{"id":7081,"date":"2012-09-20T19:17:22","date_gmt":"2012-09-21T02:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wormholeriders.org\/cc\/?p=7081"},"modified":"2017-11-11T18:01:51","modified_gmt":"2017-11-12T02:01:51","slug":"roxette-nyc-2012-when-opportunity-nox-you-rox-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wormholeriders.org\/cc\/2012\/09\/20\/roxette-nyc-2012-when-opportunity-nox-you-rox-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Roxette NYC 2012: When Opportunity Nox, You Rox On\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hello Roxette<\/a> fans!\"Roxette<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For the first time in 20 years, Roxette<\/a> has ventured back into the United States and Canada; playing a total of 11 dates between the 2 countries.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This current world tour started way baaaaaaaack when on February 28, 2011 in Kazan, Russia<\/a>, and is currently set to conclude on September 19, 2012 in Mexico City<\/a> \u2013 that\u2019s 141 dates over the past (almost) 19 months!!!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I personally have been a fan of Roxette<\/a> since \u201cThe Look\u201d from \u201cLook Sharp\u201d in 1989, at the tender age of 15 \u2013 just starting to learn to drive, I then had my tunes set for when I eventually got my license 6 months later\u2026 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roxette<\/a>I have a soft spot for Scandinavian artists \u2013 a-ha, Roxette<\/a>, Robin, Sissel, etc.; I am half Norwegian, thanks to my mom, and often vacation in Norway, visiting with our family.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When Roxette<\/a> took the world by storm in 1989, I needed to know everything, to have everything! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally, the next time I went back to visit, I got my grubby little hands on their first studio release from 1986, \u201cPearls of Passion\u201d.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roxette<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When they embarked on their \u201cJoin The Joyride\u201d tour in 1991 (a \u201cbaby\u201d tour compared their current monster \u2013 starting on September 4, 1991 in Helsinki and concluding on July 22, 1992 in Stockholm, only<\/em> 108 dates in comparison) I HAD to go when they came to town. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I was fortunate enough to catch them at (what was then) The Universal Amphitheatre on March 20, 1992 in Universal City, CA (it\u2019s now known as the Gibson Amphitheatre<\/a> at the Universal City Walk<\/a>).\u00a0 That was one AWESOME concert! We certainly left the arena only wanting for more!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Flash forward 4 months, and the day after graduating from high school, I was on a plane bound for Norway, staying with relatives, attending school, playing soccer, and enjoying life. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roxette<\/a>While overseas, I often found myself in Sweden as well, seeing as my mother\u2019s home is literally on the border between Norway and Sweden; it is full of its own history (from WWII), but that is a different tale for a different time. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One weekend, my aunt and I were in Str\u00f6mstadt, Sweden<\/a>, and I slipped into their local post office to add an item to my Roxette<\/a> collection.\u00a0 In 1991, the Swedish government issued postage stamps (pictured below left) that included Roxette<\/a>, Lena Philipsson<\/a>, and Jerry Williams<\/a> aka Sven Erik Fernstr\u00f6m.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Before I had left for Norway, I would not be a fan of Roxette<\/a> if I had not joined the fan club, duh! So, while in Norway, I continued to receive the newsletter, and one afternoon, my grandfather gave me my mail of the day which included the latest issue of the newsletter.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roxette<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Within this newsletter was a contest to win a \u201cPer of Pants\u201d (referring to Per Gessle<\/a>), and thus my nerd began to show itself.\u00a0 FAR from \u201cstalker status\u201d, there was A LOT I DID know about Roxette<\/a>, so I entered the contest THAT AFTERNOON \u2013 I was trying to account for \u201ctime in transit\u201d of the international postal services in 1992, and I SOOOOOOO wanted to get my entry in on time and I SOOOOOOOO wanted to win those pants!!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Now remember, computers had not caught on to the extent of the media that we use today \u2013 I know I basically only used a computer as a word processor, for writing school reports, etc.\u00a0 There was no instant internet to speak of, no email, no Wikipedia; if I wanted to look something up, I had to find the book that it was written, find a blurb in a magazine, try to remember if and where I had seen something of value.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roxette<\/a>I tried my hardest to answer those 10 questions to the best of my Roxette<\/a> \u201cknow-ability\u201d, and wouldn\u2019t you know it, I WON!! I WON the autographed pair of Per\u2019s pants, used while on the Joyride tour!!! I then had to try to explain (in broken Norwegian) to my old world grandfather why I want another man\u2019s pants\u2026\"Roxette<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So here we go, another flash forward, to a few weeks ago, Sunday, September 2, 2012 to be exact.\u00a0 Roxette<\/a> was in town, again, FINALLY, this time I am living on the east coast, so I was fortunate enough to catch them at the iconic Beacon Theatre in New York City<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Seeing Roxette<\/a> in concert was only the \u201cend\u201d of my evening.\u00a0 Having participated in another trivia contest a few days prior, this time I had won myself a \u201cMeet & Greet\u201d with Per and Marie before the concert!! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Another 10 questions, this time looking for speed and accuracy \u2013 first reply \u201cin\u201d with the correct answers, and truth be told, I actually had to look up 2 answers\u2026\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This particular evening, I was donning a certain \u201cPer\u201d of pants, my husband I left for the city, and caught up with a group of fans before heading to the theatre for the “Meet & Greet”. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Standing in the line, there were 11 of us in our group, one by one we all began to get nervous.\u00a0 For many of us, Roxette<\/a> are icons, symbols of our youth, STARS! Meeting them brought many of us to a loss of words; my only regret was that I could not muster the courage to ask Per, in Norwegian of course, if he remembered his pants from 20 years earlier.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roxette<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Roxette<\/a>
Image courtesy Thomas Evensson of The Daily Roxette<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I did manage to get a hug in with Marie, only after she had signed the Roxette<\/a> postcard that came in the package of the postage stamps from many years ago, and\u00a0Marie Fredriksson<\/a> had actually commented that, \u201coh my, these are old\u201d. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Under the exciting and mind blowing circumstances, I rose to the occasion managing to squeak out that I had had them for a very long time!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

