It’s been a little more than a month since I lost my dad. During that time, I really haven’t been in the mood for anything, least of all music. Haven’t listened to any new albums, haven’t been to any gigs, nothing.
I cancelled everything that I had planned before dad died – Whitesnake in Zagreb, Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium… Richard from the UK was kind enough to send me a few CD’s that I normally would have listened to right away with great curiosity. But I haven’t even taken them out of their sleeves yet.
But two days ago, I decided to try out my new Motörheadphones on my way to work, and my favorite album of all time – Screaming For Vengeance (Judas Priest) started playing. It was probably the most perfect way to get “back to life”.
Things are slowly going back to “normal”. My dear friend Bianca is coming to visit me on Wednesday for the Iron Maiden concert at Malmö Stadion. First show since SRF – and it’s going to be great, Maiden and the Swedish fans have a special relationship, it’s always a fantastic vibe at their shows here.
The opening act is Sabaton, another great live band that’s loved by the crowd over here.
But most of all I’m very excited about Lita Ford coming to Sweden later this month. I asked for an interview, still don’t know if it’s gonna happen or not – but either way, I can’t wait to see her live.
She screwed up her gig at Sweden Rock years ago, but it was explained to me later why it turned out the way it did, some things that had happened that day.
She doesn’t have that problem anymore so I know she’s going to be amazing. Seeing your childhood idol is something rather special, I’m stoked.
I miss my dad terribly. I won’t even get into all that, there’s no point bringing other people down with sad things – and not even my dad would have wanted that. His best friend told me that he used to say “when I’m gone, I don’t want to be cried over. Raise your glass for me and enjoy life”.
Dad is in my heart forever, he’s the most amazing, wonderful human being I’ve ever known. I’m gonna make him proud by looking ahead and start doing all the things that make me happy. That’s all he ever wanted, and I’ll honor that. He left a void that can never be filled, but he loved life too and he never let anything bring him down.
Dad – I raise my glass for you and I hope you’re here somewhere to toast with me from the other side….
Sweden Rock Festival 2013 was different from the “usual” festivals for me.
Maybe some of you noticed that I haven’t been posting or blogging in a while, except for a few photo-updates just to keep myself occupied. I just didn’t feel like writing or doing anything.
My father left this world on May 31st.
I was originally supposed to go to Croatia and visit him today, because that’s where he was – and as his birthday was on June 8th and mine on June 13th, we were going to celebrate our birthdays together. I was so looking forward to the trip so that I could see him again.
I never got to see him again. The last time I saw him and hugged him goodbye, was at Copenhagen airport when he left in early May. He was smiling, nothing was wrong with his health.
He’s always been a vital, strong man and everyone who knew him remember him as the guy who would take long walks through town every day- I couldn’t even keep up with him most of the time cause he was walking so fast.
He was in a cafe in Split, Croatia, with some friends one evening and in the middle of a sentence he just fell off his chair, and he was gone. Just like that. They say it was his heart and that it was instant. He never felt a thing.
My dad was 75 years old, he never made it to his 76th birthday, which was only three days ago. And I miss him so much that I could break in half. He meant so much to me, I can’t even begin to explain…
I didn’t want to go to the festival at first. But I felt an obligation to go because my friend from Germany was visiting and Sweden Rock was supposed to be her bachelorette party as she’s getting married soon. I couldn’t let her down. And the magazine couldn’t just find another correspondent to review all those bands I said I would review, so I took a deep breath and went.
The first day up there was bad. I couldn’t stand seeing all those happy people. Being there felt so wrong. I felt that my dad would think that I didn’t care about him because I was up there “having fun” (although I really wasn’t) and basically – it wasn’t a good day at all.
The next day was different. Somehow, I felt like my dad was walking beside me at the festival, and I was showing him my world. He never quite understood what my life looked like, he just knew that I loved music.
I would show him whenever something out of the ordinary happened – like my name in the Judas Priest biography “Defenders of the Faith”, or my cover story for Sweden Rock Magazine (also Priest) or going to Thessaloniki, Greece to see a show and then ending up presenting gold plaques to Firewind. I showed him the video on my cellphone and he would smile but of course he had no idea who all those bands were.
The second day of the festival, he was with me. I could almost see him walking there next to me with his hands on his back and a curious smile, just absorbing everything that was happening. His only concern in life was always my happiness. I “talked” to him all day and being at the festival actually felt good. It wasn’t wrong – it was the only right thing to do.
The third day I just lost myself in the music. I felt good, I was singing, smiling, just being far away from the rest of the world, it was the most powerful healing I’ve ever experienced. Forget about pills and shrinks. Music is the strongest and most powerful medicine there is.
