So I went to Gothenburg for some quality time with my best friend this weekend. And to see Phantom of the Opera with Fred Johanson playing the title role of the Phantom.

I saw Fred Johanson in the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar years and years ago, and I feel head over heels over his deep dark voice and his incredible presence in every scene he was in. My best friend, who is a serious musical buff, has since kept track of him both for me and since she likes him to. In a word, we’ve turned into a bit of fangirls over him.

Had I not been a fresh new mom, we would have gone to Stockholm to see him in Jesus Christ Superstar there, but alas… :-) Now we got our chance though, and we jumped at it! Plus it played during February and we both HATE February, so there’s that to. :-) We all need something to put a smile on our face, right?

Anyhow, to make sure we wouldn’t have to stress after we’d been to the Gothenburg Opera House were the musical played, we decided to share a room at a hotel. We both have busy lives with work and such, so we needed a lazy little weekend with our best friend. :-)

We left for Gothenburg moderately early, it just takes 1 hour to go to Gothenburg by bus or train, so we were there around… 10:30am.

Went to the hotel we were luckily our room was already available, so we dumped our sleepover bags and then we just strolled around town taking our time. We both needed a stress free day, and we took our time with everything. Went to our favorite shops and stores. I ‘happened to’ buy the three latest Elfquest graphic novels. Oops? And we had a late lunch/dinner in a lovely british themed pub before we went back to the hotel to dress up for the night.

( Travel and shopping and views of Gothenburg and it's stores with my best friend... )

The Gothenburg Opera House is quite impressive. A modern building mostly made by glass and steel, but it still works quite well and is oddly beautiful. Right by the harbor to. Easy to get to.

( Entrance of the Opera House... )

We were there in plenty time, so there was no stress getting rid of coats, do a panicked bathroom break and finding our seats. Great seats, by the way! Close but not too close to the stage. Could see everything and hear everything perfectly. Whenever I need tickets to a musical, I trust Ylletyg to get tickets, she seriously rocks at it. :-D

( Interiour decoration and well... me... )

And so… On to the musical itself. :-) Apart from the knee jerk reaction “OMG! IT WAS AMAZING! I HAD GOOSEBUMPS!” Well, I did have goosebumps for most of it, but…

Unlike Ylletyg I have not seen that many musicals (she’s a proper musical-nerd), but I HAVE read the original book by Gaston Leroux. And it’s a very goth, very harsh gritty story. From what I knew of the musical going in, it’s not… quite as harsh and gritty as the original story. The original story is really dark, really goth. I do recommend it if you have the patience for the old fashioned language used. It’s really good.

So to actually see and hear it, and with Fred Johanson to boot, it was a true experience.

( Me and best friend and the stage before the musical started... )

Let’s see… How to do this…

The good

Well, the music, obviously. *LOL* This production was made together with the Finnish National Opera Company, so there were a couple of opera singers in it. And the orchestra was quite massive as well. Not sure how big an orchestra is at a musical, but since this was played at the Gothenburg Opera House, they used the full orchestra usually used there. And you could tell. The music just consumed you. Not even joking. The combination of the skilled musicians and the singers, all the different singers, was spellbinding.

Another downright amazing thing, that impressed both me and Ylletyg, is something the Gothenburg Opera House is known for… The ease and speed in wish the stage was changed and the scenography. I mean, the set up of the stage was changed SO FAST and SO SEAMLESSLY!!! Apparently the Gothenburg Opera House is built to be able to do that, so there was many scenes with different looks and a lot of props that quickly and seamlessly was changed around. The most impressive scene to me was when The Phantom lures Christine with him to his lair the first time (during the song Phantom of the Opera, the most famous of the songs) and all these stairwells and grey brick walls moved around on the stage as if they were part of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies… WITH the actors standing on them! THAT was impressive!

Another really good thing about this musical, which both me and Ylletyg both commented on at the same time, was that it was quite harsh and gritty, goth and dark. Well, the story IS dark and goth in and off itself, but the movie isn’t that harsh and gritty. And according to Ylletyg, previous productions hasn’t been this harsh and gritty either… If that makes sense? It sure worked really really well though, and I got the feeling that the actors/singers enjoyed that to. The costumes were INCREDIBLE and while I wanted to steal most of the male costumes, Ylletyg wanted to steal all the female ones. *LOL* She said the costumes had a bit of steampunk feel to it, and I have to agree! They even redesigned The Phantom’s mask, and I have to say I really liked it! The whole scenography and costumes was really good and added to the harsh, gritty, goth, dark feel of the whole production. A great great job!

