Okay so I went to the Celine Dion concert in Stockholm on Saturday Night and thought that I'd share my experiences.
The first time I saw Celine Dion in concert was in June 2008 when she came to “the globe” in Stockholm. I went to that concert together with my sister Jenny and before the concert we met up with a fellow Swedish Celine Dion fan from this board community at the Cliff Barnes Restaurant in Stockholm. They didn’t serve any food at that time of the day though so we ended up eating at a restaurant in the arena area instead. But we had a great time. I remember the concert was a magical experience. My sister and I had nosebleed seats and were looking at Celine Dion from a bird view perspective. She was about the size of an ant that moved so we saw better on the TV screens. But what a marvelous voice she had. I remember her voice as being stronger in concert than on records. The concert was special for three reasons, meeting up with friends before, the first time we ever saw Celine Dion in real life and that brought a thrill with it and well the third reason is not a good one. You see a couple of days before that concert I got a case of mild sepsis in one of my feet. It was all red and swollen and I was given antibiotics for it. It was constantly pounding and I could barely walk. I was told I might have to miss the concert. But in my mind there was no doubt that I was going to that concert. I was not going to let that stop me from going. Sepsis can be a very serious illness but I guess I was one of the lucky ones who caught it in time and who responded well to the antibiotics. Anyway so there I was going to the concert with a swollen foot. But since I had my cowboy boots on me, nobody could tell how sick I was. That night something wonderful happened, I was able to stand up and dance at the concert without feeling pain. When I got back to the car I realized that the swelling of my foot had started to go down. I had licked that thing and was feeling literally better. I am convinced that going to that concert helped me get through the whole ordeal. It gave me something to look forward to and a goal to achieve. I wanted to go to that concert and I went and it felt like it had a healing effect on me.
Anyway enough about that concert experience. I just wanted to mention it as a back story to give you a better understanding of how that concert experience was special and how it differed from the new one. So well I found out that Celine Dion was coming back to Sweden on her new tour in February 2017 and I made sure to wait around for about an hour online prior to the ticket release to try to secure tickets for myself and my sister. It succeeded and I was so happy and excited that we were going to see Celine Dion again. I was very much looking forward to the concert.
June 17th finally arrived and I woke up that morning with a feeling of anticipation lingering in the air. I spent probably over an hour trying to select clothes for the event before eventually settling on a blue summer dress that I had bought in France three summers ago. I also decided to go make up free to the event!
We had lunch at home and walked the dog before it became time to leave for the event. Since we didn’t have any plans to meet up with people before the event this time we left later than we had planned though. So it got a big stressful and by the time they opened the arena at five p.m. we still had 1,5 hours left to drive before getting there. We listened to Celine Dion CD’s all the way in the car, starting with “Taking Chances”, then “Unison” and finally “A New Day Has Come” before we finally arrived at the arena. Then it was only one hour left until the concert started and there was a huge queue of taxi cars dropping off people who were dressed up for the concert. There were also some other cars looking for a parking space. The concert was in the Tele2 arena but that garage was already full. But luckily we found a place in a nearby garage which was not yet full. We then proceeded with eating/drinking some soup in the car and went to the toilet in a shopping mall before going to queue to be let into the arena area. We passed by security and were then able to walk straight into the arena. Since we were arriving late we didn’t have to wait outdoors for the arena to be opened. The man checking my tickets wished us a nice evening. I said thank you and we then headed straight for the merchandise shop where we got new t-shirts and the program. It was a nice program with a lot of photos so I can definitely recommend people to buy it. But there was no list of songs in the program. I suppose it’s because Celine varies the songs she sings from one concert to another. For instance in France I’m sure she sings more songs in French. I noticed that the tour was only in 15 cities in eight countries: Denmark, Sweden, England, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany and Scotland. So it was a rather limited tour. But I am glad that she chose to return to Sweden.
After that we got our drinks in another queue, only water for us, but you could also get sodas or beer if you’d like. While we waited in that queue the opening act began. A couple of minutes after 7.30 p.m. we walked into the arena where the lights were already dimmed and it was hard to see where we were going. Our seats were on the right side of the floor on row 36. I was excited about this fact as I figured we’d get a better concert experience sitting closer to the stage this time than the last time. We had seat 119 and 120 which was right next to the right side aisle. There were three aisles in the arena, in the middle one there was a crush barrier separating the right and the left side of the audience from each other. A couple of rows behind us were the control boards for the sound levels and some huge video cameras filming the event. By each side of the stage were huge TV monitors, showing the concert so that people who were sitting further back could see it.
