Please utilise this space to search this blog

Showing posts with label The Winery Hotel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Winery Hotel. Show all posts

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Solna - Stockholm (Sweden) - Gimme Shelter

SOLNA – STOCKHOLM – SWEDEN
12 October – 13 October 2017

You simply can’t pass up the opportunity to see some living legends ply their trade when they’re going to be working in your neighbourhood. With the Rolling Stones scheduled to play at the Friends Arena in Solna (Stockholm), the 55 min flight from Riga to Stockholm was akin to me taking a train from Seven Hills station to Sydney, in terms of the time taken to get into the city. In that sense it  was a no-brainer, considering the proximity to us we were just going to have to see the Stones play live.

1962! Can you believe that's the year the first stable Stones line started hitting their straps!? That’s before the moon landing, prior to the Kennedy assassination,  and only 8 years after Elvis Presley started shaking his hips full-time. The Rolling Stones have been around are in the midst of their third generation of influence.  I remember as a 10 year old hearing about the Stones releasing another album, this was back in the mid-80’s, and even then there had been murmurs about when these 40 years olds would be retiring. My, weren’t those calls grossly premature.

Getting ourselves to Solna from Riga was a dream. A simple 10 min cab ride to Riga airport, a 55 min flight to Arlanda and then a short bus ride to Solna, on the outskirts of Stockholm, the bus stop of which was located directly opposite the The Winery Hotel where we had booked in for the night.

How could you go past staying at the The Winery Hotel, especially considering it was within easy walking distance of Friends Arena where the gig would be on! Another ‘no-brainer’. 


That dude has 'Moves like Jagger'
The Rolling Stones - Friends Arena - Solna - Sweden

The Rolling Stones - Friends Arena - Solna - Sweden


The hotel touts itself as being the world’s first combined urban winery and boutique hotel. Making use of their vineyards in Tuscany, their wines are made in Italy mostly, and I believe a few onsite also. The feel of the hotel is industrial, open and spacious, having a Brooklyn meets Tuscany feel, in the words of the hotel website. From our perspective, visually the hotel was pleasing and the concept itself was impressive enough. Where the hotel fell well short however was their failure to plan in accordance to known circumstances. Obviously a number of people had booked in to the hotel for the show but availability to food and alcohol between 1pm and 5pm, peak check-in time, was grossly under resourced. In fact it wasn’t resourced at all. The hotel restaurant was closed, so too was the bar. Access to wine was only via the self-serve machines, a novelty for sure but somewhat redundant when what we really wanted to do was find some food in an area that was devoid of it. In the end we were pointed the way to some nearby service stations. Well done Winery Hotel, you really recognised how to make your clients feel valued and how to add additional credence to your ‘five star’ mentality.


Meanwhile at Friends Arena the queues were insane, and for Sweden, unexpectedly disorganised. Crowds flooded under-staffed gates and advice as to the correct gates for entry were both cryptic and disjointed. Still, typically for a Swedish crowd, the masses were sedate and not too emotional with the snail like pace of entry. Certainly had the concert been further south there would have been far more emotional scenes that those we encountered here.


The Rolling Stones - Friends Arena - Solna - Sweden


Standing in the crowd you could easily see the inter-generational impact the band has had. There were audience members of the same age as the band, my own ages, twenty-something and teenagers. All of them either knew the songs, had grown up with them or had a grand-father that loved listening to them, and of course, these days seeing these guys is as much an event as listening to the music. Forever and the day they, as well as Inga & myself, will be able to say that we saw these guys play live.
The flattery as to their social impact and their music generally stops where their live show commenced. As 70+ year olds these pensioners are an inspiration for many reasons, and hence, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to allow the show to move at a pensioner pace, but as a fan that’s not what you want. You want the energy and frenetic pace of band that is recognised for its live performances. To me and to Inga it felt kind of tepid and meek. It was almost as if they were performing a parody of their younger selves, although this was serious. The music of course was great but the dynamic, the animation and vigour felt like it was missing.

Inga and I stayed around for about half the show. Enough to get an idea of what they’re about but not engaging enough to be taken on the journey.

Still, living legends exist for a reason. They are brilliant, that is for certain.

Here's the set-list from the night


Artist: The Rolling Stones

Location: Friends Arena - Solna - Sweden
Tour: No Filter


Setlist