Characters / Actors

When it comes to characters and their singers/actors, I have to say a character I found dull and boring in the book and in the movie (yes, I have seen the movie to), is Raoul. Christine's love interest. He is the posterboy for the time the novel was written, but would not be popular today, if get what I mean. But the actor/singer that did him the night we watched, did something more with the character within the frames he was given. A boyish charming guy, that very clearly showed his love for Christine. Not just competing with The Phantom, you know? He somehow managed to show that he cared. More than the Raoul in the novel, to be honest. So he sure impressed me!

Raoul works together with the two new owners of the Opera, Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur André. And these two were freaking HILARIOUS! Perfect comic relief without going to far with it. Have some of the best songs, to be honest. And the two actors clearly had fun with these actors. It was very obvious. The Phantom is my favorite, but these comes close to it, for sure. I think they did great!

Carlotta and Pangini were two other characters that were definitely comic reliefs. Carlotta and Pangini are the two stars of the opera in the story. And Carlotta? Is a proper diva! *LOL* The actress/singer is a trained opera-singer. And you can tell. I don’t think she had a microphone. She didn’t need one. Holy hell, what a voice! Combining that with an over the top diva character, and it was a joy to see! Also, she had the most awesome clothes off ALL the characters! High heeled victorian boots in leopard print? GIVE ME! Pangini was a bit more flat of a character, but he was funny to. Especially with Carlotta who kept bulling him around, while he just came back for more. Both of them played up an italian accent, which was very fitting both for the setting and the story.

Madame Giry and Meg are two pretty cool characters in the story to, that I really really like. We’re getting close to my favorite now. ;-) Madame Giry pretty much takes another characters role in the novel. The character that KNOWS… Knows about where the Phantom/Erik comes from. And that was a pleasant surprise. You actually found out quite a bit! That he’d built a room of mirrors for a Shah… that he’d been born with a disfigurement… that he’d been with a freakshow lead by gypsies… That he’d built trapdoors and sneaky passages all over the Opera House… So Madame Giry is quite the important character! And the actress/singer who played her did SUCH a good job! Just the right amount of creepy and know-it-all without making it annoying.

So is Meg! She’s best friend with Christine, and is a constant suporter to Christine. She’s the one that tells Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur André that Chrstine can be a standin for Carlotta, and in so makes sure they can discover Chrstines amazing voice. She to knows the stories about the Phantom quite well and also gives us clues to him, just like her mother. Her actress doesn’t have that much to work with, but I think she did a great job, I really did.

Christine… Ah, Christine. The token love intressent. She’s just as interesting as in the novel, that is not that interesting at all. But I have to give it to the actress/singer. She really milked the role for all it was worth! Not only a gorgeous young woman with a miraculous voice that is manipulated by a creepy voice in the walls… But a woman with dreams and wants her own, that wants to be independent and be the new star but is to shy to take the chance in the beginning (thank you Meg!). And also how confused and desperate she is the longer the story unfolds. I think it was very well played! And that woman's voice… WOW! She to has apparently trained to be a opera singer, and you can tell! Some of them notes… Just wow...

The Phantom / Erik… Ah, what to say, really? Played by the INCREDIBLE Fred Johanson, the sole reason we even went to see this production of The Phantom. It, of course, helps that I really like the story about Erik, the man who has grown up harshly and then isolated because of his face that is disfigured and horrible to see. Not even his mother managed to look at him kindly. One of my favorite books is Phantom by Susan Kay about Erik’s life from birth to death. I can not recommend it enough if you enjoy this character. It’s absolutely incredible. How did Fred Johanson do in the role then? Incredible, as was expected. He is a very tall man, somewhere between 6,4 and 6,5 feet tall (said himself in an interview), if somewhat leaner than he used to be. Still, having an incredible knee length coat on (that I wanted to steal…), he makes for an imposing figure. He definitely did the character justice, and not only when he needed to be scary, but also in more emotional moments. And then Fred’s voice… Holy fuck, that deep dark voice… It gives me freaking goosebumps, not even joking. Fred also has an incredible presence on stage! I’ve seen him three times live now, and then there’s the Jesus Christ Superstar movie, and Fred has this ability to just OWN the stage as soon as he sets foot on it. I don’t know how he does it, but it’s incredible to see. As the Phantom at times you just hear his voice, you don’t see him, and he still just OWNS the stage! An amazing talent in all ways! He really should get more attention for his talent.

