Ola Gustafsson

Per Gessle – En vacker kväll in Arvika, Sweden – 3rd August 2017 – #15

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After their Malmö gig, Per and the band travelled by the tour bus to Arvika for a festival show. We were lucky in Malmö, because on concert day it wasn’t raining, only a tiny bit during the night, but on 3rd August whole Sweden seemed to be treated badly by the weather gods. It was raining cats & dogs in the South and the North as well.

Arvika is appr. 600 km from Malmö, so only 2 hardcore fans decided to drive and attend the concert there. By the time they arrived, there were still only a handful of people waiting at the entrance to be let in.

At this festival the support acts, first Strandels then Good Harvest performed on the same stage as PG. During their performances people were rather standing in the back, under roofs and tents, but before Per & Co got on stage, the area in front got full despite the heavy rain.

It usually turns out that rainy gigs are much fun. That was the case in Arvika, too. Mr. G and the band were in top shape, smiling and jumping around all the time, no matter if it was their 3rd showday in a row and that the stage was a bit slippery because of the rain. They were full of energy. The crowd made noise and were singing along loudly to almost every song. To the uptempo songs they were even partying.

PG after the show:

GIG #15. ARVIKA HAMNFEST. Lång bussresa från Malmö via Halmstad till Arvika genom regn regn och ännu mera regn och det fortsatte att ösa ner hela kvällen. Men vad gjorde det? Grymt gig inför ett härligt galet Värmland som kunde varenda textrad!!! Glashalt på scen men alla överlevde. Tack alla 8000 som dök upp och trotsade de tunga molnen och tack BoJo för det stora paraplyet. Bandet är verkligen i toppform. Nu blir det paus i spelandet en vecka sen väntar Halmstad. Badabam! Love, P.

Pic by Riccardo Löffler

Thanx a lot for your cooperation, Andreas Kämpf & Riccardo Löffler!

Setlist

Pic by Andreas Dahlbäck. Småstadsprat

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

Encore:
14. Varmt igen (with Queen of Rain as intro)
15. Tycker om när du tar på mej
16. Joyride

Encore 2:
17. Sommartider
18. Småstadsprat

Videos:

På promenad genom stan
It Must Have Been Love
Ljudet av ett annat hjärta: 1; 2;
Tycker om när du tar på mej: 1; 2;
Joyride: 1; 2;
Sommartider & Småstadsprat
Sommartider: 1; 2;

Articles, pictures:

Värmlands Folkblad: 1; 2;
Arvika Nyheter: 1; 2;

 

Per Gessle – En vacker kväll in Malmö, Sweden – 2nd August 2017 – #14

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Some fans who were there in Borgholm sat into their cars right after the show and drove to Malmö, some others stayed in Borgholm for the night and travelled to the next tour stop only the next day. For the 14th show, the queue was not as long as in Borgholm, but still a lot of hardcores showed up, due to Malmö being an easily accessible city for most.

The security team was the least prepared at Mölleplatsen. They literally started the preparations only 10 minutes before the gates opened. This means the supervisor showed the controlling people how the ticket looks and where they should stand. Also the dustbins got to the gates only 5 minutes before we all could enter and the scanners were given out to the controllers only 1 minute before 6 pm. No surprise the whole insläpp was a mess in the end. People who were queueing all day got let in after those people who arrived only half an hour before the gates opened and when you were queueing in the ”wrong” line inside, because that was for the guestlist (which wasn’t marked anywhere at all) they sent you back to the end of another queue. The most incompetent security team in Sweden ever. Not only at the entrance, also inside the venue. Whatever. This should be our biggest problem in life. 😉

                           

When we were already inside, I looked around and checked the merch stand. I was surprised, because I saw a tee with the tour dates on it and I remembered there was none. I went to the stand and asked the girl who worked there if it was new. She said she got them only that day. And that’s the only T-shirt with the dates on. A pity that it’s out only now, almost at the end of the tour. Next time it’s useful to print the dates on ALL tour tees already at the beginning. Real tour tees always have the dates on. But still, better late than never.

Strandels and Good Harvest were the support acts and they get more and more cheering from the audience day by day. And they like it. The more we hear their songs, the more we like them. Andreas Dahlbäck was very busy during GH’s performance. He filmed them with his phone from the left side of the stage and later he went to the other side with 2 of his drumskins and was writing something on them. So we were sure he would again throw them to the crowd at the end of the show. And he did. We would love to see what’s written on those drumskins, so in case you are the one who caught them, just send us a message with a pic on Facebook.

