What to think of the reports and the videos after the start of the tour in Prague? To be honest, I had mixed emotions and you could see that the band didn’t feel good either. The stage looked a bit too big, sometimes you had the feeling that the musicians and singers on stage felt a bit lost. I know it sounds stupid but somehow it looked like Per and the band left an invisible spot on the stage, at the place you would usually find Marie’s chair. Which brings us to the only rant you will read in this article today. Well, you can argue if naming the tour “Per Gessle’s Roxette” was clever or not. I certainly get the intention behind the title but still the inevitable happened: people began to complain that “Roxette were always Per and Marie” because it has always been so. The thing is, touring with Marie is over. Yes, it sounds harsh but that’s life. You can’t change that, we can’t change that, Per can’t change that and I dare to say that even Marie herself can’t change that. So please stop demanding, there is no point in continuing doing so. Go on with your lives, if you are unable to accomodate to changes in your life, lock yourself in your room and listen to your CDs on repeat. For all the others I can tell that life does go on and believe it or not, it just got better. Which brings us directly to the Leipzig concert.

Where to start? Best is, you forget what you knew before. Roxette as it was is no more, so here you get something new and shiny. It’s not a new Roxette, it’s basically Gessle’s Flying Circus based on Roxette and most everything he has ever done in English and that we know of, except for this new modern sounding band the name of which just slipped away. If you enjoyed Gessle over Europe, you will love the new tour. It’s because nobody is trying to replace Marie, nobody is even really trying to perform the old songs the way you’re used to. What you get to see and hear here are fresh versions and arrangements. Tunes that you know, or will remember. If you’re not a die-hard fan, you are getting introduced to less famous songs from Roxette, Son of a Plumber or the most recent trilogy of country inspired solo albums. It comes handy that Per’s melodies are catchy and so even the part of the audience that hasn’t dug deep into the solo catalogue before could enjoy the songs. As the venue was far from sold out, there was space to dance and it was certainly used. Hands were in the air all the time, there was a really great mood among the listeners. And the band? Well, maybe the start was a bit slow but later on it felt like they have never done anything else. (And have they?) Everybody interacting with each other, there were constant hugs on stage, smiles everywhere, it was obvious that now even Per and the band found their red line, the whole thing turned into fun, the fun spread into the audience, the audience cheered which in return made the band happy so it was a really great evening for everyone. Almost two hours flew by like nothing, and like I said, literally everyone had fun. 

Helena, you ask? She’s great. She has her very own, very unique voice that will make you experience the old songs in new fashion. If you’re ready for it, that is. She can be powerful, both in singing and appearance, she can be shy like a child. Helena is bringing the music to another level. Not saying it’s better or worse, no no, it’s just different and new. Be open for it and you are able to spend a splendid evening with what I would like to prefer to call “The very best of Per Gessle, presented the way he prefers it in 2018”. Because this is what this show really is, the best songs of the mastermind behind all the songs that you love and the reason why you’re reading this beautiful website called The Daily Roxette. 

Oh, and buy yourself a ticket if you haven’t anyway.

Please enjoy the photos underneath.