mika – Spinning Platters

Show Review: An Intimate Evening with Mika at Great American Music Hall, 3/25/2013

Just Mika, some white lights, and those darned camera phones. — Just Mika, lit only by a single white globe that appeared to be floating in air, and those darned camera phones.

Mika burst on to the scene a few years ago with a sugary pop masterpiece, Life in Cartoon Motion, and his joyful and colorful live shows, chock full of balloons, confetti, streamers and a giant pop band behind him. Now, he’s on tour supporting his newest album, The Origin of Love, and he’s taking a markedly different approach. This show, billed as “An intimate evening with” saw him behind a piano for the lion’s share of the evening, joined only by Max Taylor and Curtis Stansfield on a variety of instruments. It was stripped down, and it was wonderful. Continue reading “Show Review: An Intimate Evening with Mika at Great American Music Hall, 3/25/2013”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 3/21/13-3/28/13

Here is another lovely week to be a bay area resident. Please go to a show or 20!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 3/21/13-3/28/13”

Show Review: Mika at The Fox Oakland, 10/24/2009

Either singing or reacting to the painkillers

I didn’t find out I was reviewing this show until I stumbled in to the beautiful Fox Theater, stressed and tired, in the middle of opener Gary Go’s last song. “Who’s reviewing the show?” I ask David Price and Gordon Elgart, senior members of the Spinning Platters staff. They laugh and say “You are!” and I protest: “my computer’s still broken!” But I was betrayed by the fact that my ancient laptop can slowly chug along and allow me to post this. Three blog writers, all unwilling. I lose. Boo! There was a time when I would have loved to review a Mika show, but now is not that time. Continue reading “Show Review: Mika at The Fox Oakland, 10/24/2009”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: October 21st-October 27th

Dragonette are playing Popscene this week!

We’re changing things around a bit, and I’m gonna start posting this on Wednesdays now. Which means: we missed Tuesday. The good news is, the best show of last night is getting repeated tonight, and the show that you were going to go to wasn’t so good, so we I think we did you a favor by not posting. So, on with the shows!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: October 21st-October 27th”

New Release Round Up 9/22/09 – 29 Instant Album Reviews

This band is not made up of girls. Didn't they learn their lesson from Barenaked Ladies?

When Pouria started writing this weekly column, he said there might be weeks where he was too busy to listen to 30-or-so albums. I said, “no problem, we can get a guest columnist on those weeks.” So when he told me this week that he was too busy doing stuff like seeing Bon Iver to write this week’s column, I said “wait, you were serious about that?” Since I hadn’t arranged a guest, I’m doing it myself. Let’s just say that doing this is a lot harder than Pouria makes it look. Now, on to the mini-reviews. Continue reading “New Release Round Up 9/22/09 — 29 Instant Album Reviews”

The Leaky Faucet: Mika – Songs For Sorrow

Retail Release Date: June 8th, 2009 (only available on mikasounds.com)

Leaky Faucet Acquisition Date: May 15h, 2009

Mika is a singer-songwriter from Lebanon via England. He released a record in 2007 called Life In Cartoon Motion, a glorious pop record that was equal parts Donna Summer, Queen, Rufus Wainwright, and Erasure. He also writes songs that tell stories so vividly that one could call him the Bruce Springsteen of disco.

On May 15th, he’s releasing an EP of acoustic songs to tide people over until his next full length record, due out next year. He also enlisted some of his favorite artists to make original works to help tell the stories on this EP. Continue reading “The Leaky Faucet: Mika — Songs For Sorrow”