What was very lovely to see in Malmö is that some hardcore fans, not only from Sweden, brought their kids to the gig to show them what it’s all about. Now that there is no age limit, it was a great chance to bring the whole family together and enjoy the concert this way. Kids were also in the front and they even caught guitar picks from Per. Haha. They got enthusiastic. I’m sure it wasn’t their last PG concert.

The setlist was the very same as in Borgholm. We expected more songs or a bit of a change at least. Tittar på dej när du dansar maybe? Haha, I know I know… Well, PG and the band were in top shape. The crowd could have been more active. They were singing along, but not more than that – I mean from row 3-4 or so. They rocked out the most to Ljudet av ett annat hjärta. What is strange that in other places Spegelboll keeps up the jumping and dancing party mood of the audience, but not in Malmö. OK, the front row rocked to Spegelboll as well. Of course. We love those 3 party songs, Ljudet av ett annat hjärta, Spegelboll and Gå & fiska! coming after one another.

During Det hjärta som brinner Mr. G was rocking so hard that his mic turned down, but both technicians, Peter Fredriksson and Micke N-S were rushing to it from the 2 sides of the stage and set it back to normal. It was funny to see.

It Must Have Been Love sounded beautiful in both Per’s and Helena’s performance. Mr. G even posted a video of it on Roxette’s Facebook page:

Malmö last nite: Truly amazing version of IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE. You should have been there! Helena, Malin-My and this group of ppl knock me out every night!!! Probably the best band I’ve ever played with. Lots of love from P.

Besides some very nice comments, there were some related to Helena is not Marie and that Marie can’t be replaced, etc. That is not the case. Can’t be said enough times ”Roxette is Marie and Per”. This is what Per thinks too, so no need to worry about anything. And really no need to be rude with a most lovely person.

Sadly, probably because of reading those comments, Helena felt she had to justify herself and shared the video too:

Here is a clip from the other day ! The Malmö audience was wonderful, thank you. When I sing the song I think about Marie. Who sang the song before me. But now her health stops her from doing it. When I was 9 I got my first album of her and she has been a great inspiration to me, as a solo artist and a fantastic composer. “Sjunde vågen” is my favourite song of hers. And “Sparvöga”. I wish she could have sung this song of Per many more times. Now Per wanted to perform it and he asked me to help him out. Per is an incredible composer, constantly transforming. He’s a real artist to me. The least I can do is put all my prescence into the song, and sing it my own way. That is what Marie would have done.

So lovely words! What Helena does with IMHBL and how she makes it her own is exceptional. It makes no sense to compare one singer to another, Marie to Helena and vice versa. Marie is Marie and Helena is Helena. Helena is a unique Artist with a voice of an angel. The ovation she gets each night (not only after IMHBL, but several other songs – Första pris, Tycker om…, Varmt igen) is a great confirmation of what she is doing is just adorable and perfect. And she is not only an amazing artist, but also a wonderful person!

Per couldn’t help himself, he posted the song again some hours later:

Have to post this one again. So proud to be playing with these guys and dolls! /P.

You must love how he is handling such situations.

During Kung av sand it started raining, but fortunately, only for 2-3 songs. Åsa was there in Malmö, filmed a lot (watch the vids on YouTube, GessleHome Vids!) and when the rain came she also went backstage to get a poncho for herself and came back to the front to take vids of the party songs.

   

When Per presented the band with the dating site story and he mentioned Helena is from Skåne, the county where Malmö is situated as well, the crowd was cheering her even louder. Then he introduced Malin-My and said she is also almost from Skåne, she is from Holmsund. Up North. Magnus is the other band member from Skåne. Actually, from Malmö. So he also got a louder cheering. Per said without Magnus there is no breakfast. Mister Magnus said he knows Clarence can say something in real Malmö style. And he asked the audience to be silent and Clarence said something that sounded very strange and probably only the Swedes or at least those from Skåne could get what it meant. Then Per introduced Ola, almost from Skåne as well, from Luleå and then Mr. G presented the guy in black gloves, Andreas. After all this, Chris went on with his psychedelic När vi två blir en intro to The Look. Not only the intro, but the ending of The Look was psychedlic again and the way Helena is acting with the crowd during the song since some concerts ago, she just rulez!

