RoxetteBlog

Roxette XXX tour – Hamburg, Germany (O2 Arena) – June 25 – #42

June 28, 2015June 26, 2015 by Kiwein

Oh, what a night. Late June, back in 2015. What a very special time for me, as I remember, what a night. Hypnotizing, mesmerizing me. She was everything I dreamed she’d be.

Oh yes, it’s definitely time to quote The Four Seasons (especially here in Hamburg) after tonight’s Roxette show in O2 arena. There’s no better way to describe this night.

After a very smooth entrance and nice security guys in front of the venue we had to experience some very silly rules when we got inside: we weren’t allowed to sit down, we weren’t allowed to hang whatever over the fence, we weren’t allowed to take photos during the first song, which is funny, because the security guys told everyone in the first row about it and obviously expected us to spread the word among the rest of everyone in the standing area. At least we were allowed to breathe, sing, get the balloons ready, dance and have fun – and how much fun we had.

Compared to Cologne, this band got even better. Marie was definitely in a top top top shape, she jammed, improvised and finally revived Hey Jude during The Look. Oh, it was the moment she started to hum the Hey Jude-na na na’s when I realized how much I had actually missed it. If she continues like that everyone will have lots of fun. Per also rocked the stage once again, gave everything he could which we could judge by his sweaty face very soon.

Christoffer surprised the Hamburg citizens in the audience with his version of “An der Nordseeküste” as Joyride intro and people even started to sing while he played and they obviously sang loud enough to make Marie wonder about that particular song. I had actually expected this to happen with “Viva Colonia” in Cologne, but this one was definitely better. We expect a very rocky version of “Berliner Luft” on Saturday, btw.

During “Sleeping In My Car” it seemed the sound was rather bad, but it was only minutes later when we finally could actually hear them singing. The Hamburg show on June 25th 2015 definitely was one of the best shows during the European leg – voicewise, musicwise, energywise, audiencewise. Can things get even better?

It didn’t make much sense to turn the heads around when you were in the front row. Unfortunately there weren’t so many hands up in the air right behind us, but the audience on the seats made quite a noise and it boosted the band to new heights. Keep the whistles, shouts and claps coming, folks. They want it, they need it and we can easily give it.

Funny side fact: German radio station NDR 90,3 broadcast a special show about the concert between 22:00 and 00:00 and while we waited in the car to leave the parking lot we just tuned in when the host said they are about to play some live song directly from the arena – what followed then was the Travelling live version of It’s Possible. But they had vox pops from the people leaving the arena when the show was finished – everyone very positive, very touched by Marie, very happy and very thankful, one woman even said she feels it is an honor to hear Marie live again. So sweet!

Per’s comment after the show:

HAMBURG UPDATE: Oh yea! Awrite! Supergig tonite at the O2 World in Hamburg. Thanx all you approx 8000 ppl showing up. We had a perfect Thursday!! Thanx for all your singing along + your support, let’s continue this German tour like tonight!!!! Cheers, P.

Next stop is Berlin on Saturday, 27th June.

Articles and photos

Hamburger Abendblatt
bild.de
ndr.de
radiohamburg.de
welt.de
Mondkringel Photography

Videos

Video including short parts of several songs
Concert ending

Setlist

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 /w Nordseeküste

Extra
Listen To Your Heart
The Look

2 versions of the 2015 The Look remake

June 27, 2015June 25, 2015 by Patrícia Peres

x4h3ea2zw3eduupi8njh As you already know, Roxette was in the historical X-Level Studios to record a remake of The Look for a collaboration with KappAhl. Now it’s known that the worldwide digital release is on 17th July and Per says there might be a vinyl single as well. Bring it on!

Amazon has already listed the album in mp3 format. It will contain not only 1, but 2 versions of the remake:

1. The Look (2015 Remake) 3:58

2. The Look (2015 Remake – Instrumental) 3:55

The record label is Cosmos.

roxette_the_look_b&w As Expressen informed, there will be more material focusing on “The making of The Look” from the X-Level Studios recordings. They claim it will be available on 14th July. However, now that there is an exact date for the digital release, it could be that the making-of stuff will also be broadcast / shared the same day, 17th July. We’ll see.

