Concert review :
Open Air Stage, Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark - August 10, 2001
by Jill Hansson

"Texas... at Tivoligardens... what a nice way to end my holiday" I thought. "The holiday wouldn't be that bad after all".

Me and a friend had planned this trip since I first noticed the note at texasindemand. Seems like ages ago.
I didn't have any expectations cuz ... I'm a Texas fan and whatever happened would be fun. Just to see Sharleen jump around on stage would be great. So the gray clouds over the city didn't bother me much.

We arrived at Copenhagen after 3 in the afternoon. After more than 1.5 hours on both boat and train (fom Sweden) we thought it would be a good start to go shopping at the main shopping road.
It started to rain a bit and I was becoming really restless. My friend viewed every window while I was more into looking at the different people we walked by. I was way into my own thoughts when a tall, blond guy was walking towards us. In the corner of my eye I saw he had three others with him. Two of them with black hair. I kept looking at him cuz he looked so familiar. The second he walked by I heard the woman at the far left saying something with a scottish accent. My chin hit the gound as I turned around and saw Sharleen in a black cap and semi dark sunglasses, wearing a jeans jacket and some kind of warm sweater. She was accompanied by Johnny and I think it was Nicole and Charlotte, the backing vocals-girls. The once in a lifetime moment had arrived and I did nothing. My feet were like glued to the ground. I have had one wish since I first started drawing pictures of Shar and that was to able to give her one of them. Call me pathetic if you like. But if a guy can throw nickers up on stage (coming soon), I sure can give her a picture.

So after that I was so lost and hyperactive I couldn't go shopping at all. We went back to Tivoli at about half past 4. I began my countdown. People had already taken their places at the "arena". It wasn't that big so I can understand why they occupied the front of the stage already. If I had been alone I would've done the same.

Three hours to the concert and the whole area was filled up. During the last hour of waiting some girls kept screaming everytime some crew member walked out on stage.

Then... it began. Zero Zero, and everyone screamed their hearts out. The stage was totally black and I could only see the silhouettes of the bandmembers. Then Shar was heard singing I Don't Want A Lover but no-one could see her. If it had been a real Texas concert everyone would have screamed and made whistles when the light lit her up. But it was more like "Whooo-whooo". SAD!
She had a green trainingjacket on, with white stripes, and some gray pants hanging at her waist.
She welcomed everyone and got her guitar for Halo. Then it was time for Black Eyed Boy. It was a minor disaster. The fans and Sharleen has this unspoken agreement of how to sing the song. She pauses and let the fans sing "Time". And then, five seconds later, she sings it herself. But the crowd had no idea so the time never came. I was watching Sharleen during the second pause. I had seen a recording from the millenium concert held in Edinburgh where she stomped the beat to let the band know when to start again. Unfortenately she didn't do that.

Then came Guitarsong with a guitar I hadn't seen before. A really nice one. Light orange or maybe beige. Really nice. They kept repeating "I will play for you all day" and I was in heaven.
In Our Lifetime next. During the song someone threw a pair of gray, tight boxershorts on stage. Shar held them up while singing and everyone laughed. The guy had painted a smiley at the front. So ugly ... but fun. I think she preferred the little bear a girl threw at her. The note said "To Sharleen. Love you". How sweet.

Sharleen paused and told us about her day in the city. They had been to a pizza place (probably Pizza Hut cuz it wasn't too far from where I saw them) and a guy had walked up to them and offered Sharleen his umbrella. He didn't want her to get wet. =) The entire crowd went "AHHHH".

I bet I ruined everything for the people around me, cuz I knew the whole basic setup, how Sharleen would sing and every little pause in the songs. So when she ran up to Eddie I yelled "TIRED OF BEING ALONE". In the end they did their version of Shaggy's It Wasn't Me. So cool.
Then the fun began. The Humiliation Dance. Sharleen was talking about something when her eyes came across a bunch of policemen. She told us there's nothing more sexy than a man in uniform. "And all the girls go 'mmmmhmmmm'". She never had the oppertunity to be with a policeman she said. Well, she said it in a way that we all had to guess what she really ment, wich was not as innocent as being arrested or given a speeding ticket. "I'll defenetly be arrested after tonight" she said and pulled the police up on stage. Then she got her hands on a Norwegian guy. He was the one that threw the nickers. Then she also pulled up another guy and asked him if he was Danish. -No I'm not, he said and she had to ask why. -Cuz I'm Brittish. Her face lit up. "A dancing competition". Then she got complex for being short. "Is everyone this damn tall?!" They were'nt that tall. 6 feet, 6,2 at the most. She's like... 5,6?! As always she asked if they could dance. The police and the Norwegian guy said no. The British guy had aparently been to other Texas concerts cuz he said "It depends". So... Shar faced the crowd with this enjoying look on her face and told them what girls think about guys who can and can't dance. "If they can dance... then thay are really good in bed. ...You two just said you're rubbish... and you just said it depends on who you sleep with".
The dance began to the sound of Pull Up To The Bumper (I think that is the name). And of course, Sharleen danced with the police. What a sight. Three confused guys trying to dance while the girls were all over them. Then something happened and the guys, especially the Norwegan, totally lost it. He was under Nicole (?) and they were doing things you only see in the bedroom if you're not wearing clothes.

Everyone left the stage exept Sharleen. She didn't mention no carkeys, but she did feel something that reminded her of the stick the police' use instead of guns.
Time for Put Your Arms Around Me I thought. It wasn't. It was In Demand. First time in Denmark apparently. I love that song.
The rain came back and it was pretty dark out. So Shar thought it was time for little summer. You can guess right. A larger part of the crowd could easily keep some small housing running with power as they jumped up and down.

During When We Are Together the entire band seemed like they had to many energy drinks. I bet Shar was the one posing for that battery bunny, cuz the energy was so intense that she didn't know what move to do. 'The In Demand move or the Summer Son jump. Maybe the WWAT arm movement'. After she'd calmed down she said the usual "only one song left, but maybe another if you want" and was waiting for the screams. Not a sound. She read my mind as she said "If this was a normal Texas concert this would be the worst response ever". The same thing happened when they played Black Eyed Boy in the beginning. Shar was waiting for the crowd to go "TIME" but nothing happened. I was too far from the stage to be able to yell. But she got her screams from the others after three tries. I yelled all the time. =)

The last song, before the re-entrance, was Say What You Want. I have learned to love the end part. It's really ...huge to see all these arms waving to the beat.
They band left ... long enough for Sharleen to change clothes. The crew members pulled down the curtain and revealed the Inner Smile Texas logo. They came back and Shar walked out in her leatherlook. Two pictures and my camera was done.
The last song was of course Suspiciouse Minds. "The only song to sing when I'm dressed like this" she said.
The show was over. Sharleen had left the building. 10.000 to 15.000 was trying to leave the area. Fun... not. Me and my friend waited outside the door to the stage for half an hour just in case the band came out. But unfortunately there was another door we didn't know about. 15 disappointed Texasfans went home without autographs. So I still have the picture. But I don't mind. I got to see some of them off stage as regular folks and that was enough for me.
But maybe someday....

Maybe someday is the last time
Maybe someday is the end
Maybe someday is when it all stops
Or maybe someday always comes again...
(The Cure)


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