Just to prove Fred’s talent, here he sings The Music Of The Night:

( Fred Johanson singing The Music of The Night! )

The bad

So the bad… Was there anything bad? Well, yeah. And it’s mostly nitpicking, but still.

One thing that kind disappointed me was… The infamous chandelier. The one that at one point during the musical “falls down”. The Phantom is pissed off, and makes a chandelier in the auditorium fall down and kill some of the audience, and to show this during the musical, they have a chandelier go on a cable over the audience from the ceiling. The whole musical starts with it going up the ceiling. You’d expect it to be an impressive piece then, right? Since it plays such a vital role? Right? Well. The auditorium at the Gothenburg Opera House is MASSIVE. And the chandelier kinda… disappeared. It looked REALLY TINY somehow. And the design wasn’t that impressive either, so that was a bit of a let down. :-P It was still cool though when it “fell down”.

At one point in the middle the story slowed down a bit, and I didn’t really know what was going on. It was a good thing I knew the story well, just saying, or I could have been a bit lost. Also, in the beginning especially, there was just way to many people on stage and you had to really focus to keep track of where the main characters was.

Nitpicky? Yes, a little maybe. :-) I’m allowed to. ;-)



Right, so…

After the musical was over, me and Ylletyg went to get our coats. We’d decided to try to go to the stage door to see if we could see Fred Johanson there and hopefully get an autograph. So we stood there calmly waiting in line… And suddenly, right behind us one of the many doors in the Opera House opened. And Fred Johanson in full Phantom makeup literary leaned his head out the door raising an eyebrow.

I nearly peed myself. One of those things you just can’t believe is happening.

Fred seemed to know some people, one in a wheelchair, and talked happily to them. No one bothered him, or took photos. Everyone was REALLY respectful and kept their distance, so he just stood there, talking happily with a couple of people. Opening and closing the door now and then since the alarm kept going off, and making a funny joke about it every time. Me and Ylletyg had a hard time containing our excitement, I won’t lie. We debated back and forth in hushed voices if we really would dare to go over to him or not and what we’d say etc…

Then a young women came over to me giving me a hug. It took me a second, but then I saw she was one of the many teens that had graduated from ‘my school’ two years ago. She was studying music now and was just as excited as we were about the musical experience, and very happy to see me (yay!). She’d spent hours in the library with me, so she knew what a nerd and fangirl I am. When I told her I didn’t know if I should go over to Fred or not or if I dared to ask for a photo, she sternly told me I HAD to when she understood what a fan I was. The student becomes the teacher? X-D

Said and done, when there were fewer people talking to him we walked over to him, hearts beating, and told him what an incredible singer he is. I think I even told him I got goosebumps from his voice. X-D

And we also made sure to say we were amazed by the presence he has on stage, and that we’d seen him in three different musicals live now, and that at least I kept rewatching the Jesus Christ Superstar he is in. He seemed really flattered that we’d followed his career and read up on him more than just about this role and was very happy to hear we’d enjoyed his performance that much. I remember he said he’d never reflected on about having a presence or stage or not, but we assured him he seriously has.

We respectfully asked him if we could take a photo, and he said sure! Fred then asked if we wanted a joint selfie with him. At that point my poor friend who is just 4.9 feet tall (short?) piped up “But I’m so short…” Well, I’m 5.9, almost 6 feet, and Fred is between 6.4 and 6.5 feet, so I totally understand her! X-D We ended up taking a photo each with him. When it was Ylletygs turn, he even bent his knees so he’d be level with her. IT WAS SO CUTE!!!! We again thanked him so very much for the incredible evening. He just smiled and bid his farewell before disappearing behind that door again.

( Picture evidence! I DID GET A SELFIE WITH THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! I GOT TO MEET FRED JOHANSON!!! )

As we were leaving after that, we were downright floating! X-D We could not stop grinning and felt as if we were drunk, even if we hadn’t had any alcohol that day! (Well, just a little with lunch/dinner...)

Ylletyg commented that things like this only happens when it’s us two to doing stuff together, and I think she’s right! The magic of being two long time best friends? *LOL* It might be what triggers these incredible things!

So before we went back to the hotel, we felt like we needed a sturdy drink! So we found a pub that wasn’t to crowded, had a drink and a snack, discussing our evening and our incredible meeting with Fred. Then we went back to the hotel.