Sommartider got a similar drum intro as in Borgholm. It was fantastic in Malmö too, Andreas went totally wild on this. Adrenaline on top!

Per after the show:

MALMÖ Wow! Vilken vacker kväll!! Grym och stor publik, taggat band, bara lite regn (rätt snyggt i Kung av sand!) och good vibes överallt. Tack för att ni kom förbi och sjöng och delade minnen med oss!!! Syns igen! /P.

All photos in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres.

Setlist

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

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

Encore 2:
18. Sommartider
19. Småstadsprat

Videos:

På promenad genom stan
På promenad genom stan & Juni, juli, augusti
Vilket håll du än går
Honung och guld
The Look: 1; 2;
Tycker om när du tar på mej
Sommartider

Articles, pictures:

Sydsvenskan
Skånska Dagbladet
Pppress.se
Trelleborgs Allehanda (for subscribers only)
Annika Nilsson: 1; 2;

 

Per Gessle – En vacker kväll in Borgholm, Sweden – 1st August 2017 – #13

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Borgholm… 28 years and some days after the historical Listen To Your Heart video (and more) was filmed inside the ruins, we could be part of a magical event at the same place on 1st August.

The queueing started already the day before show day, some spent the night there in tents. More fans arrived in the morning and during the day on Tuesday. We knew that this would be the gig that attracts the most hardcore fans from around the world and so it was. People came from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK, Uruguay. At least these are the countries of which I know about.

The security team was very cooperative and so there was no issue at the entrance. It went very smoothly and everyone could get to the spot he / she deserved to see the concert from, being it seats in the back or front row or the sides of the standing area.

The concert was held at the very same place as in the LTYH video. A real dream come true for all fans, except for the fact that it wasn’t a Roxette concert, but a Per Gessle show. But even that is so emotional. It was really an undescribable feeling to be there.

Before the gig started, during the support acts’ performance, Åsa, Chris, Clarence, Helena and their families as well as Magnus’ family went up to the side windows of the castle and we waved to them, they waved back. Andreas also went up and probably took pictures from there. Later Victoria (Sweden’s crown princess) and her husband, Daniel also appeared in the window and enjoyed the show from there. Victoria rulez! HERE you can watch her dancing to Mr. G’s melodies.

When Per first talked to the audience before Juni, juli, augusti, he mentioned that Roxette shot their video to Listen To Your Heart there and that the American crew thought the ruins were built just for the video. The crowd was laughing.

Min plats got back to the setlist on a new place and it sounded wonderful after Första pris. But this way there was no Tittar på dej när du dansar. We love seeing Malin-My playing not only the violin, but also the mandolin, so it would be great to have the song back on the setlist. Just saying. Anyway, Per thanked the crowd for the applause after Min plats. He said he is happy we liked it because that’s one of his favourite songs. Before Per started playing It Must Have Been Love, he had to drink a bit and when he got back to the mic he said he swallowed a mosquito. Haha. The sing-along to IMHBL turned out to be wonderful. After the song, Per said it was the night’s Dean Martin moment.

Regarding the sing-alongs, I think also the acoustics of the place helped a lot to make them sound beautiful, because during a lot of songs I heard a loud sing-along, but when I looked back, I couldn’t see too many mouthes moving. Anyway, the crowd was best at clapping that’s for sure. Or better said there were several active groups in the audience, the first 3 rows, of course and then in the middle a bigger group and on the sides some more. Those who were sitting in the back didn’t get up from their seats. Not even during Sommartider…. Hej hej… Yeah, we know, it’s mostly the Swedes and they are not the ones who like to stand up, no matter what. But at least they were clapping hard.

We had nice weather almost all day, but the rain couldn’t wait anymore, so it started falling during Spegelboll and from then on. We quickly put on our ponchos and didn’t pay too much attention to the rain. When you are at such a magical place, you just don’t care. Anything can happen.

Åsa was of course filming a lot again (check out the videos on YouTube, GessleHomeVids) and how she was looking at her husband, admiring him, aaah, so sweet! She was singing along, dancing a bit and you can see in her eyes that she is still so much in love with Mr. G. And that goes vice versa. What a fab couple they are!

The best band presentation so far was in Borgholm. All band members got a huge applause and cheering and as it was Per’s nameday, Magnus made the crowd sing and cheer Per too. Per was throwing kisses and said he became speechless he even forgot where to continue the band presentation. HERE you can watch it all. Just awesome!

