Barcelona el 24 de Octubre de 2001
Por: Daniel Hernández

This is gonna be a comment of Roxette’s concert in Barcelona of last wednesday, the 24th of October, that concert is included in their european tour “Room Service 2001“.

I will include my impressions about the concert and as much as details i can remember, but maybe i forget things that happened, but i’m sure you will like it and what i try is that who wasn’t at the concert can feel like if he was there while tehy are reading my comments and having a nice time with the wonderful swedish music band Roxette.

After the “ Crash! Boom! Bang! World Tour “ in 1994, Roxette hasn’t played in Barcelona and also not in the rest of Spain, in that world tour they included Barcelona, Madrid and San Sebastián, now after seven years the “ Room Service “ tour they include Barcelona ( Palau Sant Jordi ) and Madrid ( La Riviera, it was gonna be on Palacio de los Deportes, but this stadium was on fire some months ago ).

With the promotion of “ Room Service “ album, Roxette made a short tour including Stockholm, Köln and Barcelona, this was in April and in Barcelona they played in the place called “ Bikini “, in Spain they have a great success so the short concert played was a way of thanking Per and Marie how we love them in Spain.

After this introduction i’m gonna explain now how was the concert in Barcelona and what happened there, from my point of view.

When i arrived at 16:20 at “ Palau Sant Jordi “ with the people i went, there were not many people ( maybe more or less 20 ) the concert had to start at 21:30, but at 20:15 a group from Barcelona city played some songs before Roxette’s concert will start.

We had to wait at the entry until they opened, this was at 19:10, so as you can supose we had to spend some time waiting there, but we spend a wonderful time, we knew lot of people, specially a big regard for the couple of Vilafranca del Penedès, Jose Angel from Bilbao and Anna from Lisbon, with who we enjoyed together the concert. Most part of the people where spanish, especially catalan ( from Barcelona’s area ), but we could see people from Sweden to Australia, also from Mexico and other latin countries, but being a Roxette fan has no nationaly.

While we were waiting to go into “ Palau Sant Jordi “ we could listened from 16:50 to 17:20 the sound tests Per and Marie did, and the songs played were Dangerous, The Centre of The Heart and Milk and Toast and Honey, at 17:30 we could listen again a test of the last song of the list Milk and Toast and Honey, and however we couldn’t listen at this perfect ( the distance was the problem ), it was wonderful and recomfortable to listen Roxette singing. It was cool listening them before the start, so imagine inside the staium how it was like.

We spend a quarter an hour, waiting at the control entry while the security people were checking the tickets, but to arrive at “ Palau Sant Jordi “ from the entry there was 300 metres, that we did running ver fast like the rest of people, just to have a good position inside the stadium.

We could stay in front of the stage, so as you can imagine we could see all the members of the group perfect, without a problem, and took good photographs of all of them, but the group who played before Roxette didn’t appeared until 20:15, so we spend almost one hour waiting and talking, and also singing, it was also wonderful, as you can see i like all what happened at the concert in Barcelona.

Something good to remember is that in the stage there was a catwalk where Per and Marie walked many times, especially Marie who catch a Mexican and a swedish flag, two bracelets, and a bouquet of flowers ( very beautiful i have to say ) and at the end of the end of the concert someone of the audience throw a Barça ( Football Club Barcelona ) scarf to Per, that he catch, and all the people who was waiting shouted and cheered very much, beacuse it’s the football team of the city.

The group who played before Roxette, sorry i don’t remember the name now was as i have said a few lines before, from Barcelona city, their music was kind of heavy with lot of energy in their electric guitars, they were four boys ( drums, singer, bass and electric guitar ), and they were very good, i enjoyed their music.

