30.06 Zimny Stadium O, Bratislava, Slovakia 02.07 Burg Clam, Klam, Austria 15.07 Sparkassen Park, Mönchengladbach, Germany 21.07 Zitadelle, Berlin, Germany 23.07 Schlossplatz, Emmendingen, Germany 09.09 Ice Hall Arena, St Petersburg, Russia 11.09 Crockus Hall, Moscow, Russia
They were pouring on us like rain today – more tour dates for the neverending RoXXXette tour. In the middle of the night German newspaper “Rheinische Post” announced on their website that Roxette would be back in Germany in 2016 – with four concerts in total and one of them in the county of Nordrhein-Westfalen. The show is in SparkassenPark in Mönchengladbach on 15th July.
Some hours went by and we got one more date – surprise: Roxette will also be back in Russia for another show: On 11th September they are on stage in Moscow, Crocus Hall! We waited for the official press release all morning, but nothing happened, until Per kind of confirmed the former dates by sharing the news and telling us that there was more to come SOON.
More hours went by and more dates came – two more shows suddenly popped up on the LiveNation website: 21th July, Berlin, Zitadelle and 23th July, Emmendingen, Schlosspark. All German shows are open air. The tickets for Emmendingen seem to be on sale from TOMORROW already – that’s what the LiveNation site says.
At the same time the second Russian date appeared: 9th September, St. Petersburg.
20 minutes after we shared the news on our Facebook page the press release from “Team Rox” finally found its way to Facebook and mailboxes. Surprise – they actually only confirmed the dates we had found during the morning hours. The press release clearly states that “more dates are to come”.
And here we are, still waiting for the dates for South America (shows which are supposed to be during April) and hopefully some dates for North America and/or Canada. And in case the “Rheinische Post” was correct there is still missing one date for Germany.
Well, Roxette fan Ken did. Some hours ago he asked what happened with the song Marie was about to contribute to the soundtrack of Emil Jonsvik’s movie “Krigarnas Ö” (The name of the game). A short research showed that the movie isn’t out yet. Director Emil Jonsvik informs us that the release date featured on imdb.com is wrong.
Unfortunately – the soundtrack isn’t out yet either. Asked about it, Emil, who directed the “Sista Sommarens Vals” video, told us that they will release the soundtrack and the movie later this year. Until now there is no actual release date.
It should be good news anyway – according to him there will be a new Marie Fredriksson song out at the end of this year and it will be featured in the movie as well.
Not really Roxette news, but a little bit related in the end: Live Nation Entertainment is partnering with German concert promoter Marek Lieberberg to form Live Nation Concerts Germany, promoting concerts and festivals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – beginning January 1, 2016.
This is indeed news because it means that Marek Lieberberg leaves his own company “Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur” – the one agency responsible for the huge festivals “Rock am Ring” and “Rock im Park” in Germany and also responsible for the Roxette shows in Germany and the Party Crasher tour back in 2009. The Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur belongs to German ticketing company CTS Eventim.
The ticketing for Live Nation Concerts Germany will be in the hands of Ticketmaster Germany. Ticketmaster Germany will serve as the lead ticketing company for the new venture, which probably means that the tickets get a bit more expensive in Germany than they already are, but that is just my humble opinion.
According to their own statement, Live Nation offers more than 23.000 shows for 60 million fans in over 40 countries. The “Lieberberg deal” is supposed to add another 700 shows and two million fans.
A week has gone since my last Roxette show (ever?) in Vienna. I tend to think it was my last Roxette show ever, but I am always open for a pleasant surprise, of course. Why I do think that this is it? The final countdown, the last tour ever? Yes, just because of Marie’s condition. I know very well that she is a warrior, the greatest warrior I know. Maybe, but maybe, just maybe, all of this is too much to fight for. I don’t know. I posted a very long text about her and my perception of her condition in another article (there’s an English translation at the bottom of the text). I don’t want to go in too much detail here now. It’s only part of my thoughts and I already have put them in words, so I try to move on from it. But yes, it felt a bit like a farewell to a long long dream for me.
So, my last show was in Vienna, Wednesday, July 8th, 2015. Unfortunately, the tour stress had totally exhausted me which forced me to leave my place in the third row during “Spending my time” already and got me to a spot on the side of the stage. Suddenly I couldn’t handle all the people around me anymore, it was too loud, too crowded, just too much. I had wished for a better ending to this whole touring experience as I have never done it this extensively (10 shows in 14 days). It wasn’t meant to be and so I stood at the very far end of the stage, held a mug with water in one hand and my jacket in the other and watched Marie trying to deliver her notes.