The fourth and the last day of the festival, I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to just stay there and be a part of everything that was not everyday life.
When you’re at a concert you don’t think about stuff. You just LIVE it, you feel, you experience, you’re going through emotions, you let the music take you away to wherever it wants to take you, there is no yesterday and no tomorrow. There is only the NOW.
I was so glad to see two bands who I really love, not only because of their music, but also because I like them for the great people that they are.
The Firewind-guys and crew on Friday and the Skid Row guys on Saturday. The Skids have been around for 24 years, I’ll always love those guys for being incredibly sweet.
Scotti was all smiles when he saw me, going: “Heeey! We were wondering if you were gonna show up!” Rachel and Snake were asking if I remember when we last saw eachother… I didn’t, it was way too long ago, seven or eight years ago probably.
And the Firewind guys are cool to be around, Kelly is a funny dude, had us laughing everywhere we went (backstage, VIP area…). Jo is lovely crazy in his own sort of way and Gus is probably the busiest guy I’ve ever met, yet he tries to make time to socialise any way he can. I really appreciate and respect that. A great guy.
Sweden Rock Festival is “home” to me. This was my 19th year there. It’s a place where I feel content and happy – surrounded by my kind of people and my kind of music. Somehow everything happened the way it should…
If Su hadn’t come to visit me I may have missed the festival and also missed the opportunity to feel good for a few moments. It was good to have her visiting, she’s a super nice girl and we get along great, so I was lucky that I didn’t have to be alone after the very difficult time that followed my father’s death.
Now I can’t wait to just lose myself in music and concerts again, the sooner the better. Everyday life is just too hard to handle without it. Especially now.
Music has always helped me through hard times my whole life and it’s no different now. I’m finding comfort and explanations to my questions in songs, things that make me feel better.
Dave Mustaine was right when he said: “Moving on is a simple thing. What you leave behind is hard”. My dad never suffered. For his sake we have to remember that he was spared from pain and illness and find comfort in that.
And I know that my father is with me now, sharing my life in a way that he never could before. I should just be grateful for that…
[My beloved dad, he was so happy when I came back from spending a year in the States 1997. Here he is waiting for me at the airport in Copenhagen… Somehow we will always be together, he’ll be in my heart forever…]
Sitting at Gatwick airport, killing time… I wish I could say that the Thunder/Whitesnake/Journey gig yesterday was as great as the previous one, but the day was somehow cursed and there were plenty of reasons why I wasn’t in the right state of mind for the gig.
It started raining when I arrived at Wembley Park station, and when I was about to check in, the guy went: “Ah yes, miss P, you booked two rooms”. What? No, I didn’t book TWO rooms?!
Turns out that the cancellation I made through Booking.com never went through and with their rates being as much as my monthly rent, I saw money flying out the window for nothing. I already had to pay in full for another hotel that I cancelled too late. Long story, some other time…. The manager saved me though, said he would call booking.com and cancel my second reservation. Thank god, it was expensive as it was….
Felt tired and feverish, fell asleep and slept so deep that I almost wanted to just stay in bed all evening but of course I couldn’t.
Then at the show, I was showed my seat, everything good – or so I thought… until it started filling up in my row and it turned out that I had been seated in the wrong row – but Thunder had already started playing by then so I had two fat, drunk brits in front of my face waving their beers, stepping on my toes and my things.
I couldnt enjoy Thunder, which I had been looking forward to. They WERE brilliant though, I noticed that much.
So, when they were done, I nicely asked the girl behind me to move as it was in fact my seat. But when Whitesnake went on it was like being in a cafe – people kept walking in and out, back and forth, getting their fucking beer, going to the toilet, getting food…. Jesus christ, is it a rock concert or a restaurant?!
I just couldnt get in the right mood. Probably because it was seated and I was way in the back – I mean, I could see everything okay, but when that eye-contact isn’t there, it’s like watching a DVD, just not the same. Not for me anyway.
I felt pretty low when I left Wembley, cause I had been looking forward to the show but I didn’t get that kick this time. It wasn’t the band, it was just the circumstances and sometimes that can be enough to just throw you out of gear so to speak…
I went back to the hotel and went straight to bed. Got 4 hours of sleep and now I’m at the busy Gatwick airport waiting for my flight home.
Will be incredibly stressful the next few weeks. All reviews from Sweden Rock must be handed in before I go on vacation, and I know how I usually feel after the festival – like I’ve been run over by a truck.
I’m just grumpy right now, hopefully I’ll find my way back to a smile pretty soon…
Had barely had a chance to get enough sleep after the Whitesnake-show in Manchester, before it was time to get on a train to Copenhagen to see Megadeth.