In case you missed the hi res files (Roxette pictures and videos related to the KappAhl campaign), check them at this link: press.bindefeldab.se (username: kappahl; password: press). Beautiful things!

Update on 27th June: According to a recent Billboard magazine interview with Per, a physical 7-inch vinyl single will be released on 26th August.

Thanx Marc Albrecht for keeping an eye on Amazon!

Roxette XXX Tour – Cologne, Germany (Lanxess Arena) – June 24 – #41

June 25, 2015June 25, 2015 by Kiwein

So, this is a short review of the Cologne show, because we need to get up in four hours to drive to Hamburg, but here it is:

The German leg of the tour has finally started – and HOW it did. Per, Marie and the band were unstoppable in the not sold out but very full Lanxess Arena in Cologne. They even made us forget the really unprofessional entrance situation some hours before. (Just a tip for the Lanxess folks: Don’t write the name of the entrance on a ticket, when everyone can get in everywhere and please don’t send people from doors they have been sitting in front of for six hours.)

Everything was forgotten when the lady in white and the guy in black entered the stage and took us away with them on another journey through their career. It’s also good to see that so many people came – we discussed the audience while waiting for Eskobar and found that the German shows now and back in 2012 sold better than in 2001.

Unfortunately it took a while for the audience to wake up – the same goes for Marie, though. It took her some songs to get into the groove, it almost seemed like in some moments she didn’t trust herself or felt not self-confident enough, but then – it began with Stars and got much better with every song – her voice made the roof almost explode. The audience woke up at How do you do! and never stopped afterwards.

There was much energy on the stage and it found its way to the 10,000 or little more people in Lanxess Arena. Marie was, once more, in top shape, after she managed to untie the knot. Though, we talked to other fans after the show who had decided not to stand this time but to sit, her amazing performance couldn’t be heard very good at some spots in the arena. It must have been either due to bad acoustics in the arena or due to the fact that her mic was not loud enough. I had heard complaints like that before, but when you are in the front, you don’t notice these problems. Whatever it was, we hope it gets better tomorrow (or rather today). Another complaint was – again – the missing video walls. People in the back didn’t see much and wondered why there weren’t any, since they are almost standard equipment in large arenas like the one in Cologne.

BUT – besides the complaints, and you all know I am one of the rather critical fans out in the Roxette universe – this was a really good show. There was a lot of energy, love and fun floating around on stage. We loved Pelle’s solo during She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio), we loved the funny faces Magnus and Marie threw at each other during a wild solo by Christoffer and we certainly loved all the love that came back to us from stage. These guys fully enjoy what they do and they transport this feeling still very well. This tour could certainly go on forever.

Per after the show:

COLOGNE!!! Yeehaa! Opening show of the German leg of the XXX-tour. Magnificent! We certainly had a blast, you did too (it looked like that anyway….). Thanx for stopping by, almost 10.000 in the audience but you sounded like 20.000 sometimes!!! Hamburg tomorrow. We’ve only just begun! Cheers, P.

Next stop is Hamburg (25th June).

Articles and photos

Kölner Stadt-Unzeiger
RuhrNachrichten.de
RP Online
wdr.de
rundschau-online.de
focus.de

video report from WDR

Videos

Band intro + Viva Colonia
The Look

Setlist

Extra
Listen To Your Heart
The Look

Roxette XXX Tour – Warsaw, Poland (Torwar) – June 22 – #40

June 25, 2015June 23, 2015 by Tomasz

Have you ever had a “deja vu” feeling? That you see something you have experienced and enjoyed already in the past? And you really loved it back then? Well, I belive we are all in this deja vu phase once again. Roxette played Warsaw for the first time almost exactly 4 years ago and back then it was the 40th gig on then-growing Neverending Tour Part 1. Now they were back to my town with yet another – surprise, surprise – 40th concert in the 2014-2015 tour edition, at the very same venue, with a little more mature crowd and the band that got some new glossy shirts, but kept the same unforgettable smiles on their faces and rocking attitude few could only imagine.