Once in a bed each though, we couldn’t sleep! X-D Se we ended up laying in the darkness giggling and talking for quite the long time, just like little girls, before we feel asleep!

You’d never guess we’re both 40 years old… X-D

The next day Ylletyg had to get up early since she was going on a course in Gothenburg to learn how to make hats, so I joined her for the LOVELY hotel breakfast and then she left and I just lazed around a bit in the hotel room before leaving to. A bit of shopping later and I went home.

So thus endeth my AMAZING time in Gothenburg with my best friend!

This entry is cross posted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Let’s start with Alexandra's knee, shall we?

( Adventures in swedish healthcare to find out what's wrong with kiddo's knee... )

( Me turning 40 and kiddo turning 5 means A HUGE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! )

( Work, work... and Alexandras dream coming true! )

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Where to start?

Let's start with my leg, shall we? Monday last week I let go of my crutches. Which is both scary and great. My lower leg / foot is weak still, but it works. So long as I don't overexert myself, I'm pain free. Sometimes I'm a bit uncomfortable, but it works well. I limp though, and since my entire body is somewhat crooked, so that makes sure my back and hip hurts if I walk around to long. So it's good that I work as a librarian, isn't it?

I do go to physical therapy twice a week and I do have a few exercises at home to.

So it's going well! Very very slowly, but it goes well! :-) So that's all good!

Work though, that's less than good. I am SO FRUSTRATED!!! *screams!*

While my substitute was there, the worst hooligans of the school decided to use him as their squeaky toy basically. They came into the library every day and fucked with him. And he has no authority around him at all, as you can see if you read my previous posts. So they bulldozed right over him. And he couldn't keep the library open pretty much.

Anyhow... Now these hooligans and their friends/hangarounds have gotten the habit off always sit in the library. *HEAVY SIGH* Which in turn makes sure the teens/tweens that DO wanna borrow books... Don't dare to come to the library. Which also means, even though I do get deliveries of books I've ordered, and still do order books.... No one borrows them.

If that is not depressing and frustrating, I don't know what is. And it doesn't matter what I say or do, I can't get rid of them.

So now, on Monday, I'll refurnish the library with the help of some other librarians, to make sure that I have 100% view of all couches. Because the big couch I have in a corner (next to the picture books for little kids) is the most popular one. It stands a bit off to the side, and hence they get some privacy to create chaos. *HEAVY SIGH... AGAIN*

So work is less than fun right now.

Which, in turn, makes sure that the trip I'm making right after work, oh so much more exciting! :-D

I'm going to Stockholm on Wednesday, right after work. And then on Thursday I'll see Tokio Hotel live! :-D I am so excited! Even though I don't like their new album much, their previous one I love! And there's quite a few songs from that album on the setlist to, I've seen. So I am VERY excited! :-D

The fact I have a VIP ticket does help, of course. ;-) I mean, I've followed these boys for 8 years (!). It it time. Really. *lol*

Anyway, so what the ticket says I'll be getting is (I have a Humanoid one, for those who want to know):

• Treehouse Concierge Service


• exclusive VIP pass


• preferred entry


• Q&A session post-show - meet the band after the show and get all your questions answered


• take a selfie with the band


• have a professional photo taken with the band


• get a limited edition poster signed by each band member


• receive a special designed gift item as a surprise


• be part of Tokio Hotel TV and film the ending card of new episodes together with the band


• crowd free Merchandise shopping 10% off

If I'm nervous? Really fucking nervous! o.O Excited and nervous!

I mean, I'll get a chance to ask them a question for them to answer during the Q&A. And I have no idea what the hell to ask... And I'll probably be the oldest one there. :-P Maybe ask something about that? Their older fans? I don't know...

Also, the fact I'll actually be standing right next to them is just too mind blowing right now, I try not to think about it. More than in the fact I'll make damn sure I got the G's in the middle and NOT the twins! G's girl, that's me!

(This post was written yesterday, and posted today.)

