Ever since my friend, MissE, posted about all the concerts she’s been to in her life so far, I’ve wanted to do the same thing. Of course, I was far too lazy to count them all up, and instead let my husband do it when he wrote them up for his site. Since we got together when I was 17, I’ve been to the majority of the concerts with him. Before him I only had a few in the bag. Well, I was a just a high school student spending all my babysitting money on CDs. I didn’t have much left for concerts.

Anyway, he got his list together, so from that I was able to get mine. I was very surprised to find out that my grand total comes to ONLY 64. That’s it? I’ve been going to concerts since I was 14, which is one of my favorite things to do, and I only have 64 under my belt? I feel shamed. Well, I have plenty of time for make up for that

So here’s the list. In as chronological an order as possible. The only concert I’m skipping over is Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton which my parents went to (and took me along - I was 7) in 1988. I’m going to put a link to this list in my sidebar menu and update it with more concerts as time goes on. And I’ll even put a concert count that I’ll update as well.

Oh, and also, this does NOT include opening acts. Maybe I’ll add those in another time!

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Current concert count: 78

1994:
Aerosmith - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA
(I also met the whole band that night by sneaking in backstage.)

1996:
Rod Stewart - Madinson Square Garden, NYC, NY
(My cousin who played in Aerosmith was playing for Rod Stewart at this time so he got my family in and backstage here)
Alanis Morisette - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

1997:
Aerosmith - Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
(Got backstage again. Joe came up and said hello to me but I was too much in shock to open my mouth. Afterward I had a someone extensive conversation with Steven Tyler which I don’t remember at all)
Metallica - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

1999:
The Black Crowes - Beacon Theater, NYC, NY, USA
Robbie Williams - Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC, NY, USA
Marc Anthony - Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC, NY, USA *
Aerosmith - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Jewel - PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, USA
Alanis Morissette & Tori Amos - PNC Bank, Holmdel, NJ, USA
Ricky Martin - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ *
Meat Loaf - Prudential Hall, Newark, NJ, USA

* As a Puerto Rican, with a big & proud Puerto Rican family, it is necessary that we support our fellow ‘Ricans. It’s a Boriqua thing.

2000:
Bon Jovi - The Today Show, Rockerfeller Center, NYC, NY
Bon Jovi - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden

2001:
Aerosmith - PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, USA
Bon Jovi - Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ, USA
Aerosmith - Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ, USA
Aerosmith - Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY, USA
Aerosmith - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA

2002:
Def Leppard - Irving Plaza, NYC, NY, USA
Aerosmith & Kid Rock - PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, USA
Sammy Hagar - Irving Plaza, NYC, NY, USA
Aerosmith & Kid Rock - Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ, USA
Guns n’ Roses - Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY, USA
Aerosmith - First Union Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

2003:
Bon Jovi - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA
The White Stripes - Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden
(I was on crutches after having sprained my ankle. Go me!)
Robbie Williams - Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden

2004:
The Darkness - Arenan, Stockholm, Sweden
Velvet Revolver - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden
Gyllene Tider - Jogersö, Oxelösund, Sweden
Europe, Hovet - Stockholm, Sweden

2005:
Christian Walz - Mondo, Stockholm, Sweden
3 Doors Down - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden
Audioslave - Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
Lenny Kravitz - Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden

2006:
Foo Fighters - Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
The Darkness - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden
Live - Arenan, Stockholm, Sweden
Guns n’ Roses - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Europe - Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
Keane - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden

2007:
Live - Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, USA
Aerosmith - Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
Chris Cornell - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden

2008:
Henry Rollins (spoken word show), Rival, Stockholm, Sweden
Veronica Maggio - Debaser Medis, Stockholm, Sweden
KISS - Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden
Lenny Kravitz - Sofiero Slott, Helsingborg, Sweden
Kylie Minogue - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Bruce Springsteen - Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
Coldplay - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Keane - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden
Kid Rock - Hammersmith Apollo, London, UK