 

After the brand presentation Chris played the intro to The Look and it was a bit disappointing that he didn’t play Listen To Your Heart, but När vi två blir en again. We were so expecting LTYH at this place. Anyways, the intro turned out to be psychedelic just like at any other show. Chris rox!

The drum intro to Sommartider was fantastic again. Andreas is doing a fab job and knows how to get the crowd into party mood.

The concert ended with Småstadsprat. Or at least from the band’s side. After they took a bow, before they went off stage, the front part of the crowd started singing Listen To Your Heart.

It was a concert to remember! A pity that Anders Roos wasn’t there, because he would have taken fantastic pictures of Mr. G and the band inside this most awesome venue.

Per after the show:

BORGHOLM, ÖLAND! Oh yea, classic ground. This is the castle where we recorded the Listen To Your Heart-video (and Dangerous!) back in 89. Still magnificent and a joy to visit. And boy, did we have a fab time. Wonderful crowd + a splendid band on the loose = lots of unexpected silliness around every corner. Love that. Thanx everyone for showing up. One to remember! /P.

All photos in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres.

Setlist

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

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

Encore 2:
18. Sommartider
19. Småstadsprat

Videos:

Min plats
It Must Have Been Love
Gå & fiska!
The Look

Articles, pictures:

Svensk dam
Barometern
Hänt
Ölandsbladet
Expressen

 

Per Gessle – En vacker kväll in Piteå, Sweden – 29th July 2017 – #12

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Regarding promotion, I think Piteå was the most well-prepared for Per Gessle’s concert. Coming from the direction of Umeå, we already saw little boards on the highway that there would be a PG gig in Piteå. Also Pite Havsbad was very active on their Facebook page informing the guests about every detail. They expected Per to beat the audience record (appr. 12000) since on concert day they sold 1 ticket / minute, but in the end there were 8000 people in the crowd.

By arriving to our hotel, at the reception there were people asking the receptionist about the concert. It was funny that the woman there said mostly older people would go and see PG. Haha. Well, not really…

At the venue there was no queueing, you arrived and you were just let in after you got a nice paper wristband. Hardcore fans (Argentina, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, the UK) could get to the front row very easily this way. As the stage was on the seaside, we could go and have a look at the beach. It was a very nice setting. While walking on the beach, Andreas Dahlbäck came to us and we had a little chat with him. He is a very nice guy, very down-to-earth. Among other things he mentioned that Per asked him to find out something different as the intro to Sommartider. So we expected something new from him at the show.

There was no support act in Piteå and the gig started earlier than at any other place. The crowd was singing När vi två blir en and Sommartider before the band came up on stage. It was fun. PG & Co entered the stage at 20:30. I streamed the start of the show (På promenad genom stan) live on our Facebook page. Watch it HERE!

When Per first talked to the audience before Juni, juli, augusti, he mentioned that he played in Piteå in August 1981. 36 years ago, wow.

As Ola Gustafsson was born in Luleå, very close to Piteå, the crowd was cheering him loudly, mainly when Per introduced him during the band presentation. Malin-My Wall is from Holmsund, also not too far from Piteå, so the crowd was cheering Malin-My loudly as well. Per liked it so much that he repeated Holmsund several times, then even Magnus joined in mentioning Holmsund and the crowd was still cheering.

I actually expected a much louder audience during the songs, because it’s said that the more North you go in Sweden, the louder the crowds are, but there were rather smaller groups here and there in the audience who let their voice heard. However, Småstadsprat had a united sing-along. It was lovely.

There were some people in the middle who couldn’t behave well, so the security guys had to step up on the fence in front of us, ruining 2-3 songs this way, because we couldn’t see the stage from them…

This was the first concert where Per used THIS guitar for Ljudet av ett annat hjärta, Spegelboll and Gå & fiska!

 

The Look sing along was a bit messed up, too funny. Per was singing the nananananas being a bit late, so the crowd couldn’t join in how they should. Helena made a little correction, so we went on with the right nananananas.

Andreas did a new intro to Sommartider indeed. We already loved the one he played earlier, but this new one rocked big time! Such a fab drummer he is! During the concert he threw one of his drum sticks to the front of the stage. Sandra Knospe could get it via a security guy, then she showed it to Andreas in between 2 songs to thank it. It was broken. Then at the end of the show, after the band took a bow and said goodbye, Andreas rushed to his drumset and grabbed one more drum stick to give it to Sandra from hand to hand. It was so cool!

