Roxette XXX Tour – Cape Town, South Africa (Grand Arena Grand West) – February 7 – #65

Cape Town. The city that was lucky enough one world tour earlier to welcome the band with 3 sold out shows in 2011 and a year later yet another gig was organized there. The first Cape Town show during the XXX tour got sold out already in October 2015, so an extra date had to be added as the last concert of the South African tour leg.

The venue had a standing area with a cozy golden circle, so after seeing what effect no seats had in Port Elizabeth, we expected at least the standing part of the crowd to party. And they did, already during the opening song! Then other uptempo songs made those who had tickets for the seated area stand up too and join the joyride. The sound of the arena wasn’t the best, it was too low at some parts of the venue. The crowd was loud and the sing-alongs turned out to be fantastic. People loved to hear the greatest Rox hits.

Marie’s performance was full of passion, Per’s energy was undescribable, the band was rocking, so all in all, Roxette put on yet another ass-kicking show.

Per after the Cape Town party:

XXX GIG #67 CAPE TOWN. Voila! Very nice indeed. Super crowd and a still going strong band having a field day at the Grand Arena in CT. Thanx everyone for showing up and making this yet another sold out + unbelievable Sunday evening for this humble band. Gig #2 in CT tomorrow. Cheers, P.

Roxette stays in the city for a Monday gig (8th February). The show will happen at the same venue.

 

Articles and photos

Instagram: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19;
Big Concerts (Desmond Louw’s photos): 1; 2; 3; 4;
Channel24 – Nardus Engelbrecht photos

Videos
Instavids:
Sleeping In My Car
Spending My Time
How Do You Do!: 1; 2;
It Must Have Been Love
Listen To Your Heart

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)
Watercolours In The Rain / Paint
The Heart Shaped Sea
Fading Like A Flower
How Do You Do!
It Must Have Been Love
Dressed For Success
Dangerous
Joyride (intro: Suikerbossie)

Extra
Listen To Your Heart
The Look

 

Roxette XXX Tour – Port Elizabeth, South Africa (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium) – February 5 – #64

Port Elizabeth fans had to wait 21 years to see Roxette live again. It was an open air gig and the weather was predicted to be very windy, but it’s usual in PE, so even the stadium admins posted before the show ”come rain or shine the concert will go on”. There was nothing to worry about.

People brought their blankets and while waiting for the show to start they were sitting on the grass in the sun eating and drinking. By the time Watershed hit the stage it was already dark and it got colder.

Being cold, it was surprising that Marie didn’t have the heaters set up in front of her. She was wearing a warmer jacket, so hopefully, she wasn’t freezing that much. At least you wouldn’t tell by her performance, which was nothing else but brilliant again. Per’s wind blown hair was rocking just as much as he himself was. The band was on a high as well.

The crowd was far much better than at the last 2 shows. Blame it on the fact that there were no seats at all! Woohoo! People of course knew all the lyrics and were singing along during the whole concert. They were clapping hard and also swaying their hips and jumping frequently. Such a crowd gives even more energy to the band and they appreciate it.

Per’s long comment after the superb show:

XXX GIG #66 PORT ELIZABETH. Wow! Outdoors! A standing crowd, no chairs in sight! And soooooo many people (10.000? I don’t know…)! We haven’t played P.E. for 21 years and get a reception like this! What can we say? WOW!
Super enthusiastic crowd and a band in fine form made this something very special to remember! Thanx everyone for showing up and making us feel like the biggest band in the world! Once again! Love! /P.

Next stop is Cape Town on Sunday (7th February). The show is so sold out that another date had to be added for the day after at the same venue.

