Live Review: Roxette, Boom Crash Opera

It’s three years, almost to the exact day that Sweden’s finest Roxette last graced this very room in what was clearly a celebratory comeback, one that no one ever thought would happen.

In place of that year’s 1927, Rox’s penchant for uncovering all-Aussie rockers you didn’t know still existed (or perhaps they reform especially) leads, this time, to Boom Crash Opera. Is it juvenile to suggest the choice was made because their name was close to that of Roxette’s Crash! Boom! Bang!? Emerging as if it was still 1989 and definitely wearing the same clothes, it’s uncanny to recall how many hits the Aussies did have beyond Onion Skin.

Roxette hit the stage blazing immediately with a pair of crackers – Sleeping In My Car and The Big L. - up front, but it’s obvious right away that we’re not in for the same standard of show as last time. Firstly, frontwoman Marie Fredrikkson isn’t well. She was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2002 and no one thought she’d survive, so needless to say the 2013 shows felt almost unreal and something like a miracle. This time however, her health has seemingly deteriorated and that consequently seems to anchor the entire show. The poor thing limped through power ballads, squeaking the final lines of classics like Spending My Time and Perfect Day, yet still somehow putting in a stand-up performance. It was much like witnessing a recent Brian Wilson set.

Roxette’s other half Per Gessle’s energy is boundless; seemingly compensating for his partner’s lack of movement, he doesn’t stop and handles his vocal duties as if his band is still at the height of their success in 1991. The set is hindered by a mid-way slump that crams in a bunch of obscure singles, probably for the fans that attended last time. This is where the cringe creeps in – She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio), Crush On You and even the “song they penned for Bette Midler that landed in a failed Bob Hoskins film based on a computer game” (Almost Unreal) manages inclusion. Thankfully, the back end of the set possible saves the day – How Do You Do, It Must Have Been Love, Dressed For Success, Dangerous and Joyride all back-to-back almost feel like they’re showing off the sheer size of these hits.

The encore brings forth the epic Listen To Your Heart, Fredrikkson’s finest performance of the evening, almost like she saves everything she has left for this performance. The Look follows, still incredible and clearly the finale, managing to still squeeze out everything that’s brilliant about this band. Leaving the main room, overheard statements like “I don’t know if we’ll see them again. I don’t know if anyone will” ring loudly, sadly truthful.