I joined the tour with the start of the German leg of the European part of the tour. Roxette had been on tour already six weeks. The first European show in Milan I had attended, yes, but after that, as said, six weeks break. So, I came to see the concert in Cologne and joined all the travelling until Vienna.
What’s left to say? It was a very intense, very confusing, very life-changing experience. Apart from the concerts I realized that I am actually really too old to queue the whole day in front of the venue in 36°C, even though we could mostly sit in the shadow. My body doesn’t want to be in the heat for several hours, then get tense when it’s close to inlet and then run for a minute and then relax, just to tense again when it realizes that air is practically not existing inside the venue. At least my body doesn’t want that several times a week and that’s probably what it showed me in Vienna.
I realized that I am also too old to stand in front of hotels and airports and waiting for the right moment to ask for a photo. This moment never comes. Every fan is so dependent on the mood of her star, so was I. Fortunately, with Roxette, I adore a band who always took their time and mostly never have a bad mood or when they don’t show it their fans, at least there was only one occasion I witnessed it.
I also realized that I might be too old to adore people who don’t even know me. I started to ask myself what I actually expect when I meet them? I wrote in my other post that it’s the feeling of breathing the same air for some moments. This might be it. I don’t know. I know it’s different when it comes to Marie. Since her illness all I ever wanted was to show her my support in every situation possible. There were many times when she gave back so much, thanked for our support or even begged for more. Moments I can hardly forget or ignore. It stopped this year. For me and for her. She doesn’t notice or doesn’t want to notice her fans anymore and it’s finally time to step back for me. Concerts: Yes. Anything else: No.
So, yes, I’d do it all over again, travel miles and miles and never stop, I would, but my reasons have drastically changed. Still, there is this “have to support Marie” thing, it’s very strong, it can’t be abandoned easily. Then there is the other reason that got stronger and stronger during my journey: Meet other Roxers, laugh together, wait together, sing together, enjoy time together. I am so happy that I met so many nice people, maybe this was the most important thing for me during this trip. I finally remembered why they all are so special, even those who I thought wouldn’t speak a word with me anymore. I really really loved that. In the end we’re on this ship together and when it’s time to wave the white flag, whenever that is, we have to do it together somehow anyway.
I am trying to point out some of my personal highlights of the ten shows I saw now:
The best Roxette show I ever saw was the one in Berlin. This was another topic I wrote something about it, unfortunately it’s in German only so far, sorry for that. This was a magical night, moments that can’t and won’t be forgotten. The audience maybe wasn’t the loudest, but the most empathic. It took over when Marie forgot the lyrics and from that moment on everything could happen and it did. I am happy I was there. I could feel the love floating around from the stage to the audience and back. It was the one perfect night.
The best local song Christoffer played was probably “An der Nordseeküste” in Hamburg. It worked surprisingly well regarding the fact that this isn’t a German song in origin. The audience sang even louder than the people in Cologne who got their very own anthem “Viva Colonia”. For Non-Germans: “Viva Colonia” is T-H-E song in Cologne and even in parts of Germany. So I really wondered why it didn’t work THAT good this time. The funniest moment was most certainly Christoffer’s attempt to play Helene Fischer’s “Atemlos” which was probably the most played German song in 2014 and 2015 (just guessing).
I loved that Per shared our “bring us some water or ice” photo from Stuttgart. We had so much fun that day and it made us smile despite the heat. Unfortunately, we never got the ice or the water (just kidding, of course). Being a Roxer for 24 years you very well realize how special it is to communicate with your star in such a direct way. You post a photo, you know for sure that he sees it and when he shares or likes you are in heaven for some hours. Yes, that’s how it works. Praise the internet!
I also won’t forget the very messed up inlets in many many German cities, almost all of them. Gates that get less and less, although people are already queuing, scanners not working, security staff who don’t know how to mark a ticket, entrances that get closed completely ten minutes before the doors open, security staff telling you you are not allowed to sit down, because it’s too dangerous, others not telling you where you have to run – it was a mess, really. After three shows we joked about founding a consulting agency for security companies. They know so little, they do want to know so little – it can make you really angry. Worst are those who keep the guitar picks for themselves, by the way.
