We got there around 6 or 7 I think, my friend wanted to buy something to eat from a hot-dog stand outside of the concert area, but I was already too nervous and too excited and too anxious to get inside, so I waited until he got his hot-dog, but didn't allow him to sit down at the nearby park. There were already so many people.
We went inside and then dead straight to the merchandise outlet, where I completely lost my head. I asked the t-shirt guy to show me some jewelry and he said it was plain ugly - I was somewhat taken aback by his honesty, not negatively, just surprised. And it made deciding what to buy even more difficult, so I ended up just pointing at a random t-shirt and coming home with the most hardcore (and the least modest) t-shirt a fan can own: uniting both the name of the band AND their album design! Plus I also had to take the boys' shirt, because it was smaller than the girls' smallest, although still way too large for my tiny body. (and all the tank tops were already sold)
Finally we were ready to sit down! The grass was already kind of muddy, but I didn't mind; I sat there and smoked and made plans on how to start a conversation with random swedes, but in the end I was too shy to do anything but to ask for a light. In the middle of a sudden crowd surge towards the stage we stood up and got our places on the right hand of the stage, in front of Martin. Clouds were already approaching, light was already fading and all of a sudden it started raining. There were quite many umbrellas, so I guess they weren't too good with their confiscations. Of course I had left my raincoat in the hostel, thinking - well, I don't even know what I was thinking, probably just being overly optimistic and absent-minded. But the rain wasn't that bad at all, perhaps because we were standing in a crowd, and it didn't last too long. Afterwards we saw a rainbow, which we christened Kent-bow.
I got lucky and a local struck up a conversation, curious about where we were from. He encouraged me to sing aloud even if it meant that I'll be making up words that only sort-of-maybe sound like swedish and said he heard Cowboys from the soundcheck. Later I noticed that he and his friends had the loudest voices ever, being able to sing over 16500 people, including Joakim. They were incredibly cool and I was super jealous that it was his 9th Kent concert, but it's probably pretty common among the swedish Kent fans.
I get it now why most of you here have been to at least two Kent concerts (or more likely to four or six or nine), because after you've been at one you can't get enough. At first I thought it'd be good enough to just sort of have a tick by the "been to one Kent concert in my lifetime" box, but now this is hardly sufficient. I'll be there next year, I have to be, no matter what.
And why, you may ask? Or to be accurate - our non-Kent-friends may ask. I think what stroke me as the most amazing thing was that not only I was at the concert of my most favourite band ever, but so was everybody else - just as moved as I was. There was an asian girl standing next to me, completely alone, and crying out of joy (while taking pictures of Kent and of herself), and then there were those loudest swedes I've ever seen (and heard), and then there was a couple who was kissing during Utan Dina Andetag, and then there was someone who was constantly shouting "Mr. Kent!", and then there was my non-Kent-friend, smiling and swinging, and the endless sea of hands.
From the very beginning till the very end EVERYBODY was singing along, waving their hands and dancing. Coming from Tallinn it's a very unusual thing for me. Fact that they had seen Kent for ten years hadn't in any way made them apathetic. And then on the stage was Joakim and the rest of the band, not less enthuastic than the audience. I don't know why I thought Joakim to be one of those singers, who prefer to put all their concentration on singing and less on moving, except in the rare occasions of performing Ishmael or other remarkable songs. I wasn't expecting Joakim the rockstar, swinging his hips and waving his hands, flirting like a professional cocktail girl. I'm quite reserved when it comes to fangirl moments, but oh my god was I in love - I think I've never seen anyone with my own eye moving on stage so freely, swingy, jerky, turning even the coldest parts of the audience into a worshipping mass. It was very unexpected.
Also how Martin climbed to the monitors and tried to hold balance while doing his cool edgy rockstar stuff, that was really cute! One leg after another, "whew!".
I was impressed by the stage lighting which never got boring, nor tired your eyes not even once. Every time it got dangerously close to looking like that generic purple concert photo, things changed. And it did some amazing stuff and matched the mood very well. Good job and congrats to everyone who arranged it.
My friend said that they are much better in live, because of their rockish attitude and the greater difference in the soundscape. He doesn't like the production which makes all the songs sound alike (in fact he has some difficulties in separating them : D). Well, I obviously like the both sides of Kent, I like the Scandinavian clean album version and the messy, hot and energetic live Kent.
The beginning of the concert was really sweet, the little room filled with pictures gave an intimate feel, even though it was Stockholm and there were thousands of people around me. I remember being surprised about the reaction of crowd to some particular songs, which I had thought were rather slow and suitable for (semi-)resting, but the live performance had turned them into energetic hit-songs, making the crowd jump and shout and go generally crazy. Skisser for sömmaren was a nice surprise, since it reminded me the last summer when I daydreamed about going to Kent concert. I loved everything what came after Ruta 1, not because these were my favourite songs (actually vice versa), but because of the general warm feeling of the setlist - and maybe because it was only then when I realised what was going on. In the first half of the concert I was somewhat frozen with misbelief - songs flew across me and I just stood there awestruck, until at some point of time 400 slag started playing and.. holy sweet motherfucker!.. I got lost.
When 747 ended and Kent left, I didn't quite know what I should shout to get them back on the stage, so I just invinted a shout that sounded like the swedish word for repeat. It seemed like we called them back three or four times, it seemed like they would never leave, only keep playing Det finns inga ord, Elever and Cowboys, forever and ever. I was glad that I got to hear Utan Dina Andetag and 747, the classic moments of Kent concert, as well as Det finns inga orda - cause I was actually thinking that they should do it as an encore and it's one of my favourite songs. The lyrics are just brilliant (and as a not-native speaker of English I'm running out of positive adjectives!).
After the concert we didn't rush towards the gates, but instead sat down on some wet chairs and ate some super delicious cake, which looked like muffins but were much better and bigger and sweeter (important part of the concert experience!). The stage was now lit by some casual lights and it looked like some kind of a factory - very cool. We got going about fifteen minutes later and there were still so many people; we climbed through a hole in the hedge and started walking towards our hostel. Fortunately it was nearby, just across the field, because it was now getting cold and my new t-shirt didn't help. We went through the dark, only seeing a light atop a tower and only hearing a group of Kent fans singing behind us. There was currently a circus in the town and the field was the backstage with horses, camels, donkeys and other animals, so it was like a children's storybook, filled with magic and stars and someone singing Elever behind your back.
And hot shower at the hostel was given by gods, I swear. Amazing night.
(Oh and fireworks at the end of the show were exactly that kind of cheesiness that got me all worked up even though I couldn't see them)
Off to have a look now.
I love Skansen too (all the little cure houses!), it's so big, I don't think it can all be seen & appreciated in one visit. There's a bakery in there that does the most amazing little rolls (I have no idea what they are called, I'll need to post a pic and see if a Swede knows what they are called) they have little seeds on top, and eaten warm (straight out the bakers, these never make it back to the hotel, they don't even have anything in them!) they're still all soft and buttery! yuuuum..... could eat one right now
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