Energetic Mika erupts in colorful glitz

February 04, 2008|Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff

If energetic glee, unironic thumping disco beats, and unshakable melodies were valued commodities in the current US musical mainstream then Mika's stock would be as prized as that of someone like John Mayer.

That it isn't mattered not a whit to the 2,800 able-voiced members of the audience that packed the Orpheum Theatre Friday night to champion and nearly drown out the Beirut-born, London-bred pop singer, whose debut album "Life in Cartoon Motion" has become an international hit.

From the liberating opener "Relax (Take it Easy)" to the world's-best-birthday-party meets new-year's-celebration giddiness of closer "Lollipop" Mika proved as tireless a performer as he is a gifted melody-maker. The diverse crowd matched the booty-moving, call-and-response rhapsody of the singer-songwriter and his five-person band from start to finish, gamely responding, even when Mika called in an increasingly cartoonish, yet impressively tuneful falsetto.

The theatrical proceedings - like the zaftig go-go gals hoofing it up during "Big Girl (You are Beautiful)" and later falling snow, manic trash can drum solos, giant puppets, blow-up dolls and headdresses - mixed camp and rock concert glitz but never obscured the songs or Mika's sincerity in delivering them.

A throbbing, revved-up cover of Eurythmics' "Missionary Man" augmented album tracks like the bouncing "Grace Kelly" and new similarly candy-coated tunes.

Whether pounding on his keyboard while banging his curly head of teen heartthrob-worthy locks or shimmying across the stage to piercing shrieks - a shirtless interlude predictably raised the decibels - Mika was clearly enjoying himself. He crowed about the upgrade in venue size since his last visit to the Hub and basked in the adoring response to "Billy Brown," a song concerning a man's questions over his sexual identity that Mika was told by his record label would never fly in the United States.

The night climaxed in an explosion of multicolored confetti, streamers and balloons in arena-size portions with the band dressed up in furry animal costumes dancing onstage with what seemed like half the audience who left with cotton candy-sated smiles like kids departing the circus.