We were sitting to the right of the stage straight ahead of the right TV monitor. There were also two monitors to the sides showing the concert in the level of the people sitting on the upper stalls.
The stage itself was to the left of us and the downside of it was that I had to turn my head slightly to the left all evening to be able to see anything. I have a whiplash injury since 2011 that was made worse a few weeks ago when a car backed into me at a parking lot (I was sitting in a parked car at the time) so I knew it was a position that would multiply the ever existing dull pain in my head and neck. But I decided to ignore it and try to enjoy the concert anyway.
The opening act was a Canadian woman named Veronic Dicaire. She had the same English accent as Celine Dion when she spoke. She was a vocalist who could imitate other famous singers such as Madonna, Tina Turner, Susan Boyle, Adele, Whitney Houston etc. She did so with varying results. But it was lots better than the opening act DJ on Madonna’s concert in 2015. I found myself comparing the event with the Madonna concert a lot to begin with as it was in the same arena. I thought to myself that I had probably had a better view from the lower stalls at the Madonna concert than we had now as we were sitting on the same level as the people in front of us so there were a lot of heads shooting up from people who were taller than me. When we stood up I saw a bit better though thanks to my killer heels that made me 10 centimeters taller than I actually am. However when I came home and checked my Madonna photos I realized that I saw better this time from the floor...
Anyway the opening act was quite good. But after it was finished the lights went on again and we had to wait 30 minutes for Celine Dion to appear on the stage which meant that the party mood that the opening act had worked up soon evaporated as people walked back and forth in the arena. I asked the lady sitting next to us to take a photo of me and Jenny and then we looked in the program while we waited for the show to begin.
As the musicians started to appear on the dimmed stage there were rounds of applauds in the audience as the anticipation in the arena rose. When Celine eventually appeared it was to thunderous applauds.
We did see her better this time than the last time even though she had a habit of moving more towards the left side of the stage where her musicians were positioned than to the right side. Anyway Celine was dressed in black with a silver sparkling suit jacket. She began the show by singing “The Power of Love” and had the audience on our feet. She got a standing ovation after that number. Celine then sang “I Drove All Night” and there was a bit of a party mood in the arena.
But then she wanted to talk and welcome us to the event. After her talk people just didn’t get back on their feet but remained sitting down. In her opening talk she admitted that she was a little nervous about the concert as it had been a long time since she’d been on tour. She cracked some jokes and went into a long talk about her connection with Sweden and Swedish people. She knows the Parneviks, which doesn’t impress me much as although he’s an athlete he is now more famous for having a reality TV show and I just don’t like reality TV in general. Celine likes Swedish meatballs and one of our candies and I thought she meant salt licorice at first but then she said it was a red fish and I have no clue what she meant. But yeah her humor shone through and she really tried her best to make the audience feel connected with her. But her nervousness also showed as she was almost rambling at times.
The next song was a slow rendition of “Taking chances”, after that she sang “Loved Me Back To Life” and since it was from her most recent album I thought the concert would focus on that album the most. But I was mistaken as she only sang that song and possibly one more song from that album all night. The rest of the concert focused on her most famous hits and she sang them with gusto. Her voice is really remarkable and very distinctive for her. She always sounds better live than on record and she has a live band to back her up that includes several people on violin. It heightened the sound and made it sound incredibly moving and beautiful.
The audience was back on their feet again for “That’s the Way it is” and “I’m alive”. Then came a clothes change to a black costume that reminded me a bit of a bathing suits with arms and frills!
She came out of the stage smoke as the first tones of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” could be heard. There was a sense of mystery around it and she made a dramatic pose right in tune with the music. The audience was back on our feet. This song really benefitted from the live arrangements that brought out the best in the string instruments and her voice. The audience were cheering and applauding as she hit the high notes.
