Gyllene Tider – Hux Flux – Fredrikstad – 12th August 2023 – #18

After finishing the 1-month-long Swedish leg of the Hux Flux tour and having a week off, Gyllene Tider visited Norway last night. The gang performed in Fredrikstad, a city not too far from the Norwegian-Swedish border. It was 4 years ago the band played there last time and of course, they wanted to top that 2019 summer night.

In Fredrikstad there were two support acts before GT. Minor Majority (Norwegian band) played from 18:00 and Uno Svenningsson from 19:15. This was Uno’s first time in Norway. Dea and Malin-My didn’t join him on stage for Under ytan, but to make it special, Uno sang part of the lyrics in Norwegian. On this tour, it was the last time Uno and his band warmed up the crowd. They did a fab job concert by concert. His songs are very catchy, the lyrics are easy to learn, so after a couple of concerts we could even sing along. Uno and his band made us look forward to their session each time. It’s always great to have a good support act. It makes it easier for us to wait for the main performers while having fun. Thanks for all the cool evenings, guys!

Gyllene Tider came on stage at 20:30. It was so amazing to see them again after a week of break! They also all seemed to be very happy to be on stage again. They left both Chrissie and Billy home in Sweden, but otherwise they played all other hits and the crowd sang along to the ones they knew the lyrics to.

In Norway, the talks between the songs were the same as previously. As you know, Norwegians understand Swedish very well and vice versa, so the guys of course talked in Swedish.

When it came to the ginger tea talk, Per said it tasted a bit like cucumber and lakrits. Micke asked him if it tasted good and PG replied „not really”. Micke said he even added a little Aquavit to the mix. Haha.

What’s with the in-ear systems these days? Hm. Earlier on tour we could see Per having problems with his in-ear, the fixing of it, now it was Anders who had some issues with it. After Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig he went to the side and technician Peter Fredriksson checked it, but it seemed that it wasn’t enough. Before Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång Anders walked to the side again and Peter quickly changed the whole system while Per was talking. It distracted everyone a bit, but once PG saw they could start the song, they started and Anders rushed back to his spot on stage. I can’t say the problem was gone for good, because when Tylö Sun came, Anders went to the side again, maybe to tell Peter to prepare another system for the encore break. Then it might got really fixed, because after that we didn’t see any further problems.

Micke dedicated Min tjej och jag to Erling Haaland, Norwegian football player, if I understood the name right.

It’s been a while since the last time we could see flying bras at a GT show, but Norway didn’t disappoint. Haha. Two bras were aimed at the stage, but they didn’t reach their final destination. Both landed in the area in front of the stage.

Anders Roos was there on spot, taking a lot of photos from several angles during the whole gig. Jan-Owe Wikström was also present. They are working hard on their upcoming GT book.

Next stop is Finland on Friday and Saturday for the very last two shows!

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. Det är över nu
18. Gå & fiska!

Encore 2

19. När vi två blir en
20. Sommartider
21. När alla vännerna gått hem

All photos in the article by Patrícia Peres

Per after the show:

Underbar kväll i Fredrikstad, Norge. Tack för all skönsång + positiv energi!!! LOVE TO YOU ALL!

Gyllene Tider – Hux Flux – Gothenburg – 5th August 2023 – #17

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!

Gyllene Tider – Hux Flux – Uppsala – 3rd August 2023 – #16

It was already the penultimate Swedish show on the Hux Flux tour last night in the botanical garden of Uppsala. We saw no chance to be lucky with the weather again. It was raining almost all day. After the doors opened and we were inside the venue, it started raining cats and dogs (see this pic of mine for reference). The technicians had to remove the speakers from the front to save them from the rain and also cover everything they could. Ponchos and raincoats on, this is how we were waiting for the concert. We already saw the lakes under our feet and were wondering how fans would look for the guitar picks in the mud. Haha. We even thought about the schedule of the night, that maybe they would change something (beginning much later or much sooner than planned), because of the heavy rain. And then hux flux, it stopped raining before Uno Svenningsson went up on stage and we never heard of the rain again. GT must have had a good deal with the Weather Gods. Unbelievable! Really!

The technicians cleaned everything from the water on stage and dried up places where e.g. Micke Syd sits during the closing song. One place where they couldn’t remove the water from was the roof. And it would have been no problem if it didn’t fall down like a waterfall during Uno’s performance, exactly when he was standing in the front and exactly to that spot where he was standing. It must have been cold and it was really a lot of water falling on his neck, but he went on singing and tried to step away. He looked up several times to see if more might come, but fortunately, that was it. The audience cheered him and he got a loud applause. The technicians put a towel on his monitor, so that he can dry himself when he gets back to his starting spot, but he even threw the towel away, didn’t dry himself with it. Rock ’n’ roll! And it was funny that it was during the song Du kommer ångra det här, where he sings Det har regnat över oss / I så många år / Men jag håller mig vid liv (It’s been raining on us / For so many years / But I’m staying alive). He laughed and looked up at the roof again and the crowd laughed with him.