Talk about contrasts. One evening you’re in a huge arena with mostly older, excited but civilised fans. The next, you’re off to see a band that, dispite their many years in the business, have mostly young, teenage dudes as their audience.
When I got to Vega, the venue, there were a few guys sitting there with a beer case and a boom box that was blasting the “Peace sells….But who’s buying?“-album.
They were pretty entertaining though, as they decided to score goals between two empty beer bottles… Given that they were anything but sober, you can imagine how that went. :) I wish I had filmed that. ;)
As it started filling up with people, I realized that I was the only girl there. Must have looked pretty weird. I wasn’t there with a boyfriend as my excuse, I was the only blonde person and definitely the only female in my “age range”.
One guy even asked me if this was “my first time”. THAT was pretty funny! :)) I told him that my first Megadeth concert was probably more than 20 years ago, so, most likely before he was even born. ;) He quickly realized that maybe he had judged a little bit too fast.
Once the doors opened, I thought it was going to be a riot, but it was pretty civilised, much to my surprise. Eventhough people were very impatient to get in, they behaved like normal people. Thank god. I’ve been to Megadeth-shows before and their fans are usually insane. :)
I got my front row spot and was happy. Mission accomplished. The guy next to me started talking and it was nice to kill that waiting-time with a fellow rock fan. He was very young though, hadn’t been to many concerts yet. It was quite a sight to see how enthusiastic he was once the band got onstage! :)
It’s a funny thing with Dave Mustaine – he always looks grumpy. I guess it’s just the face he was born with and it works perfectly within his line of work where you have to look cool. It’s sort of “built-in” in Mustaine’s case.
A few years ago when I took the day off to see Megadeth in Aarhus, Denmark, he looked so pissed off the whole time, and suddenly he goes: “You’ll have to excuse me, I’m having such a good time up here that I forgot to say hello”. He was having a good time? Lol! He wasn’t being sarcastic either. Priceless. :)
Somewhere towards the end of the show, his face did light up and he was smiling as he was pointing at something in the back. Turns out that there was a kid on somebody’s shoulders, with long hair and a leather jacket, that had been headbanging like crazy. Dave wanted to know his name, and the crowd passed on the info so it would reach the stage. I think it was August or something. “That’s a cool name! Makes “Dave” sound so fucking boring. DAVE… I want your name! he laughed.
So the crowd helped the kid get to the stage, where he got Dave’s sweatband and a chat. I don’t know how much he understood English but he liked his present at least. :)) Very cute. You can see all the pics from that HERE. <-Click
In the meantime, there was some idiot up on the balcony in a red t-shirt that was pouring beer at the people on the floor (I was totally marinated in beer…. but I hear it’s good for the hair so what the hell…) and doing F U-gestures at Dave. (why the hell did he pay for a ticket to see the show, I wonder???)
Dave in turn had a few well chosen words for the asshole, something along the lines of “you have a teeny-weeny….” – you get the picture. The guy wouldn’t stop picking a fight, and Dave walked all the way over to the side of the stage, looked up at the idiot, and eventhough I couldn’t hear what he was saying, I could read his lips – “Get down here, I’ll fuck you up you son of a bitch!”
Security finally got something else to do than bugging the front row fans. They were running back and forth telling people not to film the show. I mean, yeah whatever…. It’s so ridiculous to me. It’s 2013 – have they been on Youtube lately? Seriously, what’s the point? Even if people at the front aren’t filming, you can bet your ass that people in the back, WILL….! It’s not 1984 anymore, just sayin’.
I didn’t care, video or no video, I got great stage-footage at Graspop last year so I’m good. I got a few decent photos instead. Once again, go to the Facebook-page for that. :)
The crowd turned out to be pretty civilised after all. I’m glad, cause I was way too tired to deal with drunk moshers.
Another memorable Megadeth show over, glad I went. Really cool stage this time as well! And it’s a bit entertaining to see Dave’s constant guitar-changes. I think he used different guitars for every song, almost. I’m guessing most of them are made by Dean Guitars custom shop, awesome work.
Now I’ve got about three days “off” (still have to go to work though) before the next show – Whitesnake at Wembley next week! :)
[A FEW OF MY HIGHLY “ILLEGAL” VIDEO CLIPS FROM LAST NIGHT…! ;P]
I have no idea how many times I’ve seen Whitesnake, I stopped counting a long time ago – but after every tour I can’t wait to see them again. It’s a “feel-good” type of band. You ALWAYS leave a Whitesnake concert with a smile. So, you keep coming back for more. Year after year.
