Best Roxette concert in Berlin ever, and here’s why
BERLIN – Okay, when you’ve seen a band play a couple of times you think you’ve seen it all already. Good that even a Daily Roxette reporter can still be surprised.
The first time I saw Roxette in Berlin was in 2001, the Room Service tour, this was quite amazing at this time. I remember they had quite an interesting stage show and it was fun. Then came this moment we all thought that this band would not return to Berlin anymore, or anywhere. Well, but they did. In 2009 they were here during the Night Of The Proms, then in 2011, twice even, during the Charm School tour. So what could you expect now, four years later?
Call it a hurricane. Yes, indeed.
Never before has Roxette sounded rockier, and this includes the years when Jonas was still around. There are still the Ballads which Marie sings alone, only accompanied by Dea, which transport an unknown intimacy with the singer, there are still the feelgood songs that people like to dance to. But, and this is very important, the arrangements have changed a lot. More guitars, more improvisations, more Christoffer running wild, more Per interacting with the audience… which simply means more entertainment. You don’t go to a show to listen to an album track played live the same manner you hear it on CD. No, and this band seems to realize this. Each and every song gets celebrated, there are solos for each band member (maybe not poor Pelle,) it’s like small children discovering their toys and now imagine this happens every evening again and again! What you get is a rocky pop show the way you’ve always dreamed of. Power pop, melodies, good vibrations. Now with the new stage design you finally also get the visual message that this very evening is meant to be fun. It all makes sense together. Finally.
The fact is, there were a few thousand people in Berlin thinking the same. How often have we heard complaints that the Berliners are a little too cool to be true? Forget it, this is past, long gone. Berlin’s O2 World was shaking. Literally. The audience clapped hands, danced, sang along. Not only the usual 50 people in the front rows but the whole place. You’ve seen the videos from Russia or South America? Imagine this energy in Germany! Not possible you say? Well you’re wrong! I’ve been to a few concerts here in this city and none of them were as powerful as this one. What Roxette, what every single band member has achieved here was breathtaking.
I’m sure some videos can be found on Youtube soon proving my point of view. Anyway, the next stop for the band is in Dresden today. The Daily Roxette will cover this too, of course.
Below you find some first photos from the Berlin concert, please allow me some time to post more pictures after the weekend.
PS: Woohoo!
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June 28th, 2015
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This article was posted here on TDR in these categories:
TDR:Live, TDR:Roxette.
