Salem & Pontus at PUB tomorrow

Here's a Christmas treat for you if you are in Stockholm tomorrow. Don't forget to go along to PUB on Hötorget for Pontus' last pre-Christmas mini-concert with a very, very special guest - Salem!

According to Pontus' blog post http://nojesguiden.se/blogg/pontus-de-wolfe/salem-al-fakir-avslutar-vad-ar-julmusik-pa-pub the guys will be interviewed on P4 Stockholm at 12:40 Swedish time, then Pontus will take to the stage at 13:00 and play some songs (accompanied by Fredrik Hermansson) before Salem makes his guest appearance. Pontus and Salem will then sign copies of "Vad är musik?".

News round-up - November 2011

Firstly, the new Eric Saade album "Saade Vol.2" was released today, featuring "Rocket Science" of course.

Meanwhile, what's Salem up to? Well, according to this website http://www.stjarnklart.se/ he is appearing in a show called Stjärnklart, along with a number of Swedish music legends past and present - Anders Berglund, Shirley Clamp, Carola, Orup, The Poodles and Tommy Körberg. The show started its run at the Stockholm Konserthuset last night and runs until 3rd December then moves on to the De Geer in Norrköping on 6th December, then to Konserthuset in Malmö from 7th to 10th December, and finally to Gothenburg Congress Centre from 15th to 17th December. If any of you have been (or will be going) to this show in any of the above cities, your comments about it are very welcome!

Finally, Pontus De Wolfe is doing some shows at PUB in Stockholm during December, along with pianist Fredrik Hermansson. Pontus will present songs from his forthcoming album and will also be joined by special guests who will perform some songs which "fit into the Christmas mood"
Guests: Magnus Carlson from Weeping Willows (Sunday 4th December, 13:00)
Britta Persson (Sunday 11th December, 13:00)
Anna Järvinen (Sunday 18th December, 13:00)

And then on Friday 23rd December at 13:00......SALEM!!

You will also be able to buy signed copies of the book at these shows.
http://nojesguiden.se/blogs/pontus-de-wolfe/pontus-konserter-pa-pub-med-magnus-carlson-britta-persson-anna-jarvinen-salem-#.TtZWnT-dovc.facebook

A little personal note here: PUB is a big department store on Hötorget in Stockholm, and I remember it very well because back in 2007 when I came to Stockholm on holiday, I stayed in the Rica Hotel which is upstairs from PUB. It was (and probably still is) a great hotel :))

Tekniskamuseet

If you missed the live appearance by Salem and Pontus at Tekniskamuseet you can watch it again at http://bambuser.com/channel/Tekniskamuseet/broadcast/2113571

News round-up - October 2011

Over the last few weeks, Salem and Pontus have been promoting their book "Vad är musik - och 100 andra jätteviktiga frågor" across the bookshops and book fairs in Sweden.

The book has also become a stage show, which will be performed at Målarsalen at the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten) in Stockholm on 18th November at 18:00. The show is now completely sold out.

The show will be presented by Elsa Billgren (Mrs de Wolfe) and is a journey through music based on the perspectives of the creator, the listener and even the music itself - actress Janna Granström will be interpreting music. It goes without saying that there will be some musical illustration by Salem and Pontus during the show.

Salem was back on "Morgonpasset i P3" on Friday 21st October. If you missed it, check out the clips on P3's website at http://sverigesradio.se/sida/default.aspx?programid=2024

Disappointed :(

Over the last couple days we learned that Salem has teamed up with Pontus De Wolfe on a new music project which I believe is called Earpony. Salem and Pontus have of course written a new book about music ("Vad är musik?")

We finally got to hear the result of their musical collaboration when Salem performed with Pontus de Wolfe on tonight's Rockbjörnen gala. The song is called "Jag e frågan du e svaret". Remember these are only my personal thoughts, so here we go...

After over 4 years as a Salem fan, I never thought the day would come when I would be disappointed by any musical project he was involved in. But when I watched this performance, all I felt was disappointment. The main problem with the song was Pontus' vocals, which were nervous and, to use a British term, "ropey" - in other words, pretty poor. On the plus side it was nice to see Salem involved in a Swedish-language track, as I would really love to hear him write and sing in Swedish at some point in his solo career. I understand that Salem may want to be in the background for a change and let Pontus take the spotlight, but it makes no sense when Salem has such a great voice and should be singing the lead vocals instead.

Maybe it is unfair to judge the song on a live version, but I can only hope that the recorded version of the song will be a vast improvement.

Listen and judge for yourself at http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/noje/musik/rockbjornen/article13556387.ab
What did you think of the song/performance tonight? Your comments (as always) are welcome!