I took the flight from Copenhagen to Manchester early in the morning and walked from Picadilly station to Printworks, Arndale, Hard Rock Cafe – just the area around the MEN/MCR Arena. It was freezing cold, wasn’t prepared for that. It was warm and sunny back home. And I got lost.
I was walking all over the place, couldn’t find the hotel. Went to Park Inn and asked for directions. They told me it was hidden BEHIND the Crowne Plaza, no wonder I passed it three times without seeing it….
Thanks to that I finally found my hotel and couldn’t WAIT to kick off my shoes, take a nap and just relax.
[Labelled pillows – do you prefer firm or soft?]
The hotel had free WiFi so I quickly updated my Facebook status, mentioning that I was going down to Hard Rock Cafe later on to grab a bite. Before I knew it, I had two responses from two fellow Whitesnake-fans who were in the neighborhood and said they would try to make it down there as well.
I like social media for that reason, it gives you the opportunity to meet interesting people from all over the world.
Went to Hard Rock, ordered the BBQ chicken and was served by a pretty boy with long hair, can’t complain. :) Just as I was in the middle of massacring the chicken (with that reddish BBQ-sauce, it looked like I had slaughtered the chicken myself…!) I heard a voice going: “Daniela?”
There was Ania and her boyfriend Alex. It was the first time we met, and there I was, leaving a wonderful first impression with my mouth full of fries and a massacred chicken on the plate – must have been such a classy sight…! ;)
They joined me for dinner, and it was a really great afternoon. Really nice people, easygoing, interesting to talk to. One of the greatest things about travelling and meeting people through Facebook or Twitter, is that regardless what profession people have, their age or what country they’re from – we all share the same passion for music. So I truly enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories. :)
On our way out we met Jen, the other girl who I thought had changed her mind about Hard Rock – but she had been down at the bar, we never even saw her from where we had been at.
Ania and Alex went back to their hotel and I went to the arena to check what was going on. I’m used to there being people hours before, but there was not a SOUL…! On top of all, it started raining. I never travel without my rain poncho- especially not England, so I was prepared.
Found a McDonalds at Victoria Station, and killed time with their free WiFi. That is the best thing about McD, no matter where you are in the world, you KNOW that you will at least be able to get online at McDonalds. :)
Ania showed up shortly thereafter and we went in. Much to my surprise, the arena was almost empty when we got in. Never seen such a big arena so empty when the doors open!
[This is what we walked into… Impressive arena, but totally dead at 5.45, fifteen minutes after they had opened]
She had a spare ticket in her section, it was closer to the stage than my original ticket reservation and it was defnitely a lot nicer to be able to sit and chat a bit than being alone trying to kill time (which is my usual deal. I don’t mind but when I’ve got the choice it’s not hard to decide :) ). Thank you for that Ania.
The arena was filling up slowly but surely, when after a little while, a friend of Ania’s and Reb (Beach) came out for a short chat. I was pretty much minding my own business, observing the activities on stage and in the arena in the meantime. A guy walked up to Reb and asked him if he could wave to his girlfriend “up there” (and pointed in her direction), cause she could not believe it was actually HIM.
Might have been because Reb looked like “the guy next door” in his blue hoodie, just being very “normal” and blending in perfectly with the audience. Reb not only waved, but he also offered to come over and say hello. I think that’s very sweet, cause I’m sure that the girl now has a great memory. Great attitude, I like that.
I saw Jen briefly as she was passing by our section on her way to her seat. And Ronnie was sitting two rows behind me – which I learned AFTER the show as my cellphone delievered all his text-messages the next day, when I was back in Sweden…!
The intro of AC/DC‘s “Thunderstruck” started playing (very loud) and the lights went out. First out on stage – THUNDER.
Okay… So I haven’t seen these guys since the days when they still had HAIR (Donington 1992 to be more precise…) so when these men with short, gray hair walked out on stage (with two exceptions to be fair) I was wondering who the hell that was. But the minute Danny opened his mouth and started singing, there was no doubt that it was THAT voice..!
In short (no pun intended) – they blew me away. What a brilliant live band. Absolute perfection with heaps of heart and soul in their performance. I absolutely loved it!
It’s not often that you see a band that doesn’t rely on any of the usual “props”: looks, image, lasers and bombs, no schtick, none of that stuff – yet manages to get the crowd ecstatic!
Great songs, great musicians, a sincere love for that they’re doing and a great sense of humor. That takes them all the way to people’s hearts! And it goes not only a long way – it goes ALL the way.
I enjoyed every minute of it – and already looking forward to seeing them at Sweden Rock Festival in about a week!
Danny Bowes – what a powerful voice, he was just belting it out, not missing one single note! I’m still looking for my jaw that I dropped on the floor somewhere at the MCR in section C…!
