Helsingborg I thought would have been an obvious place when it came to the PG Unplugged tour and I remember I was surprised it didn’t make it to the dates in 2021, because all Swedish tours visited Helsingborg in the past. I was glad to see that in 2022 it got on the list. More than that, it got to the No.1 spot on my personal toplist of the concerts on this tour leg!
Anders Roos was on spot again and made THIS stage building time lapse video. Always very cool to have such an insight!
Per and the band were in top top top shape and the audience was just fantastic. Some people made me remember that Helsingborg gigs are usually fun, because the alcohol a bigger part of the audience drinks before the shows cheers the people up even more. Haha. They were clapping and singing along to almost every song! Sounded wonderful! They also applauded the gang for a longer time after each song and were clapping even during songs we usually didn’t clap before, e.g. Juni, juli, augusti. That was amazing! And it was the first crowd that made the first encore a bit different than usual.
It was also the first place where appr. 10 people came in only after the first song and while Mr. G was talking, they tried to find their seats. When Per noticed them, he greeted that little group and told Christoffer they were probably queueing for the T-shirts. Chris said or for his solo album. The whole audience laughed.
It seems that Per realized on the previous concert that he has all the right and can stand up more often than before. Not for complete songs, but to check on the crowd or just to take a break from sitting and do some little exercises. Haha.
It was also fun, when Helena, Magnus and Christoffer left the stage before Ljudet av ett annat hjärta. Per mentioned that he wrote the song on the tour bus in 1981 and they were to be in the movie, Parkliv back then. He told Parkliv is one of Christoffer’s most favourite films besides the Rambo movies. Chris now walked back on stage for a second to confirm. Haha.
The O’boy and capo jokes were not missing, as well as the usual stories. The audience was grateful not only for all the songs, but the fun story-telling too.
From the band introduction it turned out that Magnus is coming from Malmö, but he was born in Helsingborg. He got a loud cheering from the audience.
The crowd stood up before the first encore and wanted the gang back on stage asap. When they were back, Mr. G thanked for the audience’s kindness. As I mentioned, the first encore became a bit different vs. all previous concerts. A guy on the left side, who came several times to the front to take pics of Chris and Per, stood up and started dancing to När vi två blir en. Then he demonstrated that everyone should stand up and so the whole audience stood up and was listening to NVTBE standing. Per and the band loved it and that cheered them up even more.
We stayed standing before the second encore and waited for the band to perform more. For Vid hennes sida we sat down, but for Sommartider we stood up to party. Magnus stood next to Helena and they were now singing into the same mic. PG hi-fived Magnus after the song. It wasn’t the first time that Christoffer – due to the crowd’s awesome reaction to the song with a long and loud cheering – started playing Ljudet av ett annat hjärta (the fast version) after Sommartider, but this was the first time the crowd joined in with clapping and humming. It was fantastic! For När alla vännerna gått hem everyone sat down, but it was yet another gig that ended with standing ovation. Best so far!
Next stop is Umeå on 9th May after well-deserved two days off!
Setlist
1. Kung av sand
2. På promenad genom stan
3. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
4. Småstadsprat
5. Min plats
6. Tycker om när du tar på mej
7. Det hjärta som brinner
8. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
9. Varmt igen
10. Tuffa tider
11. Juni, juli, augusti
12. It Must Have Been Love
13. Vilket håll du än går
Band introduction
14. Här kommer alla känslorna
15. Min hälsning
Encore 1
16. Födelsedag
17. Listen To Your Heart (dedicated to Marie Fredriksson & Pelle Alsing)
18. När vi två blir en
Encore 2
19. Vid hennes sida
20. Sommartider
21. När alla vännerna gått hem
Photos in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres.
Per after the gig:
Wow! Six shows in seven days. Not bad at my (and Clarence’s) age! And yes, what a truly great gig it was tonight in Helsingborg!!! Super crowd + band in top shape! We had a blast. This tour is one of the greatest I’ve ever experienced!!!! So much very special feedback from people + I can play my music in a most intimate way. Love that. Two days off now then we’re going north! Look forward to every second of it. Have a fab weekend y’all!