SFB on German radio

Apparently, SFB will be featured on a German radio station on Thursday July 30th (that's tomorrow, as I'm writing this). Check it out: www.radioblau.de

Arvika summary - Saturday July 4th

On the third and final day of the festival, we had a much needed late breakfast, while waiting for the last bandmember to arrive - Jesper (Klas couldn't make the gig, unfortunately). Later in the afternoon the festival provided us with two excellent drivers who drove us and all the gear all the way to the backstage area at Lyran, the stage where we were scheduled to perform.

For me, the rest of the evening was focused on relaxing, and meeting up with some good friends. I really can't focus on other bands before a gig, so the others will have to fill in the details here. I remember hearing Fleet Foxes (not on the Friday, I got the days mixed up in the previous post), they had some really beautiful vocal harmonies, though they suffered from quite crappy sound.

The backstage area was nice and comfy, and the staff was fantastic!

Warming up with some vocal exercises and a beer.

Petter and Lisa just kicking back.
(Backstage photos: Evelina Gustavsson)

We were the first Wonderland act to get on stage, and since I've covered our gig in earlier posts, let's just say it was fantastic. The place just got more and more crowded the longer we played, and everyone seemed to be jumping and dancing. It was a kind of gig I wouldn't have expected us to do until we're much more well-known. It was a dream come true, nothing less. :)

After getting of stage, signing albums, and cooling down backstage we had the privilege of seeing our Wonderland friends perform. Thermostatic had the place packed from the start, Arvid did some beatiful singing, and Emmon really threw a party. You can see some shots from those gigs over at Evelina Gustavssons blog (scroll back to July 10). I also watched a bit of Korn, which was a pleasant surprise.

Lisa and Petter did the full rock star thing, and were delivered by festival-shuttle to the airport in Norway, to get on a plane to Spain. Luxury! Meanwhile, the party continued, I believe Thomas was the last one to go to bed, at around 6 am. After another fabulous breakfast, it was time to get in the car and head back to the real world. Thank you, Arvika! Se you again.

Thank you! (Photo: Martin Rebas)

Arvika summary - Friday July 3rd

While Thomas was having breakfast with fellow Wonderlanders Emmon and crew, me, Lisa, and Nico, took off from Gothenburg. While loading the gear at Nico's, Lisa suddenly realised that she'd forgotten the SFB-shirts. Not good. Especially since her boyfriend Eric had the key. In his car. Leaving Gothenburg. Fast.

However, a phonecall from Lisa, and he turned around and drove all the way back. Thats love, folks.

(Photo: Emma Nylén)

Upon arriving at the B&B in Jössefors, just outside Arvika, we joined forces with Emmon and Thermostatic for some good food and a couple of beers. (Seriously, if you're planning on staying in Arvika, check out the B&B Guesthouse Eleven, it's awesome!) Then it was off for the second day of the festival. A lot of it was spent in the "beer areas", since you can only drink alcohol in certain designated places at festivals in Sweden. But we got to see and hear some bands too. Petter joined us, flying in from Spain(!) in the afternoon.

The highlight for me, by far, was the Bob Hund show. After all these years, they still put on a fantastic performance. I have never seen them do a bad perfomance.

Thomas Öberg on top of his impromptu podium, built by stacking two stage monitors on top of each other. :D (Photo: Thomas Jansson)

Thomas (Jansson, not Öberg) was right up front at the Depeche Mode concert, and took this pic of the actual setlist. As you can see, they played a lot of songs from the new album, which may explain why the gig wasn't all that exciting, unfortunately.

As I snuck off to the camping site to drink some cheap, warm, red bag-in-box (It tasted great, it's the atmosphere that counts!) I don't know what the other guys saw, but at least I caught a glimpse of Fever Ray's mysterious laser show.

The party afterwards, together with Emmon & crew, may have been the best part of the entire day, as you can tell from this photo...