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Sweden Rock Festival is one HELL of a festival! And, as I learned, is perfect for a festival-beginner like myself. :-) Since the average age at the festival was... 37. So there were a lot of older people there. And families. I saw a lot of prams and young kids. They have this rule that you can't bring kids under the age of 3. And if you have kids with you between the age 3-13, they HAVE to have hearing protection (big bulky kind), or they won't be let into the festival grounds. Good rules! :-)

All this meant it was a very friendly and happy atmosphere at the festival. No fights, no angry drunks. Just happy silly drunks everywhere. I saw the guards lead ONE visitor out while I was there, since he was so drunk he was almost unconscious. ONE! And there were around 33'000 to 34'000 people there. That should tell you something. :-)

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the beginning, sorta. :-)

I figured getting up early and taking a shower BEFORE going was a great idea. ;-) So I did that, and then woke up Alexandra so she got to daycare at perfect time before breakfast there. She's not a breakfast eating kid, but she eats better at daycare in the morning, so it's all good. :-) She was a happy kid, and I talked to her both during Thursday evening and in the morning that mom is going on a short trip and it's just her and daddy and mom is coming home tomorrow... She seemed to get it, and said OK and daddy picking up and all that, so she was a happy kid Friday morning. :-)

Then home, some makeup on and then the BIG backpack I had packed the night before. Reason it was heavy as fuck and big as well, was I had a tent in it. And an old air mattress. Yeah, that weighed a ton. Even if it is a lightweight tent.

I had a scare at the beginning of my trip though. I went by cab to the train station, because I'm lazy like that with a heavy backpack and such. Plenty of time and everything. First track was to go to Gothenburg with a bus and then catch a train to Lund from there, and then onwards to Sölvesborg where the festival is. BUT! Of course the bus was late. To the point I was sitting there on the bus and thinking, I will miss my connecting train... And I almost did. The bus-driver was a saint though and stopped at a red light next to the trains at the train station, so I could jump out and RUSH (with heavy bag, mind) to the train... I think I had LESS than a minute to spare... o.O

But I made it and ended up sitting on that train with some LOVELY people that I talked to for that entire trip. Made sure the time flew. :-) The rest of the trip was uneventful. No problems at all. Had lunch (with a glas of wine) in Lund while waiting and then last track to Sölvesborg.

Once in Sölvesborg things got interesting. Saw a few cabs, and lazy me I wanted a cab to the campsite, Rosenlunds Camping. It's the calmer of the campsites around the festival area. Hence I booked my night there. :-) I would not want my tent to be run over or something... *lol*

Anyway, it's a rock-festival. I didn't expect it to be quite or anything. So I got there, found a spot that looked moderately calm. Next to the road, but I didn't mind that. Some music-nerds as neighbors on one end. And some older dudes on the other. Once I had put up the tent (which was very easy) my last neighbors showed. A bunch of rowdy 20 somethings... Crap, I thought to myself. So much for my beauty sleep after the concerts...

And the first thing they ask is if I wanted to see a real cock. *raises eyebrow* I calmly told him I'd seen plenty of those and was sure his wasn't that interesting nor very big. He pulled it out and sure enough, it was tiny, which I told him. I calmly asked him how old he was, and he drunkenly proudly boasted he was born 1982. Little boy with your little dick... You're younger than my little brother, I informed him. I swear he made a squeaking sound when he promptly put his dick away and to the laughter of his mates, went to get another beer. X-D

Man, I love my mother who taught me how to handle things like that. And I find it hilariously FUN to do that to! X-D

I was still worried they'd be noisy during the night though.

Once the tent was up and I was pleased with my camp, I went to buy some drinks and get some cash, wish you could withdraw right there at the campsite. For a fee. MAN! You had to pay a fee for EVERYTHING! So I made sure I had plenty cash for food and drinks, and then I followed the stream of people towards the festival.

Wasn't hard to find, the closer you got the more tents that sold food, drinks and just STUFF there was around the place. I found the entrance, but you couldn't get your festival-bracelet there. And everyone I asked gave me different directions to where to get said bracelet which had me go to the wrong place first. Not very fun. But eventually I found my way, could get my bracelet and got in. :-)

And it was amazing. :-D First music I was drawn to was a older band, which I later found out was called Dokken. So I stopped at that stage for a bit listening to them. They were really good! Then I got hungry and man... There was SO MUCH FOOD you could buy everywhere! So I found a place selling moose kebab (no joke!) and got some energy. Then I went to buy a Mötley Crüe t-shirt, since I didn't want to miss that. And good thing I did. It was still early, around 5pm, and they'd already sold out almost. So I got one of the last ones in XL. o.O And I got a Sweden Rock t-shirt to! Of course. ;-)

Securing the t-shirt to my bag, I started walking around some more. Looking at people. Having a drink of cider. Looking at more people. Eating more food. Listening to music. Ended up in a tent at one point where these moderately young guys played heavier rock dressed in fantasy-clothing... Got me curious and they were funny when talking between songs to. Later figured they were called Gloryhammer. They were not bad, but not quite my taste in rock.