 

Articles and photos

Instagram: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11;
Mark Andrews photos

Videos

It Must Have Been Love crowd sing-along

Instavids:
Dressed For Success
Dangerous
Joyride: 1; 2;
Listen To Your Heart

Setlist

roxette_in_port_elizabeth
Pic by Tiina Pitkänen

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)
Watercolours In The Rain / Paint
The Heart Shaped Sea
Fading Like A Flower
How Do You Do!
It Must Have Been Love
Dressed For Success
Dangerous
Joyride (intro: Suikerbossie)

Extra
Listen To Your Heart
The Look

 

Roxette XXX Tour – Durban, South Africa (ICC Arena) – February 2 – #63

Yep, #63. You might be wondering why our numbers differ from what Mr. G gives the shows. It’s not that we have problems with Maths. It’s that we give numbers only to real XXX concerts, while Per also counts corporate gigs. There were 2 of them last year, so that’s why Johannesburg was #64 and Durban #65 for him. In the Tele2 corporate gig article we wrote more in details about it, so check it out, if you want to understand our point of view. We stick to our numbering system, so sorry for any inconvenience it may cause.

Now about the show in Durban, regardless the number it got. The arena wasn’t completely full, but it was quite packed with people representing all generations. It was again a seated event with some better looking chairs than those in Johannesburg. Unfortunately, the system was almost the same in Durban. The audience got stuck to their seats being hesitant about standing up. No, standing up at a Roxette gig is not dumb. Not at all! At least the magic uptempo hits got many people on their feet. Also, it can never go wrong with the clapping choreography in Dressed For Success. The crowd was in for fun this time as well and from Joyride on they didn’t sit down, but people were even more reserved than in Joburg. Hey guys and girls, after Joyride there are only 2 songs left… Next time start the party already at the first chord in Sleeping In My Car!

The show had its effect on the audience anyway. They loved the great sound, the fab lighting and what Roxette is about live: 100% live music + 120% energy (on stage). The whole band was rocking, Marie inspired the crowd with her voice, strength and presence and Per was bouncing around much, hitting the right strings, playing the correct chords. People lost their voices by the end of the concert and The Look was definitely a highlight. It’s still the best closing song, I would say.

Mr. Griesel’s thoughts after the show:

DURBAN UPDATE: Oh yea, a great evening with loads of ppl in a very hot and sweaty Durban. Lovely crowd and a very focused band made this night one to remember. We had a blast. Thanx everyone for showing up and singing along. Vids by Åsa coming up tomorrow. /P.

Next stop is Port Elizabeth on Friday (5th February). Let’s see what happens at a show-with-no-seats-around in South Africa! C’mon people, time to start partying! It’s only 3 gigs left in your country.

 

Articles and photos

Instagram: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12;
Big Concerts photos: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6;
Julian Carelsen Photography
Underground Press review
Jed Kenny Photography

Videos
Instavids:
Fading Like A Flower
How Do You Do!
Listen To Your Heart
The Look

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)
Watercolours In The Rain / Paint
The Heart Shaped Sea
Fading Like A Flower
How Do You Do!
It Must Have Been Love
Dressed For Success
Dangerous
Joyride (intro: Suikerbossie)

Extra
Listen To Your Heart
The Look

 

Roxette XXX Tour – Johannesburg, South Africa (Ticketpro Dome) – January 31 – #62

5 months passed since the last XXX gig happened in Drammen and now Roxette found themselves in South Africa. The band is there to perform 5 shows. How great it is to start the real XXX anniversary year with a sold out gig in Johannesburg!

It wasn’t the first time Roxette played in the city. First they appeared there during the Crash! Boom! Bang! World Tour in 1995 and played for 60000 people. Fortunately, that concert was filmed and the Crash! Boom! Live! video was born. However, we would still love to have it as a DVD release. The 2nd time the band performed in Joburg was in 2012. Now 4 years later Roxette was back at Ticketpro Dome to entertain 13000 people.

Some hours before showtime Mr. G posted a pic on Instagram from backstage to show us all the boxes of their gear. He then posted on Roxette’s Facebook page about his virtues:

JOHANNESBURG UPDATE: Great long soundcheck. Loads of mistakes from yours truly. Will I ever learn the chords to Dangerous??? Time will tell. See you soon, folks! /P.