2009:
The Script - Nalen, Stockholm, Sweden
Franz Ferdinand - Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden
Kings of Leon - TWC Amphitheater, Cleveland, OH, USA
Bruce Springsteen - Stockholm Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
Bruce Springsteen - Stockholm Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
Bruce Springsteen - Stockholm Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
Chickenfoot - Rockweekend, Kilafors, Sweden
(The infamous concert where I was KISSED by Chad Smith!!)
U2 - Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
U2 - Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
Madonna - Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
Coldplay - Stockholm Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
MGMT - Popaganda, Stockholm, Sweden
Mr. Big - Berns, Stockholm
Mika - Berns, Stockholm, Sweden
Muse - Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
The Dead Weather - Kägelbanan, Stockholm, Sweden

2010:
Henry Rollins (spoken word show), Rival, Stockholm, Sweden
Wolfmother - Berns, Stockholm, Sweden
Dave Matthews Band (I was sick, so the husband went without me *sigh*)
Lady Gaga - Globen, Stockholm, Sweden
Joe Bonamassa - Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden
KISS - Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden (opening act, Europe)
Muse (cancelled, because the organizers are morons)

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The red concerts are in my TOP 10 favorite!

After going through this I’ve noticed a few things:

1) A LOT of Aerosmith concerts. Not surprising of course, considering they are what started me out with everything, and have been a huge influence in my life.

2) I’ve seen Europe twice, apparently. One of those shows I have absolutely no recollection of. The other - just barely. I don’t really care for them

3) Van Halen is not on this list. I had a chance to see them while in high school and I BLEW IT. And it was Van Hagar. And I am a huge Hagar fan (and I was back then too), so this makes me sad to think about.

While we were at Rockweekend we found a little island of hay, away from all the mud, to stand on while we watched a few bands play from afar. Sharing that little island was a father and daughter. The little girl must have been around 6 years old, and she was just the cutest thing ever. Completely decked out in metal gear, dancing around in the mud to the music, and throwing devil horns at people and photographers. She was just too adorable to NOT draw. So there she is… the little Rockweekend Girl.

Start them young, I say!!

Of all the concerts I’ve been to in my life, this one comes out at NUMBER ONE. The music was, of course, so FREKKIN’ awesome, but this one gets pushed to the top for “the incident” and what was to follow.

sidenote: Make sure to read Daniel’s post too! He talks more about the music and has all the pictures we took PLUS the vids!

Let me first say lay down a little background. I loved Chickenfoot before I even heard their music! I heard that Sammy Hagar had put together a new band and was going to release an album, which was enough to get me excited, but when I heard who his band members were, my excitement soared to new heights. Michael Anthony of Van Halen on bass, Joe Satriani on guitar and Chad Smith of RHCP on drums! I don’t think I’d been this excited about an album for a very long time. I got it a few weeks ago and have been listening to it non-stop. Sammy NEVER disappoints, and the band-member combination is AMAZING. (check out the first single, “Oh Yeah” if you haven’t heard it yet!)

Anyway, onto the good part…

Last night was the Chickenfoot concert in Kilafors, Sweden. It was actually a part of the 3-day long rock festival called Rockweekend. But we went up only for Chickenfoot. It was a muddy mess, but it worked out well. They had two stages and they alternated stages for each band. We figured out which stage Chickenfoot would play on, and we were able to secure spots FRONT and CENTER against the fence. I was so excited I could barely contain myself as we watched them set up the stage. And once they came on stage and started playing I knew already that this was going to top anything else I’d seen this year so far (7 concerts, I think).

Of course they were AMAZING. I knew they’d be good. I’ve seen Sammy before (Michael Anthony joined him on stage the time I saw him too), and it was by far one of the BEST shows I ever went to. I’ve seen RHCP live twice. Those were two INCREDIBLE shows. I never saw Joe Satriani before, but my GOD can that man play. And I saw him play close up too!

Anyway, about halfway through the show is where it gets GOOD. Chad is very generous with his drumsticks. He tosses them out to the crowd often, grabbing new ones to play all the time and then chuck them out at his leisure. Every time one came out into the crowd it became a frenzy to try to grab it. A few fell onto the ground in front of the fence where I stood, but when security guards would pick them up to hand them into the crowd, I never got a chance.

