Gothenburg

Gyllene Tider – Hux Flux – Gothenburg – 5th August 2023 – #17

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What to do on a Saturday night in August in Gothenburg? 36,000 people knew the right answer! Gyllene Tider performed at Ullevi last night for the fourth time during their career. Young and old, different generations attended the show and made much noise. They were singing along to all songs, no matter if it was from the first albums or from the not too old ones. It was really amazing to see teenagers singing along even Flickorna på TV2 or När vi två blir en or Sjömän or Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång or literally any song. As the songwriter of all the hits, Per must feel very proud and pleased every time he stands in front of these loud crowds. But not only Per, since the magic around these songs is created by all 5 of them in the band. Göran’s Farfisa wizardry, Micke Syd’s powerful drumming style, Anders’s elegant bass playing and of course, Boogie King MP’s guitar playing together with PG’s unique voice and guitar playing. As Per always says in interviews, it’s only the 5 of them who sound like Gyllene Tider. The ladies, Dea and Malin-My add a lot to the live sound on this tour with their wonderful backing vocals and the tambourine, violin, accordion and other instruments.

As usual, Gothenburg is a magnet for international people too, so a lot of fans arrived from many countries from all over the world. Another common thing at Ullevi stadium is that a lot of people start queueing early – for any band, not only for GT – to be able to stand at the best places inside the venue, in front of the stage.

While we were waiting for the doors to open at 17:30, there was a soundcheck and we heard Vill ha ett svar! being played. Then I thought En sten vid en sjö i en skog would be changed to VHES on the setlist at night, but that wasn’t the case. VHES wasn’t played at the gig in the end.

Inside the stadium there were again screens on the two sides of the stage. We hoped for a professional DVD recording, but we could see no big cameras. I mean those ones that SVT or TV4 are using when they record a concert. Anders Roos was there and his many cameras too. If I saw it right, he was filming the whole show from the left side of the stage, so maybe something similar to the Per Gessle’s Roxette live DVD is in the making. I’m not too sure whether those camera pictures that were shown on the screens either in Stockholm or in Gothenburg were only for the screens or if they were recorded. Would have been fun if they really recorded those, because both the band and the audience always looked very cool on the screens. Let’s see what happens!

Uno Svenningsson started playing at 20:00. He and his band were so happy to play at Ullevi that they even performed a song that has not yet been released. Malin-My and Dea, just like at the two previous concerts, joined Uno for Under ytan.

Gyllene Tider started at 21:15. You could see how enthusiastic they all were to play at Ullevi again. Topping their previous Ullevi shows was their plan. They added 120% energy into everything they did on stage and the crowd appreciated it with their loud cheering, singing and clapping along.

Chrissie missed the chance to be there at the gig with the most people in the crowd, instead of her, the people could sing along Vandrar i ett sommarregn. BUT, Billy was happy to join the gang and the audience was at least as happy to have him on the setlist.

The mix Micke prepared for PG last night tasted like lakrits and raspberry, Per said. According to Micke Syd, that’s the taste of success. Haha.

All talks between the songs worked very well on the Gothenburg crowd. At the band presentation I got speechless by their reaction. They cheered the ladies and then each 5 of the guys got a long long long cheering by screaming their names many times and applauding them: MP MP MP MP! Göran Göran Göran Göran! Anders Anders Anders Anders! Micke Syd Micke Syd Micke Syd Micke Syd! Gessle Gessle Gessle Gessle! Goosebumps! When Micke came to the front, he said life is fantastic. He said it would take a bit more time for him to talk now, because he wanted to tell a true story. The Rolling Stones played Ullevi in 1982 and Micke attended the concert. He was sitting up there in the audience. When Keith Richards came up on stage and waved, everyone was screaming. Then Micke thought, damn, that’s what he wants to do and here they are at Ullevi for the fourth time. It’s magical, he said.

Micke changed his T-shirt to the one that has the print of his wife, Helena and himself on it, so he was singing Min tjej och jag in that one. Before the song he said they want to pay tribute to love with this song, the long relationship between the band and the audience. He said they are extremely grateful that so many people are coming to see them both from Sweden and from around the world.

