In some strange way, I had confused the service fee of 20.00 SEK with the time 20.00. I arrived at the concert house in Malmö at 19:50 and the disaster was a fact. I showed my ticket and was then lead to the right door by a young boy in stylish clothes who told me to wait outside until the applause. I entered the concert hall and temporarily sat down at the very far end of the first row. The support act consisted of a bald man. I did not care about his music but I had not come to see him anyway.
I had seen Anna Ternheim play live once before. It was a January might and I sat centrally on the second row in the City Hall in Lund. I had fallen for her debut album but only scratched the surface. Wedding Song opened the show and set the tune for the entire evening. Ternheim sang I won't let you down this time, and she lived up to it. Ternheim did absolutely everything right until she sat at a piano and finished To Be Gone in Fench. It was one of my two fondest concert memories of last year.
Yesterday, I made a single mistake, but was severly punished. The bald man finally stopped playing his songs and I was thinking good, now I can go to my real seat. I did not even get up from the chair before the evening was ruined. Instead of the natural pause between the support act and the main act, Anna Ternheim was introduced immediately. The hall got dark to the Girl Laying Down intro. Within seconds, I disappointedly walked upstairs and watched my seat on row eleven turn into a blank ticket on row twenty-something. Sure, I could have asked 30 people to stand up to make way for me, but that is not my style. Anna Ternheim's show had already started and you have to show a little respect when others also have paid much for the tickets. After all, it was not their fault that I could not read a damn ticket yesterday.
I knew in advance that Girl Laying Down would open yesterday's concert. Anything else would had been very strange. Wedding Song is in every way a better song, but this tour is built on Separation Road. I was concerned before the show and my worry would later turn out to be justified. I like Ternheim the most when she is alone on stage. Yesterday, she was the center of attention, but her band still impaired the experience. Several times. And that was Ternheim's own fault. An overly ambitious arrangement with drums smashed the finest parts of Tribute to Linn. Such things can make anyone lose hope and interest. For long times I had the thoughts elsewhere and for a while it was just the dazzling light that brought my eyes back to the scene. It was as if Ternheim and her band went at half speed and compensated with a flashy framework.
I still remember the end of Anna Ternheim's concert in the city hall in Lund in January 2005. The audience stood up and applauded after the last song. She looked genuinely surprised and she deserved all the appreciation that evening.
Yesterday's audience had a collective stroke. As expected, Halfway to Five Points concluded the regular set. Then something very strange happened. Ternheim and her band went off the stage to the audience's applause. When they were gone the crowd stood up and continued to applaud. I thought that a standing ovation was a way to show appreciation while the band and the audience still had eye contact with each other. But apparently that is not how they do it in Malmö. Idiots.
Prior to the encore, only A French Love was amazing. The setlist was very impressive on paper but it did not help much when the songs could had been performed so much better. After the slaughter of Tribute to Linn, Calling Love remained my hope but unfortunately also came to be wasted. I do not remember what went wrong but it just did not feel magical. Ternheim then sat down at the piano and I wondered what she would play. I thought she had played all of her piano songs, and she had indeed done that. Instead, she played Shoreline. Brother Daniel's Shoreline. Completely meaningless in Ternheim's version. I did not believe a word of what she was singing and she might as well had humming through the whole song. The audience had probably not noticed the difference anyway.
An applause later, Ternheim finally did something different. She came in alone on stage and said she would sing A Voice to Calm You Down. Someone on the front row shouted a song request. Ternheim was annoyed but still managed to joke it away in a charming way. Then she got serious and took a step to the side, away from the microphone and sang for us. No instruments, just a voice. Between verses just the fans were heard. Naked Version Deluxe. Finally I heard my favourite song from the first album. I have called A Tribute to Linn Anna Ternheim's best song, but last night I realised I was wrong. A Tribute to Linn is so fragile that it could break. My Secret in contrast resists everything. Significant enough for the show, it was hacked apart by too many instruments at the end but you can not fail with My Secret. The audience stood up and applauded. This time, even I applauded sincerely.
I want to clarify a few things. Do not believe by any means that I begrudge Anna Ternheim success. I once called her our future and although it may not be true anymore I want her no harm. I am however annoyed when people get undeserved appreciation. Ternheim was incredibly much better in the city hall in Lund one and a half year ago, and she can perform much better than last night. Everyone can have a bad day but I paid 320 SEK, and I am thus entitled to make demands. As of this writing I have read in Ternheim's guestbook and people over there speak of an "unreal night." It might be cruel to deprive people their experiences but Ternheim has been better than this. This was probably the last time I went to a concert with numbered seats. I can not be at a show where I hate the audience.
Seven out of Ten
Setlist (or at least something that will remind you of one, I do not remember everything but I will edit it if I find a real list)
Girl Laying Down
Today Is a Good Day
You Better Be
I Follow You Tonight
Feels Like Sand
Words of Love
A French Love
Such a Lonely Soul
To Be Gone
Bring Down Like I
One to Blame
Tribute to Linn
Halfway to Five Points
First encore
Calling Love
Nights in Goodville
Shoreline
Second encore
A Voice to Calm You Down
Lovers Dream
My Secret
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