They played their own songs, but there has to be some exceptions of very good songs, the one they said was gonna be their first single of new album ( they show where was gonna be present the album in November ) “ Cody’s Visions “, and although this might seems strange and not normal ( i thought that at the first moment ), the group played the song “ La la la “ from the popular spanish singer “ Massiel “ in ITALIAN !!!. incredible strange, but so good to listen. To give some knowledge for people who don’t know anything about that song, i will say that “ Massiel “ played it in 1968 ( i think the year is correct ) in Eurovision Song Contest, in the city of London ( England ), and this was the first of the two times that Spain has won that contest, yes i can not believe that actually, but it’s true Spain has won Eurovision Song Contest, but be sure it will be difficult to repeat the victory again. Something apart, do you want to know the stupid way that Spain ( concretely spanish national television ) has choosed to find the person/singer who will represent Spain in next Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn ( Estonia )?

When that group finished their performance, some technician people changed the instruments and curtain of the stage, and happened an anecdotal situation, because one man of the technician in a moment of laugh with us said “ hey, i’m the blond girl of Roxette !!! “, and we laughed a lot with him while i was thinking, “ yes, of course you only have to dye your hair, loose a lot of weight and being operate of the chests and the ..... “ ( i can’t say the word because maybe there’s a child reading this, but now children knows lots of things very soon, don’t you think? ).

They spend near 20 minutes to change it, and although the concert had to start at 21:30 we had to wait until 21:40 when Roxette finlly appeared, it was Clarence Öfwerman who appeared first, and then Christopher Lundqvist, Jonas Isacsson, Mats Persson nad Per Gessle and finally Marie Frediksson !!! she entry waving her hands on the air and going with lot of decision to the microphone, it might seemed like she felt like the “ Queen of the Stage “ and she can believe it at himself, because she’s the “ Queen of the Stage “, i’m sure all the rox-fans adore her like if she was a queen.

They started with the song “ Crush on you “ like i think happened the same in the rest of the concerts of the tour, in Berlin they started with the same song. Under this paragraph ther’s a list of the 21 songs played and the order ( i think the number and the order is correct ).

1- Crush on you
2- Dressed for success
3- Listen to your heart
4- Waiting for the rain
5- Stars
6- Dangerous
7- The centre of the heart
8- Fading like a flower
9- The big L.
10-How do you do
11-Milk and toast and honey
12- Wish i could fly
13- Spending my time
14- Sleeping in my car
15- Hotblooded
16- Joyride
17- Little girl
18-Crash! Boom! Bang !
19- Anyone
20- The look
21-Queen of rain

During the concert Per and Marie were wearing dark clothes, but when the first song ( Crush On You ) finished, Marie took out the black jacket she was wearing, and we could see the adjusted clothes she had under the jacket.

Per and Marie were singing, dancing, jumping and giving greetings to all the audience ( in catalan at the start of the concert ) of “ Palau Sant Jordi “, and we did the same, there’s no doubt about this, me especially without a doubt !!!

In the typical presentation of the group , Marie presented Clarence, Pelle and Christopher and Per Jonas and Mats, in the screen that were always behind the group appeared their photographs like if it had been taken in a typical police detention, but this were nice photographs, however the situation seemed not being funny, but they were ver good taken.

During all the concert in the screen appeared lots of pictures, photographs and videos like “ Wish i could fly “ one, and also pigs ( with lot of respect to them ), showing in the screen their growing up, and as a way of giving more sensibility to “ It Must Have Been Love “ performance, it was very wonderful especially when they showed this part, and what can i say about the song, also marvellous.

Like you probably know the song “ Real Sugar “ wasn’t played at the concerts before in Barcelona, someone said because Per doesn’t like to sing it live in stage, but i had the opportunity to listen their performance of that song in the concert promotion in Köln, and it was cool and wonderful, so i think this is not the correct reason ( maybe it’s true, i don’t know ), so if you know that please tell what was the reason.

