George Michael was in Prague on 14th November 2011 in O2 Arena and I was there!
He´s been our childhood icon since the time of his biggest hits like Freedom, I want you sex, Last Christmas or Father Figure. He´s definitely been a figure in our lives for sure...
It was so tantalizing to sit and watch from far above the whole arena underneath slowly filling up with people, who came for the same reason – to see, to feel, to hear, to experience the breathtaking George Michael, who has never visited Prague before.
When people finally took their seats, it all begun. The lights went off, the stage lit up with red neons and George made an entrance attended by Prague symphonic orchestra, that he chose for his unfolding World tour. The first song to sound was Through from the last album Patience, then came My baby just Cares for me. Only after twenty minutes or so he sang the remake of True Faith by New Order that he toyed with by giving his voice an electronic feel. His first proper aplaus came about after singing Kissing a fool and You have been loved that he personally dedicated to his Mother. I could hear his voice so clearly, it was the most beatiful feeling I´ve experienced since a long time. We barely saw him from our positions, that´s how far he was, eventhough we watched through our binoculars or sometimes cought a glimpse of him on the projection screen right behind him. Most of the screen was used for grafic projections though, and all various effects.
The stage lights were changing with each new song, once they were red, next time purple or blue, sometimes only pale white. Extraordinary show! Next song he chose to give us was Going to Town by Rufus Wainwright, then Doesn´t really matter which was dedicated to all failed relationships. After this, the song Roxanne, borrowed from Police that sounded through the arena with the screen projection of prostitutes at the background.
After twenty minute break, there was a projection of all famous faces like Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Princess Diana, John Lennon or Elvis Presley. When he played Russian Roulette by Rihanna, it was a big surprise, and I must admit I really loved it. Then followed Amy Winehouses´s Love is a Loosing game, of which I thought sounded better than the original. He also confessed to his finished problematic relationship with his former partner Kenny to whom he dedicated the song Where I hope you are. We also got our older hits like Freedom and Different corner, by which time the whole arena stood up and nearly shattered the whole place down. We screamed like one man, thundered like a big volcano just to bring him back after he announced the end of the show. We wouldn´t let him leave the stage. It was phenomenal moment. After what we brought him back from the backstage, he run forward with broad smile on his face and after a short pause he said:“ Prague, you sound and feel fucking amazing!“ and he gave us some extra tunes. It wasn´t enough though, as we called him out once again, this time with no chance of bringing him out for the third time. It was amazing show, I loved it and I´m really grateful I haven´t missed this rare chance of seeing my childhood icon. Michael is still one of the greatest singers of our time and one can only wish him all the best that he deserves.
The funny moment of the night was probably when he was introducing us his ensamble as all artists usually do. He smiled when he said :"Prague, give an aplause to your own orchestra!" And you bet we did! :)