During När alla vännerna gått hem, like in Uppsala, Per invited Uno to join them on stage. They high-fived when Uno came and after the song, the whole gang together with Uno took a bow and said goodbye to Sweden.

When I’m writing this, I’m already back home in Budapest. Strange feeling after spending a wonderful month in Sweden. 17 most amazing GT shows! The tour is not over yet though. 2 more Gyllene weekends are waiting with 3 gigs. Next stop is Fredrikstad, Norway on Saturday, 12th August! See you there if you are also coming!

Setlist

1. Gyllene Tider igen
2. Juni, juli, augusti
3. Det hjärta som brinner
4. Skicka ett vykort, älskling
5. Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig
6. Flickorna på TV2
7. Vandrar i ett sommarregn
8. (Hon vill ha) Puls
9. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
10. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
11. Tuffa tider

Band presentation

12. Min tjej och jag
13. Kung av sand
14. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
15. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly
16. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet / (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän / Tylö Sun medley

Encore 1

17. Billy
18. Det är över nu
19. Gå & fiska!

Encore 2

20. När vi två blir en
21. Sommartider
22. När alla vännerna gått hem

All photos in the article by Patrícia Peres

Per after the show:

Gothenburg!!!! We adore playing in this city! 36000+ ppl helped us make a majestic tour finale in Sweden 2023. Wow!!!! Thx for coming and helping us out making the guitar driven power pop getting a last breath of fresh air!!!!! Love you!

Per Gessle – En vacker kväll in Göteborg, Sweden – 22nd July 2017 – #8

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A hot, sunny day in Gothenburg, a beautiful park, some most enthusiastic Per Gessle fans and a tight band were all together to create a fantastic 8th concert night. You could feel there was something in the air in the city when already during the technicians’ soundcheck there was a guy who was dancing(?) to each and every sound Micke N-S and Jakob created on the drums and on the guitars. It was a very entertaining half an hour or so. Later there was no soundcheck for the band, so we could be kind of sure there was no new song planned to be played that night.

Lots of fans (even from Brazil!) were waiting outside the park which closed at 3 pm because of the concert and the gates opened again at 6 pm. This time we had to try if our running shoes were still working fine, since both entrances opened at the same time. Still all hardcores could find a decent spot in front of the stage.

Göteborg is usually different to any other Swedish cities and towns when it comes to concerts. People there know how to party and what the concerts are about. No picnic, no 15 meters’ distance left between the front row and the 2nd row until the support acts start playing. They are gathering in the front right after being let in. And it always feels good and promising.

Per had the same support acts with him as in Grebbestad. Alex Shield and Charla K started playing at 19:30. Now Alex was not that nervous anymore as on Friday, even talked more to the crowd. There was a little low sound problem with his guitar, but even that he took easier than in Grebbestad, just by mentioning he got a bit unfocused by this. I don’t have to mention that he sounded fab again. Charla K was also acting more, now taking off the mic from the stand and moving around a bit. She sang wonderfully again. Strandels came at 21:10 and Tova, the singer made the audience cheer for Gessle several times. She is also more and more talkative to the audience.

The stage and instruments were getting ready for Per & Co’s performance and while the technicians were busy with all this, Anders Roos set his many cameras at several places. Mr. G and the band hit the stage some minutes after 21:00. The crowd was already cheering for them several times before 9 pm.

 

The opening song was Min plats and it got a huge applause from the audience. Per talked to the crowd and said it’s always wonderful to play in Gothenburg. It’s almost home ground for him. He also said it’s the first time for him to play in Trädgårdsföreningen. Well, this is not really true, because in 1996 he played there twice with Gyllene Tider. Återtåget Live! was recorded at that very place. But being a hardcore live artist, one can forgive him for not remembering each and every place he played at. Haha.

The next song was På promenad genom stan and Göteborg let its voice heard. Heavy sing along on this one and dancing even in the back.

The first Gyllene Tider section with Juni, juli, augusti made the crowd clap & sing along heavily and they were even jumping along.

This time I streamed Segla på ett moln / Första pris live on our Facebook page. You can watch the video HERE.

