyways. This is 4 days before the album is due to be released in some parts of the world. Fans are divided as to how bad of a fan you are for downloading this leak. Which brings me to the grey area and semantics of words like ‘sharing’ and ‘sampling’…Yes I did download the leak. And yes, I’ve already preordered my copy of the deluxe version no less, from Amazon. Along with expediated shipping! And this is just the start – I fully intend to but at least 4 copies of the (non-deluxe) CD when I travel next month to give as gifts. So do I feel as if I’ve done anything wrong? No. The site I downloaded from was free. No one profited off of Mika’s hardwork without him being credited/paid and it’s not as if the songs were top secret – they’ve been circulating far and wide for months now as bloggers and music afficionados got to listen in order to do reviews and other ‘bloggery’ things. The lucky bastards! But I digress 🙂 I find this situation analogous to if my friend in Japan had gotten the officially released CD and decided to share it with me before mine came. Given that there are various release dates for this album all over the world I see this situation as very plausible and very likely to happen in the near future. ‘Pirating’ has been villified in the music and movie industry to the point where they blame it for every thing wrong with the industry, while the 9gaggers, 4channers and company fight back saying that this is sometimes the only way they get to know if they indeed like a song, which they then go on to buy.
My view? There’re many reasons why ‘good’ people pirate online – music retailers don’t sell the song in interest in their country; credit card or other payment limitation;, they really do want to sample the entire song/movie, or they are simply unable to afford it otherwise. There will, of course, always be people who pirate because they can, and people who do it for profit. These aren’t included in the ‘good’ people subset in my universe. I haven’t downloaded a song online without subsequently getting the official MP3 or CD in over 2 years. Ever since I acquired a credit card. I will continue to partake in shared songs and I will continue to then buy the CDs of artistes I like and who have put much thought and effort into their creations. Does this make me a hair-splitter-of-piracy? A hypocrite because I condemn a Government and then “steal” as well? I don’t think so, I value the creative process and the dues owed for this process. I think the Government of Guyana has made it clear they don’t. Make of this what you will…
What follows below is a short film released by MIKA today. The description comes with a disclaimer: “A film by Mika & Cristián Jiménez. Shot in Santiago, Chile. This film contains some nudity and scenes that viewers may find offensive. Caution is recommended. Not suitable for under 18s.”
About the film, Mika said:
“This latest short film is a collaboration with the Chilean director Cristian Jimenez. After seeing his film Bonsai, this seemed like an exciting match. I wanted to take the kaleidoscopic dreaminess of the song and pair it up with Cristian’s more realistic, surreal and moving imagery. When making these films, I give complete freedom to the director we are collaborating with, in a way that is never possible with a music video. This short film was made in Santiago with Cristian’s close team and friends, and with a lot of love. I hope that watching someone else’s visual reaction to the song is as surprising and moving for you as it was for me.”
Here is what Cristian had to say on the project-“I was very excited when Mika got in touch about this. The song is fantastic, it almost feels like you can touch it. I tried to do something that adds more layers to that texture. It’s an urban, very contemporary piece, with a bit of humour and touches of a fairy tale feel. I hope Mika’s fans will connect and imagine a broader world beyond.”
SPOILER ALERT – watch the vid first if you don’t want to be biased by my biased review of it XD
So, what did I think of the video? Firstly it’s entirely the Director’s interpretation of the song set to film so I’m really critiquing Jimenez, i suppose…Some pros are – several images are intensely striking and very touching, ex. when she reconnects with him overlooking the city, or where the instruments are used to keep her eyes open..I wasn’t a big fan of them but no doubt they leave a lasting impression.
And I love the song.
Now the cons: I think the video is very non-synchronous with the song. Sometimes that’s a good thing, but this is not one of those times. The Origin of Love (henceforth referred to as TOOL) is a song about joyful transgressiveness…the singer knows that there are many things against this love – and yes I feel he’s talking about same-sex love, but as nothing explicitly states that, it could easily be an ‘opposed’ opposite sex love situation – but he doesn’t care. Loving the person is addictive, may even be wrong in the eyes of some, but hey, ‘the origin of love is you’….he’s celebrating that in this song. I can think of so many more ways the director could’ve put this concept onto film, even as a ‘dark’ or gritty thing (since that’s what he seems into) than what he chose to run with. I love nudity as much as the next person but here, once again, it’s the womon who gets completely unrobed (for what purpose??) even to the point of showing us her pubic hair, whilst the man bares his chest…wonderful. I also take issue with the (over) use of ‘instagrammy-ness’. Yes, I know artsy films were using the technique long before the app. What I’m saying is that I’ve overdosed on it! XD The kissing scenes seem lustful and devoid of any love, whilst the presumably post coital scenes leave the womon off staring catatonically…not sure where the origin of love is in all of that….
So because you pleaded with me for a rating :), I will reveal that I give it 2 stars (out of 5) and don’t think this is a video I will ever be watching again.
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