Malin-My and Dea joined Uno again for one song, Under ytan.

Gyllene Tider came up on stage at 21:15. The whole gang was full of energy and of course, they wanted to top their previous Uppsala gigs. I think they managed to do so. It was a fantastic concert with a loud sing-along crowd who enjoyed their Thursday night to the full. I would say it was one of the Top5 gigs on this tour.

Billy liked it so much in Karlstad that he decided to stay there, so the setlist contained 21 songs, including the medley. It was very nice to hear how the crowd accepted all the songs, cheered for each one of them.

When Per greeted the audience, he asked them to sing along if they know the songs and sing along anyway, even if they don’t know the lyrics. That’s what they in the band usually do. Haha.

The mix Micke prepared for PG last night had the effect that Per can only write and play sympho prog rock from now on, Micke said. Haha.

Before Min tjej och jag Micke pointed at a girl in the audience who was holding up a GT banner from 1981 that was available in the fan club. He asked for a shout-out to that girl and her mom who was standing behind her. She was shown on the screen too and the audience cheered.

During När alla vännerna gått hem, Per asked Uno to join them on stage and he was also singing part of the song. They hugged each other after the song and Uno stayed to take a bow with the whole gang.

Next stop is Gothenburg, the last Swedish show on Saturday. Let’s make some noise!

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. Det är över nu
18. Gå & fiska!

Encore 2

19. När vi två blir en
20. Sommartider
21. När alla vännerna gått hem

All photos in the article by Patrícia Peres

Per after the show:

Tack för en fantastisk torsdag i Uppsala. Underbar publik, regngudarna på vår sida (igen!) och vi fick t o m upp Uno S på scenen i “När alla vännerna gått hem”. Nu reser vi till Götet och avslutar vår Sverige-sväng på Ullevi imorgon. Kommer att bli mäktigt!!!

Gyllene Tider – Hux Flux – Karlstad – 2nd August 2023 – #15

The fifteenth gig of the Hux Flux tour happened in Karlstad last night. It’s unbelievable, but true that Gyllene Tider can scare the rain away. Again, the forecast showed rain, but already while we were in the queue before the doors opened, it stopped raining and even the sun was out.

A huge amount of people gathered at Mariebergsskogen, the big city park in Karlstad. It closed its gates at 3 pm to open the doors to the crowd at 6 pm. People were standing in front of the stage, up on the hill, laying in the wet grass on the side of the hill, so actually, everywhere you looked it was full.

During Uno Svenningsson’s soundcheck we could hear that both Malin-My and Dea joined him for a song. That was the case during the support act performance as well. First Malin-My came out with the violin, then Dea to sing. The song is very popular in Sweden, it’s called Under ytan. The crowds always sing along this one very loudly.

Gyllene Tider came up on stage at 21:15. The whole gang was in a great mood. There were some extra funny moments besides the usual talks in between the songs. While Per and Micke were talking about PG’s ginger tea mix that tasted like lakrits last night, Anders was throwing picks to the front row. Probably a fan asked him for a plectrum. Haha.

Before Min tjej och jag Micke almost forgot to ask the girls to come to the front. Per already started to play the first chords when Micke realized he should have asked Dea and Malin-My to join him in the front. Micke’s wife, Helena was there too. She was filming and taking pics during the concert in front of the stage. Micke asked her if she also sings along MTOJ.

Regarding the setlist, song No. 7 was Vandrar i ett sommarregn last night and Billy bought a ticket to Karlstad central station instead of Malmö, so he didn’t miss the gig. Welcome back and please, stay with us!

The uptempo session starting with Ljudet av ett annat hjärta was very loud and powerful, as well as the second encore with När vi två blir en and Sommartider. The energy during these songs both on and off stage is incredible!

No day off! Next stop is Uppsala on Thursday.

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:

Tack Karlstad för en, som alltid, underbar kväll i ert sällskap. Grymt kul med fantastisk respons. Syns igen!

Gyllene Tider – Hux Flux – Rättvik – 30th July 2023 – #14

Gyllene Tider did a second sold-out gig last night in Dalhalla. The weather forecast predicted rain for the whole day and everything went according to the forecast until Uno Svenningsson went on stage. By the time it was GT’s turn, the sky got brighter and there was no rain at all. We are so extremely lucky on this tour so far.

