So, this is a short review of the Cologne show, because we need to get up in four hours to drive to Hamburg, but here it is:
The German leg of the tour has finally started – and HOW it did. Per, Marie and the band were unstoppable in the not sold out but very full Lanxess Arena in Cologne. They even made us forget the really unprofessional entrance situation some hours before. (Just a tip for the Lanxess folks: Don’t write the name of the entrance on a ticket, when everyone can get in everywhere and please don’t send people from doors they have been sitting in front of for six hours.)
Everything was forgotten when the lady in white and the guy in black entered the stage and took us away with them on another journey through their career. It’s also good to see that so many people came – we discussed the audience while waiting for Eskobar and found that the German shows now and back in 2012 sold better than in 2001.
Unfortunately it took a while for the audience to wake up – the same goes for Marie, though. It took her some songs to get into the groove, it almost seemed like in some moments she didn’t trust herself or felt not self-confident enough, but then – it began with Stars and got much better with every song – her voice made the roof almost explode. The audience woke up at How do you do! and never stopped afterwards.
There was much energy on the stage and it found its way to the 10,000 or little more people in Lanxess Arena. Marie was, once more, in top shape, after she managed to untie the knot. Though, we talked to other fans after the show who had decided not to stand this time but to sit, her amazing performance couldn’t be heard very good at some spots in the arena. It must have been either due to bad acoustics in the arena or due to the fact that her mic was not loud enough. I had heard complaints like that before, but when you are in the front, you don’t notice these problems. Whatever it was, we hope it gets better tomorrow (or rather today). Another complaint was – again – the missing video walls. People in the back didn’t see much and wondered why there weren’t any, since they are almost standard equipment in large arenas like the one in Cologne.
BUT – besides the complaints, and you all know I am one of the rather critical fans out in the Roxette universe – this was a really good show. There was a lot of energy, love and fun floating around on stage. We loved Pelle’s solo during She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio), we loved the funny faces Magnus and Marie threw at each other during a wild solo by Christoffer and we certainly loved all the love that came back to us from stage. These guys fully enjoy what they do and they transport this feeling still very well. This tour could certainly go on forever.
COLOGNE!!! Yeehaa! Opening show of the German leg of the XXX-tour. Magnificent! We certainly had a blast, you did too (it looked like that anyway….). Thanx for stopping by, almost 10.000 in the audience but you sounded like 20.000 sometimes!!! Hamburg tomorrow. We’ve only just begun! Cheers, P.
Next stop is Hamburg (25th June).
Articles and photos
Kölner Stadt-Unzeiger
RuhrNachrichten.de
RP Online
wdr.de
rundschau-online.de
focus.de
Videos
Band intro + Viva Colonia
The Look
Setlist
Sleeping In My Car
The Big L.
Stars
Spending My Time
Crash! Boom! Bang!
Crush On You
She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio)
The Heart Shaped Sea
Watercolours In The Rain / Paint
Fading Like A Flower
How Do You Do!
It Must Have Been Love
Dressed For Success
Dangerous
Joyride /w Viva Colonia
Extra
Listen To Your Heart
The Look