Dea and Mister Magnus also shared pics on Instagram (Dea, Magnus) of what they saw during soundcheck from the stage. And after the show Dea posted a nice collage of the preparations on her Facebook page.

roxette_in_johannesburg_pic_by_Johan_Breytenbach
Pic by Johan Breytenbach

Families, couples, friends gathered at the venue, different generations attended the concert to fulfill their childhood dream or check something off their bucket list. First the crowd saw Watershed on stage, they were the support act. The audience enjoyed their performance, which is good, because they will open for Roxette at the next 4 shows as well. Roxette hit the stage a bit after 21:15 local time.

The arena was fully packed as it was a sold out show. There were two big screens on the sides to make sure no one in the very back misses what happens on stage. Funny how the seats were tied to each other. We thought it was useless, since no one would have wanted to use them. Oh well… Security guys were the least cooperative and they didn’t let people stand up. They were asking people (not too politely) to sit down all the time. Big Concerts should work on it at the remaining seated shows and tell them to let anyone stand up. When it’s boogie time, it’s boogie time, you know. It was this time only from Joyride on when everyone was on their feet.

Marie, Per and the band were in top form like there was no tour break. They were full of energy and charmed their loud crowd. Besides Joburgers and South Africans from other cities, there were Roxers from Germany, Australia, Poland, Russia, Finland, the UK, etc. as well. Always good to have an international crowd!

The setlist didn’t change vs. 2015, so this means all evergreens were performed and also Crush On You was kept.

Blinds seem to be efficient to bring along only in Europe, since they were not present in Joburg. There were curtains in the background instead and the lights were projected on them.

Per’s words after the show:

JOBURG TONIGHT: Yes yes yes, what a crowd. Great evening, band was really tight even though we haven’t played together for a couple of months. Thanx for stopping by and singing along. Always a pleasure to be here, Joburg!!!! Vids coming up. /P.

Next stop is Durban on Tuesday (2nd February).

 

Articles and photos

Instagram: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16;
Twitter: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8;
Big Concerts photos: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6;
Gallo Images
rexfeatures.com
Getty Images
El Broide’s review
DK Expressions
ourfriends.co

Videos

Instavids:
Dressed For Success
Joyride
Dangerous
The Look

Setlist

roxette_in_johannesburg_pic_by_Sandra_Knospe
Pic by Sandra Knospe

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 (intro: Scatterlings of Africa – Johnny Clegg)

Extra
Listen To Your Heart
The Look

Thank you, 2015! Welcome 2016!

2015

Another year, another retrospective!

2015 was once again a year full of releases, concerts, travelling, meetings, happy faces… everything a fan could wish for.

In January we got a sneak peek of the newly built and designed stage that would be premiered a few weeks later. February brought Roxette to New Zealand (finally!) and Australia. Back in February we heard that the new Roxette album would be out in autumn 2015. Well, we already know that the release of the album has been postponed a few times and it seems 2016 will be the year! When? Let’s hope we will get some news in a few weeks. In February, some more dates were announced for summer 2015 too.

In March the big news were that a biography about Marie would be released in autumn. And also that a 25th Anniversary version of “It Must Have Been Love” would be released. The PLECtionary was updated with the latest plecs from the 2015 Australia tour.

In April we got to know who would make our waiting time before a concert shorter and fun: Eskobar! I was personally very happy that Eskobar were chosen as supporting act for Roxette’s European leg of the tour. I have liked this band since early 2000 and it was about time to see them live! It turned out to be a great decision. Roxette fans loved the 3 guys, we hear some have started a fanclub….

The tour in Europe kicked off on May 10th in Milan and took the band to 20 countries (including Faroe Islands!) with a total of 36 concerts between May and August (including a cancelled one in Mainz) plus 2 corporate concerts, one in September in Poland and one in November in Stockholm. The cover of Marie’s book was revealed and we published an interview with Pelle and Eskobar.

Also we found out that Roxette Diaries – a documentary of Roxette done by Jonas Åkerlund with old recordings from late 80ies and early 90ies – would be released soon. The premiere took place in Göteborg in August and later on, it was revealed that the documentary will be released on DVD in March 2016.