DT's Dalhalla review

http://www.dt.se/nojekultur/1.3785423-hitfyrverkeri-med-salem

Fridah Jönsson gives a 4-star review of Salem and his special guests at Dalhalla, although she's not so keen on September's performance. There is also a nice photo slide-show from the concert in this article.

By the way, can any of you tell me if Salem duetted with Oskar and/or September and if so, what songs did they play?

Also, what did you think of Salem's special guests Oskar and September? Did you enjoy them or did they disappoint you? Leave your comments here.

Finally....it's Dalhalla time!!

This is my 1000th post on Planet Salem, so I wanted it to be something very special. And it doesn't get any more special than this.

It's been eight months since Salem's Dalhalla concert was announced, and the wait is almost over. Tomorrow night, Salem, the band, the Gävle Symfoniorkester, Hans Ek, Oskar Linnros and September will all take to the stage in Sweden's most stunning concert venue, for what promises to be a fantastic show.

For all of you who are going, I hope you have an amazing time. As always, your reviews, comments, setlists, emails, photos are all welcome. Please let me know if Salem plays any new songs too! Planet Salem may have been a quiet place over the last few months but with your help we will bring it back to life!!

Finally, Salem.....good luck for tomorrow night, and come, come, come back soon :)

Salem in Finland (again)/Bergen in August

Hello to all Salem's Finnish fans! If you live anywhere near where the Vaasa Rockfestival is taking place, then you will have a rare and very welcome opportunity to see him and the band playing at the festival tomorrow afternoon.

The guys will be on stage at 16:45 Finnish time. If you are going to the festival, remember to leave your comments here after the show.

Salem will also be playing at another festival outside Sweden this summer - you can see him at the Periferifestivalen in Bergen, Norway on Saturday, 27th August (thanks to Madelene via Salem's Facebook page for the tip!)

And then, of course, it's only three weeks until Dalhalla....

Did you see Salem on Saturday night?

According to a couple of messages on Twitter, Salem was the special secret guest at the Club Killers gig in Kungsträdgården in Stockholm on Saturday night.

If any of you were at this gig, please tell us what you thought of it!

Over 60,000 "like" Salem on Facebook!

A few days ago, Salem finally reached the total of 60,000 fans on his Facebook page, which is a great achievement, so congratulations to all the "Facebookers" who continue to support Salem over there.

Are you all missing Salem as much as I am? Of course it won't be long until Dalhalla, which is just a few weeks away. Don't forget to book your tickets at https://sale.se.iticket.com/Sale/ShowRequestedArrangement.iticket?pCompanyId=3200&pArrangementId=364

Dalhalla = Salem + September + Oskar!

It was announced in a press release today that September and Oskar Linnros will be Salem's special guests at his Dalhalla show in Rättvik on 5th August. This is great news - three of the best artists on the Swedish music scene right now, all on the one bill! More info at http://gaffa.se/nyhet/49245?f=se_fb_fp

If you haven't got your ticket yet, these are still available, go to https://sale.se.iticket.com/Sale/ShowRequestedArrangement.iticket?pCompanyId=3200&pArrangementId=364

Salem at the Swedish Retail Awards - 15th March

Found some info at this link www.retailawards.se - after the prizes are given out, Salem will be performing at this corporate awards ceremony next Tuesday, 15th March, which will take place at Stockholm City Hall.

Salem in Falun this Thursday

According to http://www.stjarngalan.com/program.aspx, Salem will be one of the special guests at this business awards ceremony which will take place this Thursday at the Falu-Kuriren Arena in Falun.

Trettondagskonsert - Jönköping, Wednesday and Thursday

Salem will be appearing at the Jönköping Concert Hall on 5th and 6th January along with the Jönköpings Sinfonietta under the direction of Hans Ek. Also on the bill is the soprano Maria Keohane. The shows are billed as "Musik över Gränserna" which is very appropriate as when it comes to Salem's music, there are no boundaries of course :)

Both concerts begin at 16:00. If you haven't already got your ticket then I think there are still tickets available so don't miss out - there won't be many opportunities to see Salem play live this year, and this should be a very special show.

If you are going to any of the concerts, remember to leave your comments here and tell us what you thought of the shows.

Vara Konserthus show cancelled / Finnish festival in 2011

The show at Vara Konserthus scheduled for 18th March has been cancelled. http://www.ticnet.se/search.php?tm_link=tm_homeA_header_search&language=sv&keyword=salem+al+fakir

Ticnet also reports on that page that Salem will be appearing at the Popkalaset festival in Tammisaari, Finland, on 18th June 2011. http://www.lippupalvelu.fi/Popkalaset-biljetter/event/BGR1806A although I haven't been able to find any more information about this.