Halmstad’s first show, just like Göteborg’s, got sold out so fast that an extra gig had to be added for the next day, so in Halmstad there are also two concerts at Halmstad Theatre. Last night’s gig was the only one on tour that was set to start at 18:00. It didn’t turn out why.
It was great to see that couple’s reactions who were sitting next to me. At each song they were first listening if they could find out which hit PG & Co. started to play and when they realized which song it was actually, they had quite some aha moments. They enjoyed the show a lot, just like everyone else in the crowd. You could feel that it’s Per’s hometown and he is loved here. Halmstad is proud of him. They liked the anecdotes a lot – could put the places Per mentioned on the map to be able to imagine the stories Mr. G told about and they awarded the band with long applauses in between the songs. When Per mentioned Marie, the audience gave a loud applause too and also when Helena was singing.
Before Det hjärta som brinner Per mentioned that Gyllene Tider played exactly on this stage. In 1979 they were invited by Ulf Lundell. Per thinks it was Ulf’s birthday, he was on his Ripp rapp tour. Back then they were at the same record company. GT came up on stage for the extra and played Roadrunner at that Ulf Lundell concert. MP stayed on stage after that and played (Oh la la) Jag vill ha dig too. Mr. G remembers that there were small mugs on stage and after singing, he drank from one of them because he thought it was water. It was vodka… Haha.
The crowd had the loudest reactions to GT hits and Mazarin songs. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta, It Must Have Been Love, Vilket håll du än går and När vi två blir en were the most appreciated tracks on the set.
When the guys and girl went off stage for the first time, the whole audience gave a standing ovation and shouted „en gång till”. When they entered the stage again, Per asked if the audience likes the sound. We shouted yes and he said we have to thank it to MP, because he is doing it. The crowd cheered MP.
After the first encore it was standing ovation again and no one wanted to leave, they wanted to hear more from Per and the band. And so they came up on stage again.
Before Sommartider Per stood up and suggested the audience to stand up too if they want. Of course, they wanted. There was a big party with everyone singing along and clapping. After Sommartider all in the crowd sat back into their seats for the last song, but only to give yet another standing ovation at the very end of the gig.
The only disturbing thing was that some people thought it’s fun to go out to the toilet and come back several times during the gig. Of course, they were all sitting in the middle of the rows. But this couldn’t take away the joy Per and the band brought to Halmstad and the audience’s love towards those guys and girl on stage.
Come back tomorrow and we do it again! 2nd Halmstad gig is next on Monday!
Setlist
1. Kung av sand
2. På promenad genom stan
3. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
4. Småstadsprat
5. Min plats
6. Tycker om när du tar på mej
7. Det hjärta som brinner
8. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
9. Varmt igen
10. Tuffa tider
11. Juni, juli, augusti
12. It Must Have Been Love
13. Vilket håll du än går
Band introduction
14. Här kommer alla känslorna
15. Min hälsning
Encore 1
16. Födelsedag
17. Listen To Your Heart (dedicated to Marie Fredriksson & Pelle Alsing)
18. När vi två blir en
Encore 2
19. Vid hennes sida
20. Sommartider
21. När alla vännerna gått hem
Photos in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres.
Per after the show:
Wow and wow again. A pretty pretty pretty decent Sunday in Halmstad. Early show today at 6 pm but we had a blast. Fab feedback from the beautiful crowd. This theatre is full of memories for me and MP (today masterminding the FOH-sound). I’m so grateful to finally have been able to perform here. Last time I was on this stage = november 1979! Thanks all for coming, new dice tomorrow, folks!