Torwar takes up to around 6,000-7,000 people and it was surely more packed yesterday than 4 years ago, even considering a little or no-marketing campaign from Live Nation side. I guess it just means good products sell themselves 😉 Queuing started very early in the morning, with people arriving shortly after 6am, but in the end no one took a proper control of numbering system and we chose chaos instead – we like it like that here. In front of the venue both old, young, ladies with kids, disabled, hipsters with beards (me included!), death-metal fans were waiting nicely in the line, dressed in the old Roxette t-shirts or the one produced by Arek Rykaczewski for 60+ hardcore fans from Polish Roxette forum. Some of them were really eager to see Roxette so security needed to drag them out from the line. Shit happens. Gosia Puterman who stood behind “Polish hearts for Roxette” initiative was cutting out white and red hearts, informing people outside with use of a megaphone what they should do during the concert. We also wanted to help somehow that’s why we were handing out simple instructions when the flash mob should start. Impressive number of 2,000 hearts were cut with fans doing this days and nights. Amazing Roxette movement! Where will it lead next?

Roxette and the crew spent Midsommar in Sweden and they were supposed to fly to Warsaw on Sunday. But as there was a hacker attack on the Polish airline’s system Marie and few staff members were forced to change the flight to Monday. Per came to Warsaw at 5pm just few hours before the concert and headed straight to the arena. It was one of the earliest Roxette gigs starting just 20 minutes after 8pm. Just before Magnus Börjeson picked 14 bootleg DVDs done by bunch of dedicated Poles – Slawek Sztul, Blanka Pentela, Ela Krysinska with a little help from my side. Each band member got two boxes with video recordings of Warsaw 2011 and Gdansk 2012 concerts. It turned out Polish fans were going to surprise the band few more times during the evening…

In Roxette world dictionary I would call myself a midcore-fan as it was only my 8th Roxette concert ever. The last time I saw Roxette was Kaunas, Lithuania in November last year and hey, what a bloody change it was. For better. Marie secured in her chair in a top-top-top shape, enjoying every minute, clapping her hands. Per was jumping, sweating and speaking per-fect Polish “dzieki” (thanks). You could easily see if they could, they would probably jump off the stage to the crowd to feel the energy hidden there. You could read it off Marie’s eyes that night – stage is the place she wants to be, no matter what the haters say, no matter what you think or press writes. Skitsamma as Swedes say. She wants to be there and she wants to deliver the best she can – and with hand on my heart – she did all there was to put a spell on the crowd, to do the hocus-pocus even without “Almost unreal” in the setlist. One of my magical moments was the whole arena (or at least it felt like so) singing “Paint” part in Watercolours in the rain – such vulnerable voice mixed with a 6,000 fans’ singing is one of that precious moments everyone will remember.

But obviously it wouldn’t be a proper Polish concert, if there was no flash mob. U2, Depeche Mode, Madonna or Robbie Williams – they all had it and Roxette couldn’t have worse fans. Gosia Puterman came up with the idea to create a heart-shaped Polish flag – red in the standing pit, white on the tribunes. It was truely magical to see heart sea during “The Heart Shaped Sea” and “Listen to your heart” – as if Per Gessle’s lyrics came to life that evening. Warsaw harvest was truely successful and fruitful!

A lot of things landed on the stage that night – fluffy stuff including white stork, which is considered being Poland’s symbol and a sign of expecting a baby – we all know Roxette is working on a new album, don’t we? Hope it won’t be another 9 months till we hear it. Arek’s white-and-red paper-flower chains were picked up by Magnus and Clarence who tried to wear them for a moment just to bring a little Warsaw-Hawaii feel to the stage. Polish flag was traditionally thrown on the stage and Per took it in his handyman hand for a short blessing moment. A lot of patriotical moments if you ask me, but we actually like our national colours! But as it was dangerous for the band, everyting was taken off the stage. On the top of that Chris played “Pszczolka Maja” known so good from Czech original and some local versions in all former communist countries in the central Europe. Cool addition that made the crowd gone wild! “Dziekujemy” screams from the audience (thank you) at the end must have come up as a suprise to the band, but I belive they understood what we meant. Anyway we were and still are really thankful, trust us.

