There’s only one question left after tonight’s show. When you already think you have seen a 100% show – what else is there? I can only say that my expectation for tonight’s show in Dresden weren’t high, just because I am right now very convinced that I already have seen the best show there will be in Germany, which is of course unfair, because it doesn’t leave any room for surprises. Surprisingly, I am not the only fan who thinks like that, but I am not the only fan either who definitely wants to be proved otherwise!
Anyhow, the Dresden show couldn’t repeat the magic that happened in Berlin – due to many reasons. One of them was the not very good sound (again). Since this was the first open air show I am certain things will get better at the outside venues. A proper soundcheck could help here maybe. The second reason is certainly the audience. Earlier today I read a comment of a guy who had attended the Berlin show and he wrote that audience and band became one soul and it felt exactly like that. In Dresden, however, this didn’t happen. It can’t happen every night, that’s for sure, but the Dresden people were too shy to show their true love and affection for Per and Marie. Less noise, less clapping, less “give us more”. The third reason can be seen as the one reason that always comes up when talking about Roxette: Marie’s shape on that particular day. First of all, she seems to have a cold (already noticed in Berlin, but it obviously appeared that the virus made her stronger in the beginning) which seemed to affect her a bit in Dresden. Then, either her mic was not loud enough again or it was her who didn’t sing loud enough. If you want my opinion – it’s not the mic. At the end of Listen To Your Heart Marie sang her heart out (loud, clear, touching, there was everything in it) and totally showed us her famous victory pose. She earned a lot of clapping for it – well-deserved. Then, on other songs you could barely hear her and sometimes I wondered if her mic was even on.
The band seemed in top shape but also in need of some free time, a day off, some decent sleep, a lot of ginger tea and some tissues to clear the throat. There was a slight tiredness that could be noticed.
Unfortunately, The Heart Shaped Sea was kicked off the setlist, because they decided to leave that one out on festivals. According to Christoffer they decided to cancel THSS, because they think people will be talking and not be interested enough.
So, this was all the negative stuff I can come up with. There are lots more positive things, of course: How do you do? rocked once again, this is a real kicker in Germany – no wonder, it was a huge hit in the charts back then.
Then, this band is just amazing – you can see how much fun they have on stage, how much they enjoy to play together, to make music, to improvise, to play the songs differently every night. This is a gift for all of us listening and I really hope it goes on forever. Roxette never sounded rockier. So, when we left the venue, one guy said to this friend: “Did you think they could rock like this?” – He obviously didn’t. Roxette still have the power to surprise, the power to rock and the power to make people rock with them.
And this is another plus: The setlist they are playing is much better than three years ago. Why? Playing Dressed for Success, Dangerous, Joyride, Listen To Your Heart and then END the show with The Look doesn’t leave room for discussions. With all the “Na na na nas” in your head you can nothing but smile and want to listen to Look Sharp! again as soon as possible. It’s good that there is indeed no ballad at the end, because it couldn’t end better but with the No. 1 killer song The Look. This works and it also did in Dresden.
Marie! She wants it, she wants to jam, to improvise, to rock, to be who she is – a true and committed singer. In Berlin I said to the girl next to me that I expect Marie to get up from her stool every second, because it looked like sh e was going to explode on it. The same goes for Dresden. She enjoyed the songs, she danced as much as possible while sitting, trying her best and making people simply love her.
Per! It’s him who does all the run and get closer to the audience stuff and he does it so well. Without this the show would be much more boring. This also includes the band – their performance on stage makes you wonder where to look first and how long and it makes you think that you miss too much of what’s actually going on up there.
BTW: We are also happy about a day off. Sleep is overrated, of course, but it helps to keep you going. And please bring either Queen of rain or Almost unreal and the white clothes for Per back!
DRESDEN! Oh yeah, the first ever Roxette show to take place in this wonderful city. We’ve been here once before doing some TV-show but not a proper concert. Revenge came tonight!!!!
Beautiful crowd, around 8500 people enjoyed the warm summer breeze and this humble but focused power pop combo from the swedish forests and beaches. We had a wonderful time, I know you did too judging by the smiles everywhere!!!!
Thanks for having us, Dresden, promise to come back!!! Day off tomorrow, some of us need that!!!! Cheerio, P.
Next stop is Mannheim on 30th June.
Articles and photos
dnn-online.de
jumpradio.de
sz-online.de
Videos
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)
Watercolours In The Rain / Paint
Fading Like A Flower
How Do You Do!
It Must Have Been Love
Dressed For Success
Dangerous
Joyride (intro: Atemlos)
Extra:
Listen To Your Heart
The Look