By now, the opening act was half finished, truth be told, it was a GREAT was to be missing the opening act! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Roxette Meet and Greet<\/strong> was very brief, but a it was a brief brush with celebrity and fame; a brush that once again reminded me that these two icons of my youth are also people, human beings, just like us, though leading extraordinary lives in the music entertainment industry.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roxette<\/a>
Image courtesy Thomas Evensson of The Daily Roxette<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Roxette<\/a>In the weeks and days leading up to the concert, I had started to obsesses\u00a0 over Roxette<\/a>, reading reviews, watching videos of concerts and interviews with Per, there was a thirst that needed quenching. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I was looking for a chink in the armor, some kind of fault, something that was not right.\u00a0 I did not know what to expect, I was expecting the worst, and hoping for the best, after all that Marie has endured the past 10 years or so, I really wanted to see her succeed, to see the band from 20 years ago.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What we got, well, after meeting them beforehand, I knew that we were in for a treat, that all would be well.\u00a0 What I didn\u2019t expect, was the show that we DID get, OH MY GOD!!!\u00a0 There are musicians that age, and there are musicians that get old.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roxette<\/a>
Image courtesy Thomas Evensson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Roxette has done neither, they have matured!\u00a0 In the articles that I did read, and the interviews that I did watch, it was always Per commenting on how Roxette\u2019s<\/a> return was all on Marie\u2019s timetable, on how he had pretty much all but given up on Roxette, given Marie\u2019s chances of survival from her particular kind of cancer.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In a more recent interview, one given to the Swedish Daily \u201cAftonbladet\u201d<\/a>, Per can be quoted as saying that “this tour has been the best thing for Marie, that this tour has managed to get her back into form, into shape”<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It really was an incredible concert, one might think that after 132 performances, they would practically be worn out\u2026if they were, you would never have known it!!!\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I mean for cying out loud, Marie is 54 and survived brain cancer, and Per is 53; the other band members range in age from 55 to 38, none of them particularly being a spring chicken.\u00a0 But wow, I cant say that word enough, WOW!!!!\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking that we were treated to the concert of my lifetime, it was AWESOME!!!!\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Per and Christoffer Lundquist<\/a> (the other guitarist) were ALL OVER THE STAGE, they fed the crowd the energy instead of the 2 of them feeding off the crowd\u2019s energy \u2013 I tell you, I was tired at the end of the show just watching them!!! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And the back up vocalist, Dea Norberg<\/a>, it was like she was using an imaginary jump rope all night, for the almost 2 hours of the show, I think she stopped jumping for maybe a total of 15 minutes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roxette<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Roxette<\/a>The entire group worked as a whole, played as one.\u00a0 There is a familiarity about all of them to each other while up on stage, much more than just playing together for months on end, much more than just playing together for years, there is something that cannot be put into words, something that just \u201cis\u201d.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And there is no such thing as ego, I don\u2019t think that any member of Roxette even knows that word, all are so humbled and so happy to just be out on stage performing.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I would have to say that the band was ready for NYC, and I think that the crowd was ready for them, after all, WE HAVE WAITED FOR 20 YEARS FOR ROXETTE TO COME BACK TO THE STATES!!!<\/strong> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There was a funny moment when Per interacted with the crowd, talking to us about how we look the same, just 20 years older!! It was great!!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roxette
Image courtesy Roxette Fans on Facebook (RoxFans)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I want to say that the crowd drowned out the band, especially in the encores, there were a few acapella parts that the band had the crowd sing, and I think that we surprised them, the crowd was so interactive, we complimented each other.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Playing at The Beacon, they got the good crowd they were looking for, and we, the crowd, got the sound and show that we were after.\u00a0 Sure, they have aged, but as I said earlier, they have matured.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"RoxetteTheir Roxette repertoire focused on their greatest hits, plus 2 new songs, for a total of nineteen (19) songs, with a little tweaking of the arrangements here and there.\u00a0 Marie may not be able to hit all the high notes all the time, but, MY GOD, that lady can perform!!!!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The show started with \u201cDressed For Success\u201d, and ended with an \u201cunplugged\u201d performance of \u201cChurch of Your Heart\u201d, accompanied only by acoustic guitars, a tambourine, and a triangle.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

During the encore, which consisted of \u201cListen To Your Heart\u201d, \u201cThe Look\u201d, and \u201cChurch Of Your Heart\u201d, I could swear I was back in California at the Earthquake ride at Universal Studios \u2013 we were in the Lower BALCONY section of the theatre! \"Roxette<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I capitalized BALCONY because I swear we were going to fall to onto the crowd below!\u00a0 The balcony was shaking from the crowd, from the dancing, jumping, and singing of the crowd.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I will say this again, this was the BEST SHOW I have ever been to!!!\u00a0 They may have matured over the past 20 years, and so have we, but that concert had a way of transporting me back 20 years ago.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roxette
Image courtesy Roxette Fans Facebook (RoxFans)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The band took a bow, and then Per & Marie left the stage, walking off\u00a0 to the heartfelt and rousing applause from the crowd, pausing once to turn and take another bow, and then exiting stage right (to them, it was stage left to us).\u00a0 They are each others rock, each getting from their relationship only what each needs, never wanting for more.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n