One of those that landed on the ground landed about 2 feet from me. I watched as the security guard picked it up to hand it to someone. I reached for it but he handed it off somewhere else. At that very moment something whacked me HARD in the head. It HURT! I thought it was a beer bottle (which wouldn’t make sense since they weren’t selling beer in glass bottles there). But I couldn’t see what it was that hit me. I could feel the welt immediately, and I asked Daniel if it was bleeding. It wasn’t. That’s when I looked up at the stage and looked at Chad Smith. He was pointing at me and then at his head and mouthed “Are You OK?” I smiled and nodded and then he mouthed “I’m so sorry!” and then gestured about how he just threw it and it hit me. That’s when I realized it was a drumstick that hit me! I was so thrilled that Chad Smith was actually speaking right to me that I forgot about the pain on my forehead and got right back into the show. Little did I know that it was about to get about a THOUSAND times COOLER!

Chad continued to toss a couple of sticks in my direction which never made it to me. At the end of the song he got up and walked to Sammy’s mic. He told the crowd that he had thrown a drumstick that hit me in the head. Then he asked me if I was OK. I nodded. He asked if I was bleeding. I shook my head. He asked if I had a bump, I nodded and said “a little!” And then he said “Do you want me to some down and kiss it?” And I said YES!

Of course, I did!!!

So he jumped down off stage (with help from security since it was about 6 feet high), walked over to me, handed me a drumstick, kissed my forehead and asked if I was OK. OF COURSE I was OK, Chad! You just kissed me! Then I asked him how his arm was (because Chickenfoot had been canceling a bunch of shows before this one due to an arm injury of his). He said it was fine and explained how he just threw that drumstick and saw it hit me. I can’t quite remember everything that was said. It’s a bit of a blur! I was flying at that moment, and he was holding onto me and grabbing my hand for the whole short convo. When he left to go back to the stage I could barely keep myself standing from the shock of it all. People around me were asking if he really did hit me and all I had to do to answer them was show them the welt on my head. After that many people expressed to me that they wished it was THEM who had been hit (all guys though, since I was the only girl is a sea of guys in the front. Somehow I don’t think the same thing would have happened for them LOL). For the rest of the show Chad would point at me and acknowledge me, which was very cool.

But wait! There’s more!

At the end, right before the encore song, they all came to the front of the stage to bow and wave to everyone. I was screaming and hopping up and down. Then Sammy pointed to me and made a gesture with his hands symbolizing bouncing boobs. HA! I got embarrassed and started laughing, but then he did “thumbs up” and a “naughty” sign. You can see it in this video here, if you scroll forward to 5:45 you’ll see Sammy do it, then point to me, bow, and to the “naughty” gesture! Hysterical!!! A shame you can’t see me though!

Acknowledged by two members of the band! And possible even three! I noticed Michael Anthony grinning at me a few times when I SCREAMED at the top of my lungs. And near the end he screamed back at me! Possible. I could have just been imagining that one. But the other two were for real! Made my day! My weekend… MY YEAR!

Besides all of that, the concert was just KICKASS. My 2nd fav concert of all time was when I saw Sammy and the Waboritas at the Irving Plaza in NYC 7 years ago. Sammy makes his shows into parties, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that him and the band interact SO MUCH with the crowd. They always tear down that wall between us and really pull you in as part of the show. That, if you ask me, is what really separates a good concert from a GREAT one. When you feel like they are there for the fans, because they appreciate you.

I’m not going to write anymore about the music because I’m going to leave that to Daniel. He’s posted all about it RIGHT HERE! He has the rock blog and he can really express the music better than I can. He also has the pictures. Oh! Except for these… There was a professional photographer there taking pictures for a local paper. She took the ones with Chad coming down to give me the drum stick and kiss me!

EDITED to add: I found a COOL video! At 2:50 in the following video the guy zooms into Chad where he is apologizing to me while still playing the drums. SO COOL! Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtlTMyiRlfg

Chad climbing down to me (© Anna Alverhag)

Right before (or after) he kissed me. He’s holding my head LOL (© Anna Alverhag)

Afterwards! The welt on my forehead (left side of my head…right side in pic) somewhat visible (© Anna Alverhag)

Chad Smith’s Funk Blaster!