After that came her latest single “How Does a Moment Last Forever” that she sang while they showcased clips from the new Beauty and the Beast live action movie in the background. It created an enchanting mood in the arena. I love the original movie and to my delight that song was followed by the original “The Beauty and the Beast” duet that she sang together with one of her friends. I think he may have been a backup singer. Then came “Think Twice,” and “The Reason”. As she was singing about an angel seeing her through she looked moved and I think she may have mentioned her late husband’s name at an occasion in the song, it sounded like she sang “Rene”. Or maybe I just imagined it but I think he was on her mind because next she began to talk about losing him and how she had received a new song from Pink.
She then went on singing “Recovering” which sounded so sad on the piano. She dedicated the song to all of us who had lost loved ones in our lives. This part really moved me and it made me think of my grandma who also passed away last year. So at the end of the song I had been moved to tears. The show then continued with “The Color of My Love” and “Because You Loved Me” and she had us join her in a sing along at the end. Then she talked about how grateful she was that the Swedish audience also supports her French career. Yup you’ve guessed it, the next song was “Pour que tu m’aimes encore.” I love that song and was on my feet filming it until she told us to sing along. I tried to but I couldn’t recall a lot of the words despite that I listened to her French albums all the time while I was studying French, some 15 years ago!
She finished this part of the show by singing “All By Myself” and then it was time for another clothes change. She came out dressed in black trousers with glittering stripes and a white t-shirt and sang a bit of “Refused to dance” and “Love is all we need”.
Then she went into her tribute to other artists section of the show and began by paying tribute to Michael Jackson. She sang his “Black or white” and danced a little. Her oldest son did the rap part and was shown on the TV screens but I don’t think he was actually on stage with her. It seemed to be pre-reordered.
Then came “Love Can Move Mountains” and “River Deep, Mountain High” before she sang one of my new favorites “The Show Must Go On”. This song is so great and I love the Queen version of it. But I love Celine’s version too as she sings it with such emotions and strength. Also the strings are very dramatic when you hear them live. More over I think the song has gotten personal for her as she has experienced a great loss in her life and yet the song must go on.
The show ended on that high note and then the audience cheered until she returned for an encore. Naturally she sang “My Heart Will Go On” and as the first notes from the flute could be heard I looked around the arena at all the little lights from the cell phones that were shining from every corner. It created a nice mood and I thought to myself that each lamp represented a person who had died in the disaster. I was singing along to the song and then we applauded and it was over. Jenny and I hurried towards the exit, as we wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Usually I’m never in a hurry to leave events but after what happened in Manchester I must admit that I was a bit afraid. We’d made it to the stairs when we noticed that Celine had followed us. Not literally, but she had walked into the middle of the arena and was now standing on a podium there in front of the sound technicians. We stopped and looked from the stairs where we were told that we had to either go back to our seats or to the top of the stairs. It felt silly to go back at that point so we walked to the top of the stairs and looked from there as Celine thanked the audience and sang one final number which was Queen’s “Love of My Life”.
She encouraged the audience to sing along so we did. But it was not a great ending of the concert for me as I was annoyed with myself for leaving in such a hurry because if we hadn’t we would have seen her a lot better from our seats.
The lights went down and the show was really over. We then hurried out not even stopping to go to the bathroom as we wanted to beat traffic and we did. We listened to Celine on CD on the way home and made a stop at McDonalds once we had gotten out of Stockholm. We had about 2,5 hours drive home and we left the arena with mixed emotions. I was annoyed with myself for rushing out of the concert before it was over. I wish I would have stayed. But I really thought it was over by then.
So the concert was over and it may not have been the thrill that the original concert was, since that concert was in my memory hands down better overall. There was more dancing and a happier mood at that one. But each concert is a difference experience and although there was not much of a party mood on this one and people didn’t sing along or danced that much, I still think this second concert was a nice experience. Celine was lovely as usual. She has a great personality and somehow comes across as genuine. There was also a new sadness to her that I have never seen before. But I think it comes from having lost her husband. She’s had a rough year and yet the show must go on and there’s no doubt in my mind that Celine loves to be on stage. She loves to entertain people and we love to watch her and above all listening to her amazing singing voice.
The concert was an emotional experience. It’s too soon to tell if this concert will be memorable but I think it probably will and if I ever get a chance to see her in concert again I know I will be back for more. So I can recommend other fans to go to this concert as well.
So well that’s my concert experience and at last I just wanna say merci beaucoup Celine.
:girl:
