Mika, Glasgow review: 'majored on pop confection'
The tinny sound mix didn’t show off Mika’s athletic voice to its best advantage, but he was still committed to making the most of this Glasgow moment, writes Fiona Shepherd
Mika, Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow ★★★
Mika has done his research. Mindful of the atmospheric location, he dropped references to the River Kelvin and the history of the Kelvingrove Bandstand. He knows his audience and a little goes a long way for such an expert MC. In other words, it takes a lot of graft to sound this frothy.
The man in the spangly suit was backed by a tight band togged out like a 70s cruise ship outfit, pumping out a super-streamlined sound with a tinny tone which failed to show off his athletic voice in all its soaring, poperatic power.
But having already endured inclement weather and cancellations on previous visits to Glasgow, he was committed to making the most of his moment (in a showbiz way). The disco delight of Relax (Take It Easy) was an early highlight of a set which majored on pop confection, from the suggestive finger licking lyrics of Ice Cream to the tail feather-shaking Lollipop via the Katy Perry-style cheerleading of We Are Golden.
There were glimpses of the more interesting, eclectic artist behind the bubblegum. He paid tribute to his roots finding his tribe in London clubs before playing Spinning Out, while the cheesetastic Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) was fitted with an unlikely Afrobeat guitar break. He chose this moment to meet his people, going walkabout in the crowd and extracting the maximum potential out of a jingle of a tune.
Popular Song, with a twist of the Wicked number Popular, suggested that electro-pop’s gain may have been musical theatre’s loss. Lighter waving jam Happy Ending was a banal drag but the set livened up again with the piano house and highlife grooves of Elle Me Dit and the giddy Grace Kelly while the Blue Monday-meets-Giorgio Moroder intro to Love Today turned another bubblegum mantra into a rhythmic event.
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