While keeping the ”new” song /(Hon vill ha) Puls / they added to the setlist the day before (it rocked in Göteborg too!), Tittar på dej när du dansar got back and we enjoyed it so much! This song should really stay on the setlist forever. I know… I can’t mention it enough times. 😉

The crowd loved It Must Have Been Love and of course were singing along loudly. Kung av sand was also a loud hit.

Before Honung och guld, which Per wrote in the spring of 1982, Mr. G mentioned he was looking for songs he had never played live before and found like 500. Haha.

Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång) / Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång was such a blast that while grooving around in the front part of the stage, Per stumbled over his monitor. Thank God he could keep his balance and bounce on, so he didn’t fall off the stage or anything serious happened. We don’t want to see Dave Grohl’s throne on PG’s stage, right? 😉 Micke N-S recognized very quickly that something was wrong and he rushed to the monitor to set it back to its place.

 

The great vibes didn’t end here. Starting with Ljudet av ett annat hjärta it was onehelluva party section until Per and the band went off stage before the first encore. Spegelboll rocked big time again and the crowd didn’t stop jumping and singing along during Gå & fiska! either. The band presentation was much fun this time too and after Chris psychedelic När vi två blir en intro, The Look made the crowd go wild.

Göteborg people shouted, whistled and were clapping loudly to have the gang back on stage. The first encore with PG appearing in white was magical as usual. Varmt igen and Tycker om när du tar på mej sounded extrawonderful on Saturday. DFS was skipped, just like on Friday and the band went on with Joyride which put the crowd in party mood again. So much that until the second encore they didn’t really get silent. Then bang! Andreas came and sat behind his drums. Started the intro to Sommartider. We all loved it! PG asked the band if they were ready for more, if the guys and girls for ready for more and if Göteborg was ready for more. The crowd just went wild for this.

The set ended with Småstadsprat and the audience cheered the band while they were saying goodbye.

This was definitely one of the concerts that you didn’t want to come to an end. If I said in Grebbestad Per & Co gave 120%, in Göteborg they gave 150% at least, but not only them. The audience too! Everyone was all smiles on and off stage during the whole concert. All fans (even those who attended Töreboda) thought that Göteborg was the best gig so far. The band thought so too.

We could see a lot of PG-Chris, Ola-Chris, Ola-Chris-PG, Ola-PG, PG-Magnus, PG-Malin-My, PG-Helena, Malin-My-Magnus, Malin-My-Clarence, Helena-Malin-My, Malin-My-Chris, Andreas-Ola, Chris-Ola-Andreas, Magnus-Chris-Ola, Chris-Magnus, PG-Magnus-Chris actions on stage. One just couldn’t decide which squaremeter to watch to enjoy the visual experience of the gang’s fabulous playing together. One of my favourite actions is when Ola gets close to Per during Det hjärta som brinner and they play their guitars back to back. PG was throwing a lot of guitar picks on Saturday and by checking each other’s caught picks, we realized that there is now a Space Station 12 plec he plays. A black one with white little stars and the SS12 logo on it. Lookin’ good! /Update on 25th July: as Per says: “TO CLARIFY THINGS: There are NO OFFICIAL Space Station 12 guitarpicks made whatsoever. If you see one it’s an unofficial one. /P.” Weird thing… Now where those picks were flying from then? Hm. Anyways, good to know they are not part of the official set./

Per had so much boogie in his shoes that he was often back to his mic late when he had to sing. It was so funny and cool at the same time. He was swaying his hips all the time, doing his left leg stomping as well. Among his black outfits, the most sexy is the one he was wearing in Gothenburg. The shirt with silver stars and the trousers with silver stripes. Looks so hot! Oh and Helena! 1 or 2 concerts earlier I realized she wears no shoes on stage. She is rocking around barefoot! Too cool she is!

All in all, Göteborg never disappoints! I can’t really remember any concerts in Gothenburg that didn’t work. This city rulez! If there is any recording planned for this tour, it should have happened on Saturday. But still, let’s keep our fingers crossed that at least one of the shows will be recorded and released for our pleasure later.

