GOTHENBURG - Around 1,200 fans squeezed into the Göteborg Konserthus last night.  From the sound of the audience reaction, it felt more like 12,000!  Marie was visably moved by the reaction from the audience and mentioned that this was the best show on the tour so far.  The audience jumped to their feet as soon as "Kom vila hos mig" started!  

Having never been to a Marie-solo concert before, this reporter wasn't sure what to expect.  What was delivered on the night by Marie and her band was excellent.  Marie was on top form! Super-top form in fact!  From the moment she entered the stage (barefoot again), Marie's vocals were excellent, and there were no obvious lyric issues.

The band sounded great also. The sound mix was spot on, you could hear every instrument clearly. In large venues, this is sometimes a big problem, but the acoustics in the Konserthus are obviously designed very well. Marie's interaction with her nephew Jokke Pettersson was, at times, touching to see and their harmonizing on "Ett hus vid havet" was wonderful. The biggest surprise of the night for me was seeing Mr. Lundquist performing without his usual endless energy. The spotlight was clearly focused on Marie.  

As expected, there were no changes to the setlist last night.  There were two songs that would have been nice to hear live.  For example "Äntligen" and "Där du andas".  The lack of "Där du andas" has been surprising throughout the tour when you consider that the song is Marie's only solo number 1 hit in Sweden.  

The most touching song of the night for many in the audience was "Ett bord i solen" - the Swedish version of "A Table in the Sun" from The Change.  The song clearly shows Marie at both her most vulnerable and strongest and watching the song being performed live is amazing.  Another stand-out song was "Mellan sommar och höst".  I have never heard this song sound so rocky before!  The whole band seemed to find top gear, and Marie's vocals got even stronger.

Next stop on the tour: Uppsala Konsert & Kongress on Wednesday 19 March!