Joakim and Petter getting all cuddly. (Photo: Emma Nylén)

On the third, and last, day of the festival it was time for the Wonderland Records Label Night, featuring Emmon, Arvid, Thermostatic, and - of course - Swedish for Beginners. Stay tuned for a full report.

Arvika summary - Thursday July 2nd

Almost two weeks now since the Arvika gig, and still no summary of the festival from SFB?!? It's time to set things straight. We'll start with the first day of the festival, Thursday, July 2nd:

Thomas was the only one in the band to be there for the first day of the festival, but he saw enough shows to make up for the entire band. The highlights according to him (the quotes are his comments):

James Yuill. "A big surprise. Incredibly good."

Casiokids. "Awfully good."

Nine Inch Nails. "Intense. So intense that my camera went flying into the air. I thought I'd never see it again, but somehow I managed to jump up and catch it!"


Detektivbyrån. "Another amazingly good band!" (Do you start to see a pattern...?)

Apart from these highlights, he also managed to catch a couple of other nice bands, Röyksopp, Mando Diao, The Sounds, Adiam Dymott, plus having the time to chill out with a cold beer in the VIP-area.
He did good. Up next: Lisa, Nico and Johan almost forget the SFB-shirts in Gothenburg. Stay tuned.

More live pics from Arvika

Here are some REALLY nice photos, shot by Evelina Gustavsson. She was a total pro, and managed to get these really nice close-up pics, without ever getting in the way of the performance. Check out her blog and site. And then hire her!





Were you in the crowd during the Arvika gig? Did you take any photos, or filmed any part of the show? If so, please let us know, we'd love to see it, and possibly put it on the blog!

Photos from the Arvika gig

Here are a few photos from the gig at "Lyran", shot by an old friend who happened to be in the crowd. Really nice pics, especially considering the way the audience were dancing and jumping around. :)


As you can see, I started the gig fully dressed. Didn't last too long, though. It was REALLY hot...




All photos: Martin Rebas

SFB gets cred from the Arvika festival-crew

Kolla länken nedan. Där nämns SFB som en av Arvikafestivalens höjdpunkter av festivalfolket själva.

"...vi har sett helt otroliga framträdanden på de mindre scenerna Lyran, Andromeda, Jamobilen och Orion. Ett exempel är Swedish for Beginners som fick folket i Lyran att dansa med en energi som sällan skådats."

Vi tackar allra ödmjukast för dessa ord.

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(english)

In the link above, SFB's performance is pointed out as one of the highlights of the whole Arvika festival.

"A few examples are Swedish for Beginners that induced the people at Lyran venue to dance with an energy rarely seen".

SFB is very pleased and happy for these kind words! :D

Recension av Arvikaspelningen

Kolla in den fantastiska recensionen av Swedish for Beginners på Dagensskiva.com!

Ett utdrag:

"Låtar som My Pretty Little Head, Kill Your Darlings och A Very Evil Man passar ruskigt bra i liveformatet och deras väldigt dansanta pop går rätt in i hjärtat för att sedan sprida ut sig i armar och ben. Du stänger omvärlden och bara dansar. Detta är definitivt ett band som på sikt kommer att utmana de stora artisterna om scentid i konsertsverige."

Vi bugar - och lovar bjuda på mer.

Thanks, Arvika!

This will be a really short post, since I'm still completely blown away by the experience yesterday at Arvika. The crowd was awesome, and pushed the entire band to do the best SFB gig ever. THANK YOU!

Here's a pic, we'll get some more up shortly. If you took any photos and/or videos, we'd be really happy if you shared'em with us. :)



2009-07-04 - Swedish For Beginners @ Lyran. FOTO: Oscar Berggren/ROCKFOTO

Once again: Thanks for an unforgettable experience. You are our best friend.

På väg till Arvika

Idag åker hela bandet till Arvika, förutom Thomas, som varit där från start. Vi är sjukt laddade! Hoppas du kommer till Lyran kl.22 på lördag och kollar på SFB:s bästa spelning någonsin!

In English: Arvika festival, Lyran, Saturday 10pm. Be there. :)