Live - Mika - The Forum
The Forum on Saturday night witnessed the birth of a Great New Artist. It doesn’t happen very often, but you know it when you see it: they might slide up to some notes and need a hell of a lot of vocoders on their falsettos, but the second Mika appeared on stage, all glistening and virginal in a crisp white suit that he proceeded to peel off piece by piece, it was clear that the Beirut-born Londoner had what the crowd was hoping for.
Mika has it – stage presence – the same quality that forces you stare at footage of Freddie Mercury and makes it hard to focus on anyone but Jake Shears when he shimmies across a stage.
With only one album under his belt, Mika’s set was a dancing, prancing track-by-track run through of his debut, Life in Cartoon Motion, beginning with Relax (Take It Easy) and finishing off with the sugary high of Lollipop. There were a few well-chosen covers: the Jackson Five’s I Want You Back added an upbeat camp sensibility, while his cover of the Eurythmics Sweet Dreams was the stuff that Mardi Gras dream shows are made of.
As a swerving overhead camera swooped over the audience like a seagull attacking fish, Mika ran through My Interpretation, Billy Brown and, of course, Grace Kelly. Current single Love Today was the stand alone highlight as Mika and his tight band played a drawn-out percussive version that stretched on for minutes, while the addition of two “plus size” dancers during the rousing chorus of Big Girls – you are beautiful was a neat addition that proved Mika doesn’t take his music – or himself – too seriously.
The crowd – a mix of musically inclined gays, young straight girls precariously hanging to the fact he’s never publicly come out in an interview (the game’s up girls, listen to the lyrics instead of watching his ass) and fun pop-lovers willing to witness a true star in the making in his first ever, and only, Australian performance – lapped up every exaggerated stage move Mika made.
Like any good performer, Mika closed his performance off a high with a cavalcade of colourful balloons pouring over the crowd that summed up Mika’s style: smile-inducing, larger-than-life and just about to break.
Check out photos from the night here.
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robbie
said ages ago