I still remember that perfect and magical night, so when I knew they included it in this European summer tour too, I did not hesitate one second and added it to my personal Roxette gig list.

First of all, let me spend a few words on that stunning location: the lake with emerald green water surrounded by mountains which make me look up all the time, that super lovely city and, oh my God, Piazza Grande (The Great Square); the square where the concert took place, with those colorful palaces and that relaxed atmosphere. If I could mention the only not so positive side is the not hardcore-fan-friendly pavement of the square which made our run to the best spots a real challenge!
I can only imagine how special it can be to see it from the stage with more than 10,000 people, those artists should really feel blessed in those moments.

The long day of waiting was really pleasant I would say: I spent it with lovely Swiss fans and a couple of Italian fans. I expected to see more fans from my country Italy, but we had Milan, so not many people crossed the state border. International familiar faces (except the Swiss ones) were absent, so it was kind of a Swiss party here. During our waiting we also had the luck of meeting some members of the Rox band who were kind and lovely as always, and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for giving us a little bit of their time to talk and spending some moments with the fans.

But let’s get straight to the point, sort of. At the beginning there was a local support band called Sinplus, and I must admit I liked their performance and I hope they will have a bright future in the music business. I was surprised when, before starting to play one of the last songs, the guitar player dedicated a song called “Unbreakable” to Marie. Well, no need to explain, we all now that a song with such a title couldn’t be more fitting to her, and I really loved the fact that he wanted to mention and honor her as she deserves.

Then the unbreakable Marie, the hyper energetic Per and the amazing band entered the stage and the square exploded! The set list had no changes compared to the previous concerts with “Sleeping in My Car” as the normal starter. I would like to express my humble opinion about the starting song: just my point of view but it I think that “Dressed for Success” is much better as the first one for several reasons: it’s an uptempo song, but not too much, perfect for the audience warm up and for the contest the lyrics describe: a new start, new life, it creates the right mood for the beginning of a concert.

Marie looked fabulous in her white outfit and she proved once again that she’s a stage owner and I want to focus on this: nowadays you see singers that just want to get attention and “shock” people on stage using every means. Well, regardless of her condition, even if she’s sitting she has such a unique charisma which makes you stare at her all the time, every performer should be inspired by her, no doubt.

I also want to focus on the great interaction the band members have, now I can say that they seem of be a group of super talented friends having fun and joking on stage, of course giving us an high level performance. You can clearly perceive it and it adds something really pleasant to Roxette concerts!

Among all the songs I love they performed, from “The Big L.” to “Crush on You,” “Dangerous, “Dressed for Success,” “Fading like a Flower,” my attention was grabbed by a song which has never been one of my favorites: “Watercolours in the Rain.” It had something really special yesterday night, maybe thanks to the atmosphere, but I really liked the way it was performed, Marie’s and Dea’s voices were magic together. Talking about Dea, even if I met her a few times, I never had the chance to thank her for the amazing job she’s doing on stage as a backing vocal and for the great support she gives, so I do it now: thanks Dea!

A few words about the audience: I must admit it was not the warmest crowd I ever saw, even when Roxette performed “Joyride” or “The Look” which usually make people go crazy, they were not particularly loud, but c’mon, it cannot be always the same, uniformity is boring and variety keeps things interesting. One thing I can assure is that the Swiss-Italian front row partied really hard! Swiss fans then got what they deserved when Swiss flag was displayed on stage after being thrown by Jörg, good job!

One last thing: I discovered the most unexpected advantage of having your skin a bit sticky because of the sweat and the sun protection cream after spending a hot summer day outside: if Per throws a plectrum at you, it fixes on your arm without falling and it’s yours! Ha ha ha!