Mika

Last night I went to see Mika at the 9:30 Club. I first heard of him from Brian May (Queen guitarist), checked his page out and heard some of Freddie in him, then bought his CD. The CD was good, hooked me especially with his sublime cover of Dave Matthews Band’s Satellite.

So I headed down later than planned to the 9:30, again missing the opening act (though I wouldn’t have minded seeing this one). Mika came on right on time and pretty much ran through his album. Highlights were “Billy Brown” and “Grace Kelly”, and some nice covers: “Sweet Dreams” (Eurythmics) and “I Want You Back” (Jackson 5, proving he’s got at least a three and a half octave range). For the encore, they took a page from the Flaming Lips and Mika and the band came out in furry suits, did a little skit, then did “Lollipop” with dozens of inflatable balls and shots of confetti. The show was sold out and he could go far. Irony alert: for the ballad, lots of cellphones raised but only one lonely lighter – the DC smoking ban is having some odd effects.