MIKA spoke of how “special” the gig was for him as it was his first time performing in Wales
Mika performing at Cardiff Castle to kick of Pride in the city(Image: Taite Johnson)
The energy, vibes and nostalgia were three things I were expecting from a MIKA concert, but one thing I was not expecting was the emotional rollercoaster I felt along the way.
With a beautiful backdrop of the historic castle, it’s hard not to appreciate such a great venue for music in the city centre even if you are having to wear wellies in the mud in the middle of summer. The rain throughout the day on Friday did not dull the energy of the crowd as Cardiff Pride kicked off with the rain ceasing whilst MIKA played his set.
Running onto the stage with a beaming smile in the colours of the Welsh flag, a sparkly green suit and bright red shoes, the star who shot to fame in 2007 kept his energy at 100 throughout the whole performance. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What’s On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here
After finishing his opening song, MIKA spoke of how “special” the gig was for him. He said: “Tonight is super special for me, we’ve been around the world, packed suitcases and sets up and toured in different countries.
“There was one place we never came to. For 20 years I have been waiting to say this, I’ve never performed in Wales, let’s go Cardiff.”
At one point during the performance, as he was having so much fun, he even said he was an “absolute fool for not coming to Cardiff” sooner in his career.
One thing I do enjoy during a concert is when an artist really interacts with the crowd, it makes it feel more personal and like an exclusive look into the performer rather than just listening to the songs live.
In saying that, MIKA did not disappoint and I have never experienced an artist clearly appreciate Wales and Cardiff as much as he did.
It was obvious how much Wales meant to him as he shared a touching tribute to his late music teacher. The crowd became emotional – including me – as with his hand to the sky he dedicated his song Happy Ending to Glyn Jones, a Welshman that taught him how to sing when he was young living in London.
I was stood quite far from the stage and he joined the crowd that far out (Image: Taite Johnson)
He also shared anecdotes, stories and inspiring words about the true meaning of pride and he even got into the crowd, almost reaching the very back, stealing a pink cowboy hat from a crowd member.
“This sounds like the perfect song to sing in a castle. During this month, this song was meant for this place,” he said before music lovers went wild as Golden began.
As well as interacting with the audience, MIKA on numerous occasions joined the sign language interpreters dancing alongside them. He is also the first artist I have ever seen bring them on stage to bow at the end of the concert.
If MIKA’s high energy wasn’t enough the production value of the gig met that with artistic visuals, a giant megaphone and five outfit changes – one did come earlier than planned after his trousers split during Lollipop.
(Image: Taite Johnson)
Throughout the performance, I felt a real sense of pride to be Welsh and to be surrounded by the LGBTQIA community during the month of June. Many of MIKA’s songs are about love, loving yourself or loving who you choose to love and being proud of that which was felt during the whole performance.
I was expecting to enjoy seeing MIKA live after loving him throughout my childhood, but I wasn’t expecting it to be the best concert I have ever been to.