In June Roxette visited Dublin, Trondheim, Ostrava, Sofia, Warsaw, and started the “mini-Germany” tour (in total 8 shows, plus one that was cancelled) in Cologne. Also this month the “The Look” remake was announced.

The (digital) new version of the super hit was released on 17th of July, right on time when Roxette was about to bring the tour to Sweden. The remake was recorded as part of Kappahl’s campaign and remixed by Addeboy vs Cliff. A video of the making of the song was also released. A 7″ vinyl was released later in August.

In August the tour ended in Drammen, Norway, with a very special concert with many fans from around the world. But we would not have time to get bored, since the dates for South Africa were announced. The PLECtionary was updated once again. As we mentioned before, Roxette Diaries movie was premiered on August 14th in Göteborg.

In September the promotion of Marie’s biographyKärleken till livet” started. The co-author Helena von Zweigbergk, visited the Göteborg book fair to talk about the book and give some signing sessions. An interview with Marie and articles about Marie and the book could be found on the major Swedish newspapers/magazines around the time the book was released (October 10th). Roxette played in a corporate concert in Warsaw, which despite the difficulties to get a ticket, some fans managed to attend. Also “Some Other Summer” by Sebastien Drums was released. This song is actually composed by Per, and the single released by Sebastien Drums is even sung by Per (and a few backing vocals by Marie). According to Per, the “original version” of “Some Other Summer” will be included in Roxette’s upcoming album.

More 2016 tour dates were announced in November. To our surprise… for Europe! Everybody was expecting South/North America, and maybe a handfull of shows in Europe. But so far we already counted 11 concerts, and rumours have it that there are more to come! According to the information available so far, the first concert we know of will be on June 3rd in Switzerland. The last one on the list is on September 11th, in Moscow. Tickets for all the shows are already on sale, so hurry up! Roxette gave the last concert of the year at Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, a corporate concert for Tele2 (telecommunications operator) customers and other invited guests.

Marie gave a signing session in Stockholm on December 5th. On the same day, an interview with her and Helena was broadcast on TV4 Nyhetsmorgon. Many fans travelled to Stockholm for the chance to say hi to Marie and get the book  signed personally by her.

As I am finishing writing this article one thing (Aretha Franklin’s performance yesterday at Kennedy Center Honors, if you are interested) brought me to another (Aretha’s influence on Marie, which made me think of I Never Loved a Man) and I ended up listening to Roxette’s MTV Unplugged from 1993. Yes, recorded almost 23 years ago!

If one would ask me what would make the 30th anniversary of Roxette in 2016 very special my answer would be, loud and clear: an (or more) unplugged show.

Of course, looking very much forward to Roxette’s tour in Europe, something that came very much unexpected. And one can only feel thankful. That is the world I would choose for all what is happening. I am thankful it IS happening and I can experience it. With a small break in between in 2013, we have been able to see Roxette live almost every year since 2009.

What will happen in 2016? Here is a schedule of what we know so far:

  • January / February: Roxette to tour in South Africa
  • March: Roxette Diaries released on DVD.
  • June (?) – September (?): Tour in Europe is planned
  • Roxette turns 30!
  • Somewhen in 2016: a new album should be out soon. Per mentioned some days ago on FB that it’s almost done! (and Christoffer is very busy mixing!)

A big thanks once again to all of you reading us, sharing our articles (thanks Per!), joining our discussions on FB, for the hints, sharing your experiences in articles on our website.. thanks for your support! And from me big thanks to the RXB team, it wouldn’t be possible without you! We’ve had some issues this year with the servers (especially because the site doesn’t stop growing) so I’ve been kinda busy trying to solve that and some other tech-stuff in the background, so I feel so lucky to count on such a great team, thank you Patrícia, Kirsten, Tomasz and Sascha for the articles, brainstorming, ideas, laughs, meetings, experiences etc etc.

Happy new 2016 to you all!