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Saturday 15 August 2009

Salem plays Mariefred tonight / Malmöfestivalen on Monday

Salem will be on stage at 21:00 at the Pumpstockfestivalen taking place at Skottvångs Grufva in Mariefred tonight.

Then something very big is happening on Monday night in Malmö, as Salem will be getting together with the Malmö Operaorkester to perform at Malmöfestivalen. The show takes place at Stora Scenen on Stortorget between 21:00 and 22:30.

This will be Salem's second time at Malmöfestivalen (he appeared there in 2007) but this will be a very special show indeed, as a musical collaboration between Salem and the orchestra is not to be missed.

If you are going to either Mariefred or Malmö, remember to post your comments here!

4 comments:

PerP said...

salem kicked ass in malmö and id like to know if there might be a live cd to buy somewhere
//per

Ida said...

FANTASTIC show in malmö! I had goosebumps from the beginning to the end.

blog65 said...

Yes, it was a great concert at Malmöfestivalen! The sound was good, sometimes a little unbalanced though. And Salem´s voice is just getting better and better!

The director Hans Ek (the same as in Berwardhallen last year) described his task as "translating pop music into classical music". He said it was quite a difficult task due to the many "mischiefs" in Salem's music. Well, I liked the result! Also, many of the preludes from the first album was performed by the orchestra.

The set list (there might be errors in the order) was:
1. A piece by Sjostakovitj
2. Twelve Fingers
3. Cold Shower
4. Astronaut
5. Headbanger
6. This is who I am
7. Damien & Bob
8. Purple Lady
9. It's Only You, Pt 2
10. One of the others
11. Dreamgirl
12. Good Song
Encores:
13. Roxy
14. It's True

I don't know the name of the Sjostakovitj piece, and it was played by Malmö Operaorkester only. It sounded like an overture... nice!

"Twelve Fingers" was not my favourite when it was released last year, but it's a song that grows by time! And it, as well as the other songs played last night, gets even more impressive with the backing orchestra.

"Cold Shower" was played without the familiar "back beat"... quite different!

"Astronaut" was played by Salem's band only. Very good, but I still longed for some strings...

"Headbanger" was played by the orchestra only. I have never heard it before and have no idea who wrote it (Salem?), but I would characterize it as modern classical music. I would like to re-listen to it a few times before grading it...

One of my favourites followed: "This is who I am".

"Damien & Bob" and "Purple Lady" was performed without Salem's band. The latter one actually moved me, as opposed to the recorded version. Live music is special...

The synthesizer loop (and other things) in "It's Only You, Pt 2" was performed by the orchestra... and the result was the best version of the song that I've heard! It was around this point that the audience really got into the groove...

"One of the Others", another hit song!

"Dreamgirl" started off with only Salem and his grand piano... brilliant! The orchestra then gradually evolved into the song, and finished it by playing the amazing instrumental "ta-da-da-daaaa" refrain of the song.

"Good Song"... well, this is still the number one song by Salem. It's brilliant R'n'B, where the verse is followed by a bridge into the refrain, all of highest quality. The "sing-a-long" part is also unique, since it is another melody and not just a repetition.

Salem and his band then left the stage... but of course they came back for some encores! In his usual way, Salem said before "Roxy" that if the audience was applausing hard afterwards, who knows what might happen...

Well, I like "Roxy" (that was played without the orchestra)! Some people think that the lyrics is silly, I disagree... it's not absolutely serious, but who said that music has to be SERIOUS? And anyway, there is a point in the lyrics: If you "wanna be free", there are some risks as well!

I guess that the audience was enhusiastic enough, because the was a second encore in "It's True", this time with the orchestra. A great ending!

Salem and his band then left the stage again... we shouted "One more time!" and they actually came back, but only to say that they thanked us and hoped to see us next year again! Yes, I hope so!

Laura (EuropeCrazy) said...

Thanks for these great reviews everyone - it certainly seemed like an amazing show. I've seen some clips on YouTube. I think the orchestra always seems to bring out the best in Salem, and the result is one fantastic show.

And Kjell....thanks for your lovely email yesterday - sorry I haven't replied yet but I'll send you a reply over the next couple of days.