Chris seemed to be fine after his bleeding Joyride fun in Östersund. He had a plaster on his hand.

18 songs on the setlist is almost festival length…, but we enjoyed the show regardless.

Per after the show:

GIG #12! Pite Havsbad! Oh yea! What a place. one of the most beautiful settings I’ve ever played! So many lovely people. 8000? 9000? 10000? I dunno. They all sounded like a united nation!!! Last time I played Piteå ws in August 1981!!! Amazing. And, oh yes, we got a drum solo from mr Dahlbäck! Where will this surrealistic pillow end???? /P.

All photos in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres.

Setlist

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

Encore:

14. Varmt igen (with Queen of Rain as intro)
15. Tycker om när du tar på mej
16. Joyride

Encore 2:

17. Sommartider
18. Småstadsprat

Videos:

Honung och guld
The Look
Varmt igen

Articles, pictures:

NSD
Pite Press
Pitea-Tidningen: 1; 2;
Pite Havsbad

 

Per Gessle – En vacker kväll in Östersund, Sweden – 28th July 2017 – #11

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After Stockholm, it was time to travel up North and perform at a festival in Östersund. Per Gessle and the band arrived by private jet, as expected. Mr. G shared a pic of the whole gang in front of the jet.

We arrived in the afternoon and realized that not too many hardcore fans chose to take part in the festival. I could count them on one hand. While changing our tickets to wristbands we could hear the technicians’ soundcheck and there was no band soundcheck that day.

Gates opened at 19:00 and while we were queueing to get in, we met Linnea Henriksson (you surely remember her at least from the GT tour in 2013 when she was the support act). We said hi and she recognized us and told us she would join us in front row for Gessle. Haha. She performed at 19:30 at another stage. A pity that it wasn’t she who performed on the main stage before Per. We got José González instead, who is an Argentinian-Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from Gothenburg. He had a bigger fan base there, very young people who knew all his lyrics and were singing along. That seemed to be a promising crowd for PG as well.

We had rain showers during the day, but by the time Per & Co came up on stage, the rain stopped falling. However, there was a little shower again from the middle of the show, but who cares.

People who live at the main square in Östersund could watch the whole gig from their balconies. How cool is that!

The crowd consisted of very young people, but they knew the lyrics and were singing along loudly to almost all songs. During Tycker om när du tar på mej, when Helena was singing, the crowd started singing parts that Helena didn’t sing. It sounded absolutely awesome! The most dancing, jumping and clapping along was to Sommartider and The Look, but yeah, Joyride as well. Actually, the audience was open to any songs and they loved each of them unconditionally. Even the security guys were dancing with each other! So lovely! People were cheering Per loudly: ”Gessle! Gessle! Gessle!” And also before the encore there was ”En gång till!” and ”Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh” as well. Loved it! So even if we had the shortest setlist that night, it was a fantastic gig!

Chris went so wild during Joyride that probably a string on his guitar cut his hand, so it started bleeding. You can see it on the group pic. Hopefully, all is well with his hand now.

So, the shortest setlist. It could have been 18 songs even, but Puls (which would have worked very well with the Östersund crowd) and Småstadsprat were cut off. They were there on the original setlist though… Actually, Pet Shop Boys came after Per & Co, but only at 00:30 and even if they had a lot of technical stuff to apply on stage, our gang would have had the time to play at least 2 more songs. Btw, the crowd stayed loud during Pet Shop Boys as well. They were really a fab one! I wish such crowds for each gig!

Anders Roos was there at the festival and he took thousands of pictures again.

Per after the show:

YEEHAA! What a great reception we got at The Storsjöyran Festival in Östersund. Magic crowd and somewhat decent band! Loved it! See y’all next time! Like tomorrow! /P.

 

All photos in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres.

Setlist

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

Encore:
13. Varmt igen (with Queen of Rain as intro)
14. Tycker om när du tar på mej
15. Joyride
16. Sommartider

Videos:

Juni, juli, augusti: 1; 2;
Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
The Look: 1; 2;
Joyride: 1; 2;
Sommartider: 1; 2;
A boomerang video by Josef Hermansson (Space Station 12)

Articles, pictures:

ÖP (subscribers only)
Rockfoto