Am I happy with the concert? Hell I am! Would I change something? Obviously – more songs, but the setlist is a crowd-winner anyway with all big hits performed, sing-a-longs and overwhelming energy. Will there be more Roxette in the future? Yes, there is a bright future, world needs real entertainers who know their job, do this with heart against all odds. Fuck cancer, fuck hurting leg, fuck bad days, we are here for emotions and true beauty and that’s what Roxette easily deliver. I heard people saying that was the last Roxette concert in Poland. I did hear this back in 2011, also in 2012… That they cannot continue that forever and ever etc. Please, stop. Don’t try to convince yourself that’s the end – we have seen so maaaaany endings and even more beginnings. After all what we learned from Roxette is that all begins where it ends.

Per after the show:

WARSAW UPDATE: Speechless!!! What a crowd!!! Thanx for an everlasting memory, we had such a blast! Band in top model mood and Marie in terrific shape, who can ask for more? Love!!! /P.

Picture used in the article were taken by Przemek Starosta and Marcin Krzysztof.

Setlist

Listen To Your Heart
The Look

Articles

Interia
Liveshot.com.pl
Michal Mlynarczyk
Nasze Miasto
Musicalert.pl
Szymon Starnawski Photography
Live Nation Poland

Videos

Pszczolka Maja/Joyride https://youtu.be/vzoztvtAYI4
It Must Have Been Love https://youtu.be/LIBb0piGP9U
Listen To Your Heart (bis) https://youtu.be/XjXvG-NX3jM
Spending My Time https://youtu.be/BZFsrZfqomM
Fading Like A Flower https://youtu.be/fIXvZU_TChI
Dressed For Success/Dangerous https://youtu.be/RCfj1JqU5F0
Sleeping In My Car https://youtu.be/D0IkE2e75Hc
The Big L. https://youtu.be/2YB51l0J7JE
The Look (bis) https://youtu.be/Koo3Ke3bleY

Roxette records a new version of “The Look”

June 24, 2015June 23, 2015 by Judith

goo8pdmfyvov5tp2c2e4 According to a press release published today, KappAhl’s fashion campaign in autumn this year will be accompanied by an entirely new version of Roxette’s hit “The Look”. The song – recorded exclusively by Roxette for KappAhl – has also given its name to the campaign. The campaign is all about style and personality – The Look.

“To record a brand new version of ‘The Look’ felt tempting but was also a great challenge. It is particularly gratifying to have achieved a unique collaboration with KappAhl, a Swedish company that we both respect and love. Pop music and fashion go hand in hand. It’s about expression and emotions, to dare and to care,” says Per Gessle.

“The Look” consists of a total of five campaigns that will be introduced through autumn 2015. The campaigns have different sub-themes and go by the names “The Chic Denim Look”, “The Always Black Look”, “The Must-have Look”, “The Wellbeing Look “and” The Hot Look “. The first collection campaign, “The Chic Denim Look”, will hit the stores on August 24.

The campaign’s official hashtag is #thelookkappahl. You can see a sample of The Look – 2015 on KappAhl’s The Look website and on YouTube. On the website you can also participate to win tickets and a meet & greet with Per.

x4h3ea2zw3eduupi8njh With this a further Rox–mystery has been solved. You may remember that some days ago a picture of Roxette in the studio found its way to the net, Per also posted on FB that day that Roxette was in a “secret mission”… now we know what it was about! The waiting was worth it!

The song was recorded at the X-Level Studios – previously known as EMI studios, where the song was initially recorded.

It is still unclear if the single will be released physically/digitally at all, at least there is a cover for it on the press release site…

Update 24/6: According to Expressen, more material from the recording session and campaign will be available on July 14 and the song will be released on Spotify “soon” (don’t we love this word!). My guess is that it will be right on time for the Swedish shows starting mid July.