PG after the show:

Mindblowing gig in Gothenburg. Wish you all were there!!!

All photos in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres.

Setlist

1. Min plats
2. På promenad genom stan
3. Vilket håll du än går
4. Juni, juli, augusti
5. Det hjärta som brinner
6. Segla på ett moln / Första pris
7. Tittar på dej när du dansar
8. (Hon vill ha) Puls
9. It Must Have Been Love
10. Honung och guld
11. Kung av sand
12. Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång) / Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
13. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
14. Spegelboll
15. Gå & fiska!
Band presentation
16. The Look (with När vi två blir en as intro)

Encore:
17. Varmt igen (with Queen of Rain as intro)
18. Tycker om när du tar på mej
19. Joyride

Encore 2:
20. Sommartider
21. Småstadsprat

Videos:

Min plats
Segla på ett moln / Första pris: 1; 2;
It Must Have Been Love
Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
Gå & fiska!
Varmt igen
Tycker om när du tar på mej
Sommartider & Småstadsprat

Articles, pictures:

Göteborgs-Posten
Rockfoto

 

Roxette XXX Tour – Gothenburg, Sweden (Slottskogsvallen) – July 24 – #56

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Before I tell you anything else about the 3rd Swedish show, the most important thing: Gothenburg never disappoints! The concert was pure m.a.g.i.c.!

roxette_in_gbg_01
Pic by Patrícia Peres

Many fans were there waiting all day at the venue in Gothenburg, too. This time the early entrance ticket owners were separated from the ordinary ticket owners and both teams got an own entrance. Show Security Sweden supported us here too and it was nice to see Malin, who was one of the security supervisors during the Gyllene Tider tour. The security team was very helpful in Gothenburg as well, not only during the entrance, but also during the waiting time they came and asked us if everything was fine. Inside the venue they provided us with water if we wanted.

The guys from Eskobar were kind enough to come out to the fans and have a short chat with them and take pictures while they were waiting for the gates to open. Eskobar got on the stage a bit later than 19:30. The audience, at least the international part of it went literally wild while having the band there and the guys loved it and thanked for it. As you can read it in our thank you article to them, we are really very grateful to have such a support act.

We couldn’t wait anymore for Roxette being on stage and they were suddenly there with the Sleeping In My Car intro. They all looked amazing and were much on a high since the very beginning of the show. When you think it can’t get any better, you experience an even better gig and you fall in love with Roxette again. And again.

roxette_in_gbg_02
Pic by Patrícia Peres

Marie was in top form and her voice was absolutely amazing! She improvised quite a lot, mainly during The Big L. and Listen To Your Heart. Both songs’ ending was simply awesome! Marie looked and pointed at fans several times during the gig. We loved it! Her facial expressions and gestures were priceless!

Per was also amazingly energetic. He definitely killed all the Gessle Girls in the front with his ”I-make-eye-contact-with-the-fans” moments. His hot ’n’ sexy Gessle moves were another killer factor tonight. His ”I-kick-Chris-in-the-ass” moment gets more and more playful every time and how Christoffer reacts on it is funny. Their guitar fights were very much enjoyable.

When Per talked before Spending My Time he said Roxette played here 4 years ago and asked us if we were there. Tons of people in the audience shouted they were there. Per pointed at Marie and said: You were here! Marie: Absolut!

Crush On You was extremely good tonight, the crowd was much into it, but not more than into e.g. How Do You Do!

Before The Heart Shaped Sea Per talked about recording the Tourism album and joked that there are like 4 people in the crowd who know that album. Well, there were of course more than 4 of us.

roxette_in_gbg_03
Pic by Patrícia Peres

After Watercolours In The Rain / Paint which sounded incredibly amazing tonight, the crowd started shouting ”Marie! Marie! Marie!” and after a while Marie also started miming 3 times Marie! Marie! Marie! Haha. Too cool she is!

Before they started playing Dressed For Success, Per shouted into the mic: ”Are you in for a little more party?” The crowd was in! Friday night party at its best!