But let’s get back to the positive things. One of them: The amazing setlist Per Gessle put up. What a trick to end the show with “The Look”. What a great idea to bring “How do you do” back as standalone song again. People always have loved “How do you do” so much and it worked so very well at every single show I have been to. This was most often THE party crasher and people were not to stop from that point on. Yes, the audience expects the hits, the great number ones and the singles – it’s true and I can live with it, but after my last show I joked that I really don’t want to hear “Joyride” again so soon and that I am actually happy that I could keep myself busy with the balloons rather than singing. It’s a pity, of course, that I never applauded the band during the band presentation because I was so busy with getting the balloons ready. I still love the balloon thing very much.
We also had a talk about the stuff the fans do during the show and another fan had a very new thought: That we fans are part of the show as well. We do the balloon thing, we clap in moments non-fans don’t know (you know which songs I mean, Dangerous (attracted to go-go deeper tonight), The Look (head drum)), we try to sing “How do you do” on our own after the first riff and get the rest of the audience to join (it never worked until today, of course). Yes, there might be something to it. I had so much fun with all of this!
The general audiences really surprised me, though. I cannot count the times I heard people singing “The Look” while leaving the venue. One sang the verse, others joined in with the “Na na na na nas”. They were full of love for the band and didn’t hesitate to show. This felt much different during the last tour in 2011 and even more different during the Room Service tour 2001. Which brings me to my next point: This band loves to play, loves to be on stage, to play live, to improvise a bit, to make music together. You can see it every second they are on stage, even on their tired days. And this transports so much that people can’t help but join in. It might be compassion, farewell or memories bringing them to the shows, but they leave with different feelings: admiration for the band, the love for music and the will to definitely buy a new Roxette album. This band is so rocky. I heard that on the radio one morning: Roxette came as a pop-rock band to the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, but left as a rock-pop band. What a compliment for a band that earned so many bad reviews for their bubblegum music back in the 90’s!
So, what’s left after my last show in Vienna?
There’s a lot of good memories, some bad memories, decisions I made, a heart that’s still full of love for these people who accompany me for 24 years, a wish for another tour at least in North America so that I finally have a reason to go to New York (and I already have made appointments there with fellow Roxers, I didn’t forget that, Basia, Mareike and Mariana), and a deep deep longing which stands over it all that certain conditions get better again, the deep hope that something or someone can stop what we unfortunately witnessed this year and really don’t want to see and to see happen at all. The one topic we never talk about much. And then there’s the will to go on tour like this forever and that time just stands still, please.
Certain things were cooking today. Two of them: Munich from the outside (36°C) and from the inside, or rather inside the Olympiahalle. 8300 enthusiastic people helped themselves with the heat and made the roof fly away at Roxette’s 49th show on this world tour in Munich.
For many die-hards the day was also the day of goodbyes: Goodbyes to fellow Roxers who they won’t see now for quite a while and the goodbye to Roxette, who played their last show in Germany. So for many it was quite sad and true when Per Gessle said that this will be the last concert for a while in Germany and therefore certainly a night to remember. Some fans even think there won’t ever be another Roxette tour, so they were prepared for a sad goodbye anyway.
Per, though, couldn’t have been more right. He might not have known at this very moment that the Munich show could reach the Berlin league, but this hot and sweaty summer night became one to remember. The sweat didn’t stop the audience from dancing, shouting, singing. There was such a tremendous noise in the Olympiahalle that some people in the standing area turned their heads, looking around and wondering if this really could be the audience singing. It was! I don’t think I have ever heard German fans sing this loud. It gave many of us int the front rows goosebumps and forced us to go on and on with clapping, jumping and singing – besides the heat that had weakened us tremendously while waiting outside for the doors to open.
Munich is almost always a blast, but this night was very very special. So, now, after the German leg of the tour is over it is easy to choose the best two shows: Berlin and Munich. The audience in both cities was cooking, could never be stopped and came to the show for one main reason: to party together with their idols from the past.
Photo by Kirsten Ohlwein
It didn’t matter that not everything worked on stage and that the sound in the front rows wasn’t the best (it never is, I know that, but in this case, it was a bit worse than usual), it was enough to hear 8,000 people sing together. Again almost instantly when “How do you do” started and even more than at the other shows during “She’s got nothing on but the radio” audience and band became one. We tend to forget that “Radio” was a chartbreaker a few years ago, but the audience didn’t. So those two songs might have been the best tonight – they turned the last German show into a glowing memory for all of us!
MUNICH UPDATE: Oh yea, finishing the German leg of the tour in style. We had a blast tonight in front of a superb crowd, 8300 wild ones. So dear German friends, see y’all soon, it’s always a pleasure being here and enjoying your endless love, affection, beer and hospitality!!!! Danke schön! /P.
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 (intro: Ein Prosit)