Södre
Teatern, Stockholm
|
My
little red book |
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The
venue is an old theatre, which means that the audience has numbered seats. The
concert itself was very good. Arthur and the band came on a few minutes past
20.00. Arthur dressed in black jeans, brown boots, a magnificent country &
western shirt and a white stetson hat on his head. After a rather slow start
with Arthurs voice low in the mix things really got going with "Your mind
and we belong together" After that, the strings and horns were invited and
the show really took off to another dimension. Alone again or was astounding
followed by an impeccable Andmoreagain. The strings and horns really came
through. With Between Clark & Hilldale the show maybe reached its climax,
except for the last two songs.. In The Red telephone Arthur mixed up a few
verses but the song itself was very good. Arthur and the band complained a bit
over the polite audience reaction and they had a point. The problem with the
venue is that the audience remained seated until the last couple of songs.
Otherwise Arthur seemed to be in a good mood and joking with the audience,
"Let's hear it for my shirt!". Signed DC was very good with a lot of
ad libs from Arthur. Despite trying hard, the sing-along of "Everybodys
gotta live" never really took off. Singing Cowboy and My Flash on you were
really good versions, but nothing special. However, You set the scene, the show
closer, was fantastic with the strings and horns and Arthur singing "Time,
time, time..." When the song finished, the audience rose out of their seats
and gave the band a standing ovation. An electrifying A House is not a Motel
closed an unforgettable evening.
All in
all, a very good concert, as good as Stockholm in 1996, despite the audience
being a bit flat faced, which they certainly weren't in 1996.
After
the show Arthur and the band came back to the stage to sign autographs. Arthur
signed my copy of Forever Changes. One could perhaps argue that the band could
have played a few more songs from the later stages of Loves and Arthurs career,
i. e. Listen to my song, Stand Out, Gather Round, August, Busted Feet, Scottys
Song, Five String Serenade or Somebodys watching You. Later on, I asked Mike Randle if they had rehearsed any of
those songs. Mike answered that they know Robert Montgomery and were planning to
do August come this autumn. He also mentioned that Andrew Sandoval had
interviewed Arthur for the liner notes of the upcoming Four Sail reissue but he
didn´t know any release date.
Finally,
I would like to thank Arthur, the band and Gene Kraut for an unforgettable
concert I never thought I'd see the band again after 1996, hopefully they will
be back later this year.
Best
wishes
Alexander Gottsén