Jag vill att den här sidan dyker upp när folk söker på svenska. Då skriver jag den här delen på svenska, och ni får läsa resten av inlägget på engleska I fredags var jag på Rockweeeknd i Kilafors. Jag åkte ditt bara för att se Chickenfoot. Jag stod precis framför scenen, och under uppspelningen av “Give it Up” kastade Chad Smith en trumpinne som slog mig i huvudet! Efter låten hoppade han ner av scenen, gav mig en trumpinne och kysste mig på huvudet där trumpinnen slog mig. Det var SKITHÄFTIGT!

I drew the above image about 6 years ago. I found the illustrator file recently, and decided to put it together and color it for this post. If I were to draw it today, I probably would do it differently. But I think it was good enough to post here!

Aerosmith is my favorite band. They have been since I was 12, and probably will be forever. But they are much more to me than just kickass rock music.

When I first discovered them, I was just about to turn 13. Cryin’ and Livin’ on the Edge were the current hits, and I was already in love. My best friend had already bought Get a Grip, so when I stepped out to buy my very first Aero album (on cassette) I wanted something different. I knew nothing about the band, so I just blindly chose a tape and bought it. That tape was Permanent Vacation and remains my favorite Aero album to date. It became a permanent fixture in my walkman until I branched out to buy more. After that I bought Toys in the Attic, and soon after I was getting my hands on every album possible. They had already had more than a dozen by that time. And so my love affair with Aerosmith began and it hasn’t quit since. From those first years of listening to every tape non-stop, and learning to do the logo so that it could be found all over my school papers, binders and backpack, to going to concerts and record signings over the years, and up to today, when I bought Aerosmith Guitar Hero. I was so excited about it when I walked into that store this morning! I felt like I do when a new album comes out! I haven’t played it yet, but I have the whole weekend!

As of today I own numerous copies of Aerosmith CDs, including all albums, some double or triple according to different continental releases, bootlegs and singles. Plus the Pandora’s Box and Box of Fire boxsets, and a Shadowman comic book that features the Bad Boys of Boston. I’ve been to 11 concerts and even seen Draw the Line, an Aerosmith tribute band, on numerous occasions at one of my favorite rock clubs in Jersey, the Wreck Room (now closed ).

To say that I’m a big fan is an understatement. And I think you can agree. But now to get to the deeper bits. Now you’ll read why Aerosmith has become much more to me than just the music.

Story #1
One day in the fall of ‘94, I was 13, I was listening to Rock in a Hard Place and flipping through the album cover. I was paying special attention to the band members because Joe Perry and Brad Whitford had left the band by the time that album was made. I noticed one of the names was “Jimmy Crespo,” which I found amusing since “Crespo” was my mom’s maiden name. So I took the album to my mom to show her, just for fun. “Look mom! This guy has the same last name as you!” She looked at the name and then the picture and said, “I think that’s my nephew!” Turns out I had a cousin I never knew about. The last time my mom had seen him was more than 10 years previously. He was butting heads with the family because he wanted to be a rock musician, and they weren’t all too pleased. No one knew where he was or had heard from him in all that time. But my mom still had an old address of his, so she decided to write him a letter.

About a month later we got a call from his wife. And she confirmed it all! He definitely did play in Aerosmith and he was so happy to hear from the family. I talked to him for a while and they got me tickets and backstage passes to what would be my very first Aerosmith concert (first concert in general too!) a month later. I got backstage and met the entire band and got pictures with all of them. My best friend and I ran out of there screaming with joy! A couple of years later, Jimmy started playing in Rod Stewart’s band, so when they came to NJ, Jimmy got my whole family tickets so that we could finally meet him. We went backstage and I met my cousin for the first time, and my mom met him for the first time in over a decade. It was brilliant! And, as far as I know, because of all of that Jimmy was able to finally get in touch with his family again. And I still have contact with him today. He now plays in a band called Phoenix in Las Vegas.