And, Manchester got to enjoy this epic song as well. Make sure you watch the whole thing for the sing-along…:
When Thunder left the stage, I was convinced that Journey were up next. I should have checked first I guess, but it never occured to me that Journey would be considered a headliner when Whitesnake was on the bill. Yes, yes, I know, I know – it was a shared headliner bill and somebody has to go first but still – it never even crossed my mind for two seconds that Whitesnake would NOT finish the evening.
So I sat down, thinking that I could relax for another hour or so while Journey were on….
When the lights went out and the music started playing it took a few seconds before I went… “Wait a minute… I recognize that…!” Next thing I know, the spotlights lit up the band and a VERY familiar figure in a white shirt..!
I flew out of my chair like a catapult and got the camera rolling, jesus christ, I nearly missed the intro…! That’s what you get when you don’t bother checking things in advance.
I’m not going to review Whitesnake. I can’t. When I go to a Whitesnake-concert, I know that I’ll either be smiling till every muscle in my face starts aching, or I’m going to be moved to tears.
When Bernie and Adrian were the “secret guests” that walked out on stage to join David and the others, at Sweden Rock Festival a few years ago, we were all surprised.
And I don’t know why, but it moved me so much that I was bawling my eyes out for hours. I just couldn’t stop the tears, I thought it was just one of the most powerful, touching things I’ve ever seen on a stage.
With Whitesnake it’s just always an inspiring experience – it’s a celebration of life, love, the past and the future, music, friendships, just all the good things in life. You leave your troubles at the door (if you had any) and you walk out of there rejuvenated, with a big, fat smile on your face.
That’s what Whitesnake is about to me.
Yes, the critic in me still hears the flaws, and yes, maybe David doesn’t sound the same in 2013 as he did in 1983 or 1973, but it just doesn’t matter – he makes up for it with his charsma, and he’s got TONS of that! He makes every single person in a 23,000 seat-arena feel like he’s singing just for them.
And you look at the guys – they are in great shape and they look great. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – rocker’s don’t age. They mature like a fine wine. And frankly, where else but in rock’n’roll, do you get to see men in their 50’s or 60’s looking like Doug Aldrich or David Coverdale?
With Whitesnake you know that you will get the very best of whatever you came to see or hear. Tommy Aldridge always reminds me of “Animal” of the Muppet show! He’s a fantastic drummer, the ultimate wildman who KILLS his drums every night. His playing is powerful and entertaining.
A video of Tommy for your viewing pleasure:
Two guitarists with their own distinct styles, among the best at what they do – the bluesy Doug Aldrich and the technical Reb Beach. It’s all covered for all guitar nerds out there to enjoy. :)
Bassist Michael Devin and keyboardist Brian Ruedy are not taking up as much “space” as the others, but with that many people on stage fighting for attention, somebody has to keep a lower profile, and those two guys are cool enough to be perfectly fine with that.
And David – there is a reason why millions of people worldwide love that man. He is so passionate, so vivacious, just full of energy and LIFE! He is one of the people in this world that I find extremely inspiring.
I will say one thing about their show though – without giving anything away – it was a great and surprising set list. Some of those songs I’ve never heard him perform live (I think my first Whitesnake show was in 1990 at the Monsters of Rock tour, but I’m not sure) so it was a treat to hear so many classics from the earlier Whitesnake years as well!
Speaking of which – Bernie Marsden walked out on stage to play on two songs, and it was great to see the two “old snakes” on stage together, once again. Bernie looked almost overwhelmed when he saw the crowd’s response. It was just a great moment.
After THAT, I really didn’t have ANY desire whatsoever to see ANY other band. I don’t care who they put on that stage, it just couldn’t compete, and I wanted to leave the arena with “THAT” feeling of joy. It was the perfect show and the perfect ending. Thank you for the music, my dear snakes. :)
Spoke briefly with Ronnie and his friend before leaving. I was starving so I dropped by this place on my way back to the hotel:
Ania and Alex also went to “meet some friends” so we parted ways :))) And next week it’s time for London and Wembley!
I prefer Manchester when it comes to concerts though. And I might even write a little more about that pretty soon. It’s the perfect city for visiting concert-travellers!
Two more Whitesnake-shows to go! Wembley and this one, in Zagreb, Croatia. I guess it’s time to start excercising those “smiling muscles” in my face again. :)
I did film a lot of the show but as David has explicitly asked people not to share too much info and ruin someone else’s experience, I’m not posting anything more for now. Maybe in a few months time. :) There is 1 clip on the Facebook-page though, check the timeline/wall!
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 