Mika returns to Philly for second North American tour

You're standing in the restless crowd at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia last Sunday the 18th, waiting for the anticipated Mika concert to start. An orange, beat-up looking couch sits in the middle of a closed-curtain, empty stage, accompanied by a shabby lamp and a flat-screen TV.

Cue the entrance of four oddly dressed characters, wearing face paint and severely unmatched, patterned clothing. "Tom and Jerry" cartoons play on the TV screen as the friends drink tea and flip through the pages of a book.

Without warning, the television program flashes to a newscaster, and you're wondering why you're reminded of Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings. That's because British actor Sir Ian McKellen is now your host, and he's enthusiastically reporting to you about the recent lift off of NASA's space shuttle. What a great day for man kind indeed!

Suddenly, images of the shuttle exploding consume the TV screen as the lights in the Electric Factory begin to flicker and smoke pours from the sides of the stage. The curtains slide open to reveal dozens of white orbs suspended from the ceiling, hanging between the band's instruments, which have now been occupied by the odd group of friends.

The sounds of the "2001: A Space Odyssey" theme song echo through the room as a tall, slim figure dressed in a space suit slowly walks across the back of the stage. As the music grows more dramatic, the "mysterious" figure (come on, Mika, you can't fool us!) removes his helmet, and those familiar brown curls spring out as the main event makes his grand entrance.

But would the Mika we know and love stop here? Always one to cause a scene, Mika continues to strip down out of his space suit until the audience is greeted by his spotlessly white boxers. The lights go out, revealing the glow-in-the-dark feature of the floating orbs, and Mika returns fully clothed (complete with glow-in-the-dark face paint) to kick off the concert with "Relax, Take It Easy".

And that is simply a small glimpse into the outrageously creative mind of Mika, who returned to the US in support of his new album "The Boy Who Knew Too Much." Because for this unique musician, a concert is not just a concert; it's a performance.

Mika commands the audience's attention in countless ways. His professionally-trained voice is just as flawless live as it is recorded. Each song (usually accompanied by a hat or jacket change) is a different opportunity to bring something new to the table.

For example, during the old favorite "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)", Mika enlisted four fans from the audience to dress in corsets and body paint and dance on stage with him. During "Rain", a song off the new album, mounds of confetti shot into the audience while neon-colored balls controlled by hidden stage-crew swirrled across the back of the stage.

With "Toy Boy" came an eerie puppet, dressed all in white to match Mika. The puppet crept across the stage and paused in the center to wait out the end of the chilling song. And during "Blue Eyes", a giant pair of, you guessed it, blue eyes stared down the audience.

At the end of his first US single, "Grace Kelly", Mika decided to showcase his drumming skills. But, remember, this is Mika we're talking about. Exercising that limitless creativity, he then proceeded to complete a drum solo using a trash can strapped around his neck.

Another wonderful thing about the singer, besides the amount of creativity that oozes from his pores? He is genuinely pleased, and seemingly surprised, whenever the audience knows the words to his songs. When the crowed chanted lyrics back to Mika during his single "We Are Golden"- "We are not what you think we are, we are golden!"- he dropped to his knees. A toothy grin spread across his face as he then completely collapsed onto the floor in a fit of joy.

And Mika knows how to go out with a bang. In the same tradition of his last North American tour, Mika ended his show with the nursery-rhyme sounding "Lollipop", complete with giant balloons bouncing throughout the crowd.

When fans seemed determined to throw all of the balloons back at the singer, he took to popping them with drum sticks and smacking them back into the laughing audience before taking a final bow with his mix-matched band.

Mika had a lot to live up to before he took the stage that night. When the European phenomenon came to the US almost two years ago in support of his debut album "Life in Cartoon Motion", he gave the Electric Factory an unforgettable show. How could he top glittered costumes, outrageous props, and endless color this time around?

By upgrading his act with brighter colors, adopting an outer-space theme, and creating glow-in-the-dark props and costumes, of course! By the end of the night, fans could not deny it: Mika outdid himself this time.