Since the Saturday concert got on our Top3 list of best shows on the Hux Flux tour, I was curious if the guys & girls and the crowd could top it on a Sunday night. Per promised they would try. They were close, but for me it’s still the Saturday night fever that deserves a better position on the list.

Yesterday I mentioned some advantages of having a seat ticket. This time there was one extra. Between Uno and GT, we could still go to the bar and buy water / drinks. The bar had a view to one part of the backstage area and we saw Anders Roos preparing his camera, so we thought he might take a group photo in front of the magical rocks of Dalhalla. And that just happened, so we could see the gang coming out – Micke Syd being late, haha – and posing for the group pic. Looking forward to seeing Anders’s photo.

We kept our fingers crossed that for the second Rättvik show the gang changes something in the setlist and maybe either Chrissie or Billy gets back on track. Well, Chrissie found her way back, but Billy stayed at Malmö central station it seems. This wasn’t the only change though! After Puls, it should have been En sten vid en sjö i en skog’s turn, so when they started playing the next song, I thought something was wrong with the intro, someone surely messed it up. Haha. Nooo! It was Vill ha ett svar! This was the first time they played it on tour, except for the pre-premiere gig at Hotel Tylösand. Easy to please hardcore fans with these slight changes in the setlist! Thank you!

When the guys got down to the tribute to their favourite Dutch band part and Per asked the audience if they remember the George Baker Selection, Micke Syd said finally, 3 people knew them from the 6,000 in the crowd. He was happy. Micke started playing and singing „una paloma blanca” and it turned into ojojoj-ojojojoj. The crowd was clapping and ojojing along. Then he thought he did his job, got up from his spot and walked away. Haha. But he got back behind the drums again in a few seconds, of course.

Talking about Per’s ginger tea – the secret surprise mix that Micke Syd prepares for PG’s throat each night – it was now made by the help of Micke Nord Andersson who was born in the neighbourhood. Syd said it’s thanks to Micke Nord that he got his name, Micke Syd. And we could blame it on Micke Nord, if Per wanted to play for 4 hours last night because of the secret ingredient in his drink. We wish… haha. Anyway, Min tjej och jag was dedicated to Dalarna last night, partly because Micke Nord is coming from there, partly because the mother of Micke’s kids – who was in the crowd – is from Borlänge (also in the neighbourhood).

Before Tuffa tider, Per said the ukulele is the world’s sexiest instrument and if in winter you are on Costa del Sol, you can see Micke Syd playing Här kommer alla känslorna on ukulele there in the parks. Micke confirmed and said we couldn’t imagine how good it works on middle-age women and dogs. He suggested Per should come with him next winter, if he is free and play there too. So maybe next winter you could bump into Mr. G too at Costa del Sol. Haha.

Standing up didn’t really work as well on Sunday as on Saturday. We tried it hard and when Ljudet av ett annat hjärta started, some hardcore fans in the first seated row – and some more in the audience who were releived they could finally dance – jumped up from their seats. Unfortunately, the Sunday audience was a bit lazy in the sense of moving more than just clapping, so soon the security guy came one by one to everyone and ordered us to sit back. Meh… Even during the first song in the first encore we remained seated, but in the middle of Gå & fiska! we tried to stand up again. Then more and more people stood up and then the security team lost it, they saw it was a hopeless case to make us sit again. Haha. During the second encore, the whole crowd was standing. När vi två blir en and Sommartider kicked ass and När alla vännerna gått hem sounded beautiful.

There were people in the audience in each section, who were probably rushing to the bus – or who knows what they had on their minds –, because they didn’t even wait for the encores. The couple next to me, for example, stood up after the medley and they wanted to leave. I told them the band would come back on stage again, they said they knew, but they left anyway. They enjoyed the concert a lot, so I couldn’t really get what they were thinking. They were not alone with this action. Anyway, most people stayed of course, I just won’t ever understand why you would miss the encores at a concert. 5 songs in this case. And then you blame the band for not playing Sommartider. Haha. Whatever. It was a fantastic show!

Now 2 days off! Next stop is Karlstad on Wednesday.

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. Chrissie, hur mår du?
8. (Hon vill ha) Puls
9. Vill ha ett svar!
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. Det är över nu
18. Gå & fiska!

Encore 2

19. När vi två blir en
20. Sommartider
21. När alla vännerna gått hem

All photos in the article by Patrícia Peres

Per after the show:

Another truly amazing sold out show at beautiful Dalhalla! What a crowd! Unbelievable!!!