Only yesterday I wrote about how great and peaceful a tour gig in a Swedish small town can be and already today it turns out that small town people can be real pros when it comes to celebrating. So, Gyllene Tider performed in Eskilstuna, at the Sundbyholm castle which is a nice place but not overly impressive. There’s water around the park again, hundreds of yachts and a lot of green. Another press photographer told me that only yesterday Benny Andersson performed here but he agreed that GT were among the biggest artists this place has seen. Photos of this gig at the end of this article.
Well, the usual routine for us photographers is to shoot the first three songs and then get thrown out of the venue. In my case I walk back to my car, store my gear and walk back into the venue through the front entrance while missing 2 or 3 songs. When I came back yesterday, I noticed two things. One, the band just started to play a song, then out of sudden confusion set in on stage. The band stopped playing, the stage went all black for a second and a lot of swearing began from behind the drum set. Turned out Micke Syd had played the wrong song. And while the tech guys reset the stage production, some banter happened on stage about what happens when you grow old, especially to drummers. People cheered to that and let me say although this was one of the bigger technical hiccups I have seen, this really made it a special show for the audience. They saw there are real people up there and suddenly we all felt like we’re in the same boat. It was a different and much better connection between band and audience from that moment on. Maybe something to plug into every show from now on?
The other thing I noticed was that the venue was really crowded. Normally, I can make my way from the last rows somehow into the front area but not this time. The place was packed, and not only that. People really had fun. Hands were up all the time, they sang and danced, it was a real joy to watch.
Now, it will be interesting to compare this experience to Ullevi tonight. City vs. small town. Who will win?

Photos: Kai-Uwe Heinze