After I got back from seeing Mika in Luxembourg I knew I couldn't let the opportunity to see him again pass me by! Before I'd arranged to go to Luxembourg I'd originally been trying to decide whether to go to that show or the one in Utrecht, so I decided I'd go to both - plus attend both of the Mika shows in Utrecht because if I'm travelling that far then I may as well, right?
I'd always wanted to visit Holland so arranged to have a full sightseeing trip whilst I was there, but I planned for the first day to be entirely dedicated to Mika. Unfortunately when I got to the venue I couldn't see anyone queuing outside, so I wandered around central Utrecht for a bit and explored what was on my doorstep for the next few days before checking the forums and realizing that everyone was queuing inside! So I shyly went in, but thankfully the queue wasn't very big. It was a much nicer queuing time than Luxembourg as not only was it so much warmer, but there was a bathroom near by and the steps were pretty comfortable to sit on. It was a nice venue in general, much smaller and more like a club which made it feel much more intimate. There was no set dressing, no platforms, no props, no giant balloons, no piano with inflatable hearts, just Mika and his band.
The show started a little late, but Mika said that he hadn't arrived until 8.10pm (doors had opened at 7pm!) and had been travelling since that morning because of the storm. I could relate as I'd had my own travel issues due to the weather and was so thankful he hadn't cancelled, I feel like a lot of other artists would have in those circumstances. Because of that there’d been no soundcheck or rehearsal and there was no set list, so it felt very relaxed and was such a great show! Mika was just telling the band which song to play as he went, and he took requests because there literally wasn’t a set list. He was very playful and told us lots of stories (such as writing Love Today after listening to the fisherman's weather report on Radio 4 which was hilarious!), and it was just such a fun show. You could really tell he was just having a good time with us all and the energy was incredible.
It made me even more glad that I'd booked two shows as I thought it was be interesting to see if the show changed between Monday and Wednesday once he'd had time to prepare. Although I'd arrived slightly later than I originally planned, I still managed to be front row, and I'd got chatting to another fan who was also there alone and the atmosphere overall just felt much friendlier and I couldn't wait for the next one!
Wednesday was my other Mika day, and as I was prepared for how to queue I got there early and made it to front row again and was much more central, in fact it was perfect! All of the shows I'd seen had Charlotte as the opening act and it was lovely seeing her confidence grow across the different shows.
It was very similar to Monday's show with the laid back attitude of it all, and I enjoyed these shows a lot more than the more polished one I'd seen in Luxembourg as you could tell Mika was having more fun. Because there's a balcony he referred to us an being in Heaven and Hell, and he told us how he'd written The Origin of Love after breaking up with his partner, then after he got back with Andy he'd commented how when they were together Mika only wrote negative songs about love, and had finally written something romantic once they were apart which got a big laugh!
On Monday no one was able to find the stage door, so no one bothered waiting around after the show on Wednesday which I liked a lot. I appreciate having the opportunity to meet Mika after the show, but it's also nice to just relax afterwards and fully take in what you've just seen. I love meeting my heroes, but I get anxious a lot and it can feel stressful. All in all, the entire trip was just a really great experience. The Mika shows were amazing, and I ended up getting far more out of Amsterdam than I ever imagined (which I'll share about soon!).
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