Mika at the Brighton Centre

On Friday night I was at the Brighton Centre to see Mika, who was clearly very excited about playing to a bigger crowd as he kept telling us this was much better then the Concorde 2 where he played last time he was in Brighton. Before I go back to talking about Mika I have to quickly defend the Concorde 2 as one of my favourite gigs was going there to see The Bravery, and I think it's a good size as it's big enough to get a good crowd of people jumping around but still initimate enough to soak up the atmosphere.

That said Mika does really need a bigger venue not that he is better than The Bravery but becasue of the style of performance, as Mika's show included a lot of theatrical elements. Fans of his will know that Mika and his sister do all the artwork on the album and this was reflected in the stage design as the backdrop was a large tree with some fairy tale characters sitting in it, and during one of the introductions a giant skeleton puppet in a dress come out to say hello. Highlights included a fantastic cover version of the Eurythmics Missonary Man where Mika was joined by a voluptious diva with a powerful set of lungs. Grace Kelly and Love Today were also very popular, however the most memorable part of the show was the encore as there was a mini-play involving the Teddy's Bear picnic and a violent rabbit before Mika dressed as a crocodile returned to the stage for Lollipop and giant balloons descended on to the crowd - ok it sounds a bit odd now mainly becasue it was but somehow it worked!

Well I'll be back at the Brighton Centre on Wednesday to see Maroon 5 but what about you guys? Did you see Mika? Are you going to any gigs soon, how do you think concerts at the Brighton Centre compare with the Concorde 2?

Charlotte