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!
