those dancing days

Just a solitary song into the set and the tour manager’s crouching on stage trying to rescue the drums which Cissi has pounded across the stage. Lisa smiles sweetly behind her synth while front woman Linnea looks around wide-eyed; cutely begging the world to love her and explains, “ our drummer is too aggressive, she’s hitting the drums too hard…” Makeshift adjustments are made, and when Those Dancing Days launch into ‘Hitten’ and all is forgiven for the duration of it’s three apple pie pop minutes. The beat goes on, but the drums still have a mind of their own - so back comes the Mr Fixit to steady the stack. Then, like a frightened bunny Linnea looks stunned that the band has resumed again. She does her best with what is already a hoarse voice. Lisa smiles sweetly and waves her hands about a lot. Yes she looks adorable but she seems to have forgotten she’s in a band. Linnea, meanwhile, just looks bewildered. Elsewhere, Rebecka is exchanging serious glances with a miserable Mimmi who is looking at the set list and shaking her head. Linnea gives her a glare. Never mind the Swedish - the body language needs no translating and it looks like there’ll be fireworks tonight after all. They persevere and pluck the crowd-pleasing Those Dancing Days from the smorgasbord of muddle. Still it’s hardly the hearty fare the fantastic single suggested we’d get. In next to no time the happy shambles is over. Mimmi gets her own way. Linnea looks lost, Lisa is still smiling and the band leave the stage. There’s no encore and neither is there a clamour for them to return. It’s hard not to like these Swede hearts but any more scrappy performances like this and they’ll wish they’d stayed in Stockholm.