I then just walked around, enjoying the festival atmosphere. I got stuck drinking, sitting on the grass and enjoying a cider after that for a bit. And listened to a band that was... really boring and... odd, if you ask me. They were called Opeth, and I don't even know why I stayed at that spot listening to them for a while, but I guess I was comfortable.

I'd found a place that sold really good toasts with a swedish cheese called Västerbotten cheese and chanterelles. And OH MY GAWD! It was sooo good, I had to go back several times.

At one point when waiting in line for a toast (it was constantly a long line there), there was this little kid there going ALL IN playing the air guitar with an inflatable guitar at a booth next to the toast-place. They were playing Mötley Crüe (!) in that booth, so he rocked out and HARD to the music! To the point of a guy joining him. Kid rocking out might be... 11 or 12 maybe? And the guy joining him on his own inflatable guitar somewhere around 25. And they pulled off quite the show! To the point of gathering a crowd that cheered for them and all that! So that was fun!

And when I was waiting for a toast (again!) I had these fun older guys behind me laughing and having fun, saying they'd eaten food at the festival that were better than orgasms... and lasted longer to! Since they were so cheerful, I just couldn't keep my mouth shut, and said I agreed! Orgasms usually don't last very long! It ended up with me and them four older guys having a HILARIOUS discussion about orgasms and growers and showers. X-D The younger of the four (probably just slightly older than peting73) said I was his future wife since I was that cool. I had to decline though, since I am already taken! Was SO MUCH FUN!

I made plenty travels to the portable toilets during the day, and that was an experience in and off itself. Because they had one big area with just portable toilets. *lol* Well run and all, but damn. That was a lot of portable toilets! X-D

I made sure to have a drink in my bag and fresh from the portable toilets, I went looking at Backyard Babies, which are REALLY good! I really really like them! Such entertainers!

I kept to the back a bit in the audience though during their concert, because right after them the main event of the evening was to take place. So some time before their concert ended I made my way towards the main stage at the area. And, since I was alone… I made my way all up to the front of the stage!!! OH MY GAWD!!! I very very rarely go to concerts. And I’ve NEVER been that close to the stage before! Cue me nervous!

Anyway, it was still quite long a wait, so I talked a bit to an older couple that was next to me. And last they’d seen Mötley Crüe they’d been 16 and newly in love! SOOO COOL! But not so strange. Mötley Crüe has kept it up for more than 30 years. Had a good time talking to them, although the man in the couple was… VERY drunk. Which apparently amused his wife. Good thing I had someone to talk to, because we had to wait long. But the crowd just kept growing. And grew HUGE behind me!

I think not all, but most of the 33’000 - 34’000 festival goers were there. It was incredible.

Once Mötley Crüe entered the stage, I first wondered if I had to regert going to see them, since it took a bit for them to get the audience going. But once they did, oh my… What a feeling! I sang along to most of the songs and reached out for them when they got close to the stage! The sea of people moved, so even though I’d started at Mick Mars side of the stage, I ended up at the middle having the midstage in front of me after a while.

Vince Neil had problems with his earpiece and microphone at the beginning of the concert, and sadly they gave up so he had to go change, in the middle of Dr Feelgood, one of my absolute favorite songs. :-( So that was sad. Gladly though they did many other classics, like Kickstart My Heart, Smoking in the boys room, Livewire, Girls girls girls, Looks that kill, Wild Side… I could go on. :-) What made me happy was that they had a few from their latest album, Saints of Los Angeles and Mutherfucker of the year. I really like that album, so that made me happy. :-) And they had one encore, Home Sweet Home. Oh my gawd, the WHOLE audince sang along then, it was one hell of a moment.

And yeah, most of the audience sang along to all the songs. I did to, when I knew the lyrics. *lol* What annoyed me though, was that I had a gang to the left of me that kept complaining about the concert. Throughout the concert. While standing in the front. WTH? If you are going to complain, you don’t like the band… WHY would you be in the front, uhu? To destroy for us that WANT to be there? Makes no sense to me.

During the concert, although I have a HUGE soft heart for Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee, I was mostly impressed by Mick Mars. I mean, I know he has struggled with his disease, Ankylosing spondylitis his entire careerer. But to actually SEE it! See how seriously destroyed his body is from his disease. But how very quick and clever he is playing the guitar and that he still loves to be on stage... That impressed the hell out of me. Rock on, old mutherfucker. Rock the fuck on!