In Barcelona’s concert “ Real Sugar “ wasn’t played like before, i don’t know if maybe the people of Sweden will have the luck to listen that song, i hope it so for them, however i will feel a bit jealous, because i don’t understand why they have missed the 2nd single of “ Room Service “ album, it’s one of my favourite songs, and singing it live at stage will sound so good, i’m sure of that.

But don’t think that we didn’t wanted to listen that song, we asked them many times, just to see if they will sing it, but no luck, what a pitty !!! there was a moment at the concert when Marie said “ we will sing a brand new song of our new album “, and i asked “ Real Sugar ? “, and Marie said “ no, we won’t sing that song “, and i said then “ But later you will sing that song, isn’t it? “, and she said “ no, we won’t sing that song “, oh my god !!! it was wonderful, i could speak with Marie Frediksson, although it was just a very basic conversation, and maybe you will think, “ that’s not much “, and i will say, “ ok, maybe you can think that’s not much, but for me this few words mean a lot “, i still can not believe that.

After the song “ Joyride “, they went out for a few moments/minutes to changed the clothes they were wearing, but teh clothes were also black, and although it could seems the concert had a “ black “ colour, it was brilliant golden during all the time they played the concert, in a “ Palau Sant Jordi “ full at of people ( near 8.000 people ), and knowing that this sports hall is the biggest closed ( i’m not saying football stadiums, like Amsterdam Arena someone might think ) in Europe, it will be without a doubt if not the most one of the most concerts of the “ Room Service “ tour full of people, that’s not strange, because in Spain they have a big success.

When they come back at the stage, after changing their clothes, Marie performed in a piano the song “ Little Girl “, wonderful to listen that song in a piano, if you have listened the song “ It Must Have Been Love “ from “ Tourism “ album at Santiago de Chile, when Marie performed that song in the piano then you know how was playing “ Little Girl “ at the piano and the sensations i had, and if there’s someone who still thinks that Marie don’t compose good songs, is that he/she didn’t listened at her live and with lot of care to her songs, the they can notice that she compose incredible good ballads like “ Little Girl “, “ Go to Sleep “, “ Watercolours in the Rain “, but also kind of rock songs with lot of success ( not Per compose only this kind of songs ), like “ Hotblooded “ and “ Seduce Me “, so for me this was the best song played at the concert, i absolutely adore ballads and songs played on a piano.

After that song Marie and Per went to the other side of the stage where they performed an acoustic version of “ Crash! Boom! Bang! “ song, i have to say that however it’s normal and you might think also about this Per changed many times his guitars, can he give me one as a present?i know it’s no very probable, but well it’s just a dream i have, having a Per’s guitar will be one of the best presents i can have ever, and i won’t never, never, never sell it, without a doubt, it will be like a brother for me ( don’t worry Judith you are the better sister than a brother can have ), you might think that i’m fool saying this, and maybe you are right, but since i was a Roxette fan ( do you want the story how i become a Roxette fan ? ) my dream was to know them in person ( like all Roxette fans ) and to have a Per’s song, don’t ask why, it’s just adream i have.

When they finished playing that song, both of them, Per and Marie went together to the catwalk and performed also in an acoustic version the songs “ Anyone “ and the last of the concert “ Queen of Rain”, the last song was very good at that moment, it gives to all the people the feeling of the end, but also the feeling of the start, when we will meet together again in Barcelona, ROX ON FOREVER MY FRIENDS !!!

Members of Roxette at Barcelona’s concert ( 24 th of October 2001 )

Per Gessle – Electric guitar and singer
Marie Frediksson – Singer
Pelle Allsing – Drums
Clarence Öfwerman- Keyboards
Jonas Isacsson ( the genius as Per introduced him, it’s true, not only Per says) – Electric guitar
Christopher Lundqvist ( who played all the concert in front of me, and i said lot congratulations to him lot of times, maybe he notice that , and thought, “ who’s that fool/crazy boy ? “ )– Bass guitar
Mats Persson – ( the return as Per said in his introduction ) – Percussion

regresar