Actually, it’s about 4 hours after the show when I start writing this article. Still can’t sleep, as it was such an out-of-the-world experience. After becoming a Roxer in 1991 and listening to Marie’s and Per’s solo albums, I found Gyllene Tider in 1994. Never had a chance to attend any gigs back in 1996 or 2004, but now my time has come. The tour premiere couldn’t have been any better! Halmstad, front row. What else could you ask for? If you like at least some of the GT tracks, you should definitely see them live one day. What energy on stage! Per was like a Duracell bunny, just like we got used to it during Roxette’s World Tour – or even more energetic – and that voice, yeah, it will surely kill me one day! Micke Syd makes you want to play the drums and DJ Fritzon’s Farfisa magic is just awesome. MP and Anders are demigods of guitar playing, but just because Chris is God. 😉 It’s still not too late to buy your tickets to any of the concerts (except Helsingborg, which is sold out). If you are attending any gigs, maybe don’t read further and don’t check the pics, to have the ”aaaaah moment” when you’re seeing them for the first time this year.
Stage design
Hats off! It was so well-designed. As you could see on our Facebook page, we had a chance to listen a bit to the soundcheck and at the stage design for some time – until the security staff told us to please, go away. Before the concert started, there was a big black curtain with a white Gyllene Tider logo on it, so we knew there will be an intro and of course, some adrenaline involved. And we were right. The curtain fell off right after the intro. Check the setlist section for details. During the show there was a huge, awesome background monitor, on which several designs appeared, related to the songs or just close-ups from the stage or the crowd. There were several cameras, but we don’t know it yet, if they were there to ensure a great visual experience or because of a tour DVD.
Curtain at the beginning and Mikael Nogueira Svensson (Per’s guitar technician) arranging the plecs on the mic stand (with a plec in his mouth)
Background monitor
Setlist
Intro: a funny (maybe 3-5-minute-long) cartoon with the well-known drawing on the big screens on the 2 sides, with a mix picking a little part from several songs, even from Knallpulver
1. Gå & fiska!
2. Det blir aldrig som man tänkt sej
3. Juni, juli, augusti
4. Det hjärta som brinner
5. På jakt efter liv
6. (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjöman
7. Allt jag lärt mej om livet, har jag lärt mej av Vera
8. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
Band presentation
9. Min tjej och jag / Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång (medley)
10. Tuffa tider
11. Kung av sand
12. Flickorna på TV2
13. (Hon vill ha) Puls
14. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
15. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly
16. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet
17. Tylö sun
Extra 1:
18. Det är över nu
19. Billy
20. När vi två blir en
Extra 2:
21. Sommartider
22. Dags att tänka på refrängen
23. När alla vännerna gått hem
Some more things to add:
- When they came back to the stage for the 1st extra session, Per greeted the international front row. And it was really international: Australia, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Spain, Austria, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Sweden. Sorry if I’ve left out any countries.
- Per presented ”Det hjärta som brinner”, ”Allt jag lärt mej om livet, har jag lärt mej av Vera” and ”Sommartider” as Anders’s favourite songs.
- What a great ending with 2 such awesome songs. ”Dags att tänka på refrängen” sounded marvellous live! There were even fireworks after the show, but from the front row, we could just hear the sounds, no visual experience for us.
- They skipped ”Arabiska nätter” – according to the official setlist that would have been the first song in Extra 2
- Åsa was also there. She was filming a lot.
- The security staff was very nice and helpful from the very beginning and it stayed like this until the very end.
Thank God, I still have 6 chances to take some more of this drug with my friends this summer. I’m without voice now, but I’ll surely recover for the next gig. If you haven’t bought your ticket yet, do a favour to yourself and go to see them live! It will worth it. 😉
The maestro is concentrating and having fun during ”Tuffa tider”
Micke Syd and Anders in the front during ”Tuffa tider” & Per & MP during ”Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly”
Åsa filming the crowd
All pics in this article are © Patrícia Peres