Anyway, I loved being able to see them. I had fun. It rocked. The whole crowd moved with the music… It was incredible. And I’ll definitely remember it fondly. (Can you say that about a rock-concert? *lol*)

After Mötley Crüe had left the stage, it took a bit for the crowd to open up, but when it did I started to make my way to the exit. There were still bands playing, but I was exhausted, so I started making my way back to the camping ground.

It is quite a long walk, 800 meters, and my feet were VERY tired even though I had my good BIG Docs on. So it took a while since I walked slowly. Was easy though, there was this literary stream of people to just follow. On my way, I felt a nagging need for something sweet, so I found a booth that sold belgium waffles. And HOLY HELL! o.O They were GOOD! SO nice! I need to learn to make these… So I nibbled on that while walking.

Once at the camping ground, I got my toothbrush, then stood in line for bathroom and took care of all that.

Back around the tent however it was… silent. Except for the road, but not many cars there either. To my SHOCK the crazy ass 20-somethings that I thought were going to be loud and noisy all night… were knocked out apparently. X-D Only ones awake were the old guys who bid me a good night when I crawled in my tent. Kids these days… *lol*

After a bit of a fight I got myself in my sleeping bag and I was KNOCKED OUT! Next morning I fought my sleeping bag again. (I sleep VERY well in it, but I have to fight the zipper every time!)

Once ready I got out of the tent and located breakfast, taking a seat with some other guys (who had driven 12 hours to get there!) and talked to them while eating.

Back at the tent, I packed up cheerfully cheered on by the older guys, who after that offered me breakfast. AKA moonshine and Coca Cola. X-D I’ve had moonshine before, many times. And this was the GOOD kind. Looked like water and I could barely smell it at all.

So I had a drink with them, and they were really nice. Mötley Crüe fans as well, so we talked about them. And they were impressed I’d gone there alone. I told them about the greeting I’d gotten from the 20-something guys with the cock. Which had them laugh merrily and then I ended up in ANOTHER dick-discussion! MY GAWD! X-D It was all in good fun though, and some serious to since we talked about illnesses you can get in your dick if you're a guy. :-D They were REALLY sweet older guys, two friends that had visited Sweden Rock for years. Had I stayed another night, I would have loved hanging out with them and just talking. :-) They were really nice.

Once packed up, I made my way to the entrance and tried calling for a cab, but had no connection so I found a staff member who helped me call for a cab. My feet were so achy so there was no way in hell I was walking to the buss-stop at the festival entrance 800 meters away.

The rest of the journey home was uneventful. Trains that was on time and everything, so I had no problems. I didn’t have any fun company like I did on the way there, bu they… That’s what I had my smartphone for and my magazines that I’d bought for. ;-)

peting73 and Alexandra was both very happy to see me when I got home (a cab from the trainstation as well… hey, I’m old and my feet were achy).

All in all, going to Sweden Rock was one HELL of an experience! Seeing Mötley Crüe was wonderful! Slash was there playing this year, and if he comes back? I might consider going again. :-) It was such a great festival. Very friendly and happy an atmosphere and some seriously good music! :-D

If you wanna see the photos that turned out OK, you can go to my Instagram HERE. There’s a clip of Mick Mars playing on stage… and of the little kid rocking out with the inflatable guitar there to. ;-)

And now I’ll shut up. For now. ;-D

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

This summer is going to go down the history books... Geezes christ. o.O

I don't even know how it ended up this way, but I'll be exhausted after this summer. And it's not like there's anything bad going on. It's all good fun exciting stuff! But... THERE'S A LOT OF IT!!! o.O

• May 8th and May 9th Ruchi is coming to visit me! We've followed each other here on LJ since I got my LJ almost... which was 2001. That's A LONG TIME AGO! And now she's coming to visit me. In just 2 weeks. I can't even wrap my head around that. Crazy! I so look forward to it though! I just worry what to show her? I mean, what can little Borås have to show to a born and breed girl from Brooklyn New York?!?!? I am just a LITTLE panicked over this fact! o.O *flails and runs around*



• June 5th I am going to Sweden Rock Festival to watch Mötley Crües final visit to Sweden. It's their Last Tour run in Europe this summer, and once they'd done this world tour (running around the world a couple of times it appears... mostly in the US...), after that... They'll split up. They've even signed a contract for this. It's sad. Mötley Crüe is one hell of a band come glam metal rock. I love their music. But Mick Mars, bless him... His body is literary giving up on him. I have SUCH admiration of that man. So I understand if they pull the plug, I really do.