Unfortunately, while there is the band presentation part, we are usually occupied with blowing the balloons. This time it happened again. All the fans in the front rows had balloons to throw them in the air when Roxette performed Joyride. After Joyride the band went off the stage and what happened during the break I’ve never experienced this way. The crowd started singing ”na na na na na she’s got the look” and didn’t stop until we got Roxette back on stage! It was the greatest break ever! The band got back and you could see they were amazed at the crowd reaction.

After Listen To Your Heart it was again The Look that closed the party and the audience went crazy. Towards the end of the song Marie was singing: You’ve got the look! You’ve got the look! and was pointing at the crowd and we were pointing at her.

The whole gig was magical indeed. Gothenburg knows how to enjoy a concert.

After the show many Roxers were waiting for Roxette at the back entrance of the venue. First Per came out, we applauded him and he stopped for some time and signed many autographs. Then came the band who were also very nice to us. In the end came Marie. She got a huge applause from us, too. She smiled and waved back to us. You must love all these Swedes!

Per’s badabam after the show:

GOTHENBURG UPDATE: Badabam! More than 15000 ppl showed up tonite and helped us having a fab evening with the Goth folks!!! Always a treat to play in Gothenburg, you know that! Vids tomorrow, y’all! /P.

Next stop is Stockholm on 25th July with no rest in between!

 

Articles and photos

rockfoto.nu
fotoscenen.se
Elegant Exposures
Göteborgs-Posten 1; 2; 3;
gaffa.se

Videos

Sleeping In My Car
It Must Have Been Love
Dressed For Success / Dangerous
Listen To Your Heart
The Look

Setlist

roxette_in_gbg_04
Pic by Patrícia Peres

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: Håkan Hellström – Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg)

Extra
Listen To Your Heart
The Look

 

Seminar about Marie’s book at Göteborg Book Fair

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It seems that a seminar related to our beloved artists is a must at the Göteborg Book Fair lately. It’s the third year in a row when a Roxette / Per Gessle / Marie Fredriksson book is out and there is a seminar about them. In 2013 it was Sven Lindström’s fabulous Roxette – Den osannolika resan tur och retur, last year besides a cool pop quiz (1; 2; videos) it was Per’s most awesome books, Songs, Sketches & Reflections and Texter, klotter & funderingar and this year it’s Marie’s long-awaited biography, Kärleken till livet.

It would be wonderful to meet Marie at the book fair, but it seems that it will be only Helena von Zweigbergk, the author of the book who will appear there and talk about the book. The seminar is on Saturday, 26th September. It starts at 12:30 and lasts for 20 minutes. See the seminar program at THIS link on page 51. Helena will surely share much information at the book fair.

The book’s actual publishing date is 14th October according to the publishing company Piratförlaget, but it’s still 7th October appearing at Ginza, Bengans etc.

MF_HvZ_photo_by_Mattias_Edwall
Helena von Zweigbergk & Marie Fredriksson Photo by Mattias Edwall

 

New Roxette material in 2015

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The news regarding the BMI London Awards reached Musikindustrin.se. They asked Per about the gala, The Per Gessle Archives, his books and Roxette.

About the gala Per said it was a lighthearted event with the usual red carpet-walking and quick TV interviews where the subjects changed between Marie’s brain tumor and Miley Cyrus’s tongue. He tells the award for this year’s song, Daft Punk’s Get Lucky was well deserved. Getting 2 awards, one together with MP for more than 5 million plays of Listen To Your Heart and one for more than 5 million plays of It Must Have Been Love among other, much older songs with the same amount of airplays was good for the ego, Per says. But all other 5 million-air songs are fantastic.

Regarding the book fair in Gothenburg he says whenever he / they do an official appearance, The International Hardcore Fans always turn up.

It’s always nice, they are really wonderful supporters from around the world who are there for better or worse. So the book fair was a very happy event for me. Lots of people and good atmosphere.

And now some news for all those who don’t fancy the idea of another greatest hits album. Per confirms again:

Roxette has been in the studio and finished a bunch of singles that will be released next year. We also aim to put together a brand new album in 2015, but right now we are concentrating on the “XXX – The 30th Anniversary Tour” starting October 28 in Vladivostok. It ends, as it looks now, the summer of 2016. I believe my passport expires then.

roxette