• June 18th-21st me and Alexandra was supposed to stay at mom's to celebrate Midsummer. Supposed, I say. Since mom called today. She is getting surgery done on her stomach to remove extra skin after her gastric bypass. Something she's waited a long time for. And she found out today what dates to be at the hospital for this. 18th. Of course. Fuck. Peting is going to visit his best friend that lives 8 hours drive from here for that weird Midsummer paty that said best friend arranges each year. And what with the disaster last year with neither me nor Alexandra doing very good... I am NOT going. So I'd planned to spend Midsummer with mom. Well, that just didn't happen. Now I don't know what to do? I might call my brother and see... Maybe MIL... Although Peting and his relatives just don't celebrate Midsummer, which I love to do, so we'll see what happens there. I have some time yet to plan.



• June - July somewhere snowstormskies might come to visit me again. She did last summer and she LOVED it here, which was wonderful to hear. We had a lovely, lovely time. Unfortunately she's having a really rough time right now, so it's not sure she'll be able to make it. I'd love to be able to give her hugs again though.



• July 17-19th it's the yearly summer LARP based on the Fall Out games. So we call it the Fall Out LARP even if it's really called Valvet. One of the BEST LARP's I've been to! I've had such AMAZING things happen during that LARP, I don't even have words. I just pray and hope my darling friend J is coming this year. I ADORE playing with him! He is SUCH a sweetheart with one hell of a twisted mind. You end up plotting with him? You bet your ass you'll have one hell of a time. I've screamed. I've cried. I've scarred myself (accidentally from stumbling and hitting my knee on a rock!). I've been terrified. I've laughed so hard my stomach hurts. It's... such an amazing LARP, I'd hate to miss it. Oh, and it so happens it runs during my birthday weekend this year. Of course. X-D (My birthday is the 19th.)



• 22nd of August my friend Chigrima who I wrote my masters thesis with is getting married to her long time friend and then partner Silvestris. They've meet and ended up friends before I meet Peting and got together with him. They were just friends at first. Then they were friends sharing an apartment... And then I think it progressed from there. These two ladies are AMAZING! They really are. And I am absolutely THRILLED they are getting married!

And I'm supposed to be able to work there somehow to. At a new job. I don't even know how this happened. I swear. But I need an extra vacation after this summer. o.O

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

To all of you who celebrate it one way or another... I just wanted to say

HAPPY MIDSUMMER!

And now I'm going to make myself comfortable in the car...

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

All TH-fans! I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE FIC-CHALLENGE!

With that said, let me tell you what I AM talking about. :-D

I've been following the blog Shadow Manor - The Art Of Darkness for many years now, and every year when it gets close to Christmas, they have this fake gift swap. Meaning, if you could afford to, knew the recipient or even cared enough... This would be what you'd get them. :-)

I have never joined, but... WTH not, right? So here goes.

To my recipient, Cat of Spookymoon.Com!

I noticed you enjoy history and haunted buildings and things.... Since you've posted a lot about that.

So... Had I been able to, I would have given you a trip. To visit some of the most interesting and famous castles around Sweden. ;-)

We'd start at the castle closest to my home, Torpa Stenhus.


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Apparently one of the owners plastered his daughter into an alcove in the wall... alive...



Then I'd take you to Läckö Castle... where I've spent so much time when I was a kid. I love that castle.


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Was a lot of witches burned in this castle during the witchhunts, so I am sure there's a ghost or two haunting these halls as well...


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Then we'd go to Vadstena Castle in the city Vadstena where I have relatives that we could stay with. :-)


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Apparently the widow of Karl X of Sweden haunts the halls of Vadstena Castle...


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Then we'd go to Gripsholms Castle, that is actually IN USE now and then by our current royal family...


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Here's a ghost called The Grey Lady, one of the wives of Karl IX, who haunts these halls...


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Lastly, before I let you go home again, we have the current residency of the royal family... Drottningholm Castle.


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There's apparently more than one ghost haunting these halls. Both the White Lady... and a Grey Man... I hope our royal family still sleeps good during the night.


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And that would be the last castle on the trip!

With that I say! MERRY CHRISTMAS and all that... :-)

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.