Steven and me in ‘97 the second time I had backstage passes, I was 16

Story #2
By the time I had found out about Jimmy, I was a member of Aero Force One, the Aerosmith fan club for about half a year. I loved having penpals and they had a penpal section in the quarterly newsletter. Right after I found out about Jimmy I sent in an ad to the newsletter to get penpals. I knew that writing that Jimmy was my cousin would get me a lot of letters, and it did! I got over 30. I answered every single one, even though most of them were from people who wanted tickets (argh). I kept up with a lot of people for a shirt while, but they soon dropped off, and I was down to 3 which I wrote to for the next 4 years. One of then was a guy in Sweden… (see where this is going??)

Fast forward about 3 years and I decided it would be grand if I invited this guy in Sweden over so that he could finally visit NYC, which he had talked about a lot, and so that he could take me to my senior prom. To my utter amazement he accepted the invitation, and after just about 4 years of writing to a fellow Aerosmith fan I finally met him for the first time. Within a day I realized we would be the best of friends. A week later, we were more than that. 2 weeks after that he decided he’d move to NJ. And now, 10 years (almost exactly) later, here I am in Sweden and married to him.

Of those 11 concerts I’ve been to, 9 have been with him. The signings and tribute band all happened after we got together. We’ve pooled our CD collections together to create a mega-Aerosmith album collection. We have numerous autographs from when we met them separately and together. It’s great to be with someone who shares the same feelings as I do about the band and the music.

So there we have it! Loving Aerosmith has brought a family member back into my family, and it has resulted in me meeting my soulmate. Without the band my life would be entirely different right now.

And at this very moment I’m going to log off, get a Corona, and fire up ^A^ Guitar Hero. The perfect game for a fan like me! (Besides, if we don’t get to play soon my Aero-lovin’ husband is going to have a fit.)

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And so I continue my concert madness summer! I thought that after seeing Kiss, the other concerts had much to live up to. As cool as Kiss was, the Lenny concert this past weekend takes the cake so far!

This show was in the way south of Sweden, but Lenny Kravitz is far too good to pass up, so we didn’t mind. Besides, it was in Helsingborg, a town we’ve been to before and love. So we decided to make a weekend out of it.

We had perfect weather, so the 6 hour drive was lovely. I love that drive becasue you drive down along Sweden’s second largest lake, and pass large farm fields with windmills.

And Helsingborg is right just a ferry ride away from Helsingör, a Danish island, with a lovely little “old town,” Hamlet’s castle and giant glasses of öl (beer).

But, of course, the biggest even was the Lenny Kravitz concert! Turns out Lenny was staying in our hotel, and he checked out just minutes before we checked in! But we caught the sax player on the way out and talked with him a bit. He was really nice and it really got us hyped for the show. By a stroke of luck we arrived to the venue just a half-hour or so before the gates opened, and still were among the first in line! Because of this, we ended up being front row and center! And of course, it was Lenny so it was SO COOL! He did so many great songs and played for 2 hours and 40 minutes! And I got FANTASTIC pictures!

Any of the upcoming concerts I’m going to will be hard pressed to match this one! Lenny even came out and grabbed my hand (among many others)! And one of the sweetest bits was right at the beginning of the encore, when he announced that a fan came up to him earlier in the week and asked if he could propose for him to his girlfriend. So Lenny announced it then brought them both up on stage and sang to them before the proposal. I have video of it that I took and put it on youtube right he-ah.

Anyway, it was definitely a show I won’t forget, and has earned a spot in my top 5! Next show? Kylie Minogue! (which was actually last night. So I’ll post, with pictures, about that over the weekend.)

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The whirlwind began Thursday evening when a couple of the guys from KISS were in town doing a signing. My hubby really wanted to go to that, and wanted me to go to take pictures. Which I did, even though they didn’t come out so great. But we met a guy while waiting in line who helped the time go by faster, and who we spent much of the rest of the evening with discussing our favorite bands.

Then Friday was the concert!

It was in Stockholm Stadion, which is an old open air stadium near the city center. It’s a cool place to have concerts, but you just have to hope and pray that it won’t rain. So far this year we are having a warm and dry summer, so we were very lucky. It was HOT all Friday, but fortunately the evening had cooled down enough that the. Of course, being how we’re way up north, the sun doesn’t go down until around 10pm these days, so it was pretty light throughout the show. But the temperature was perfect. And we had some visitors flying over the stadium too!

Right before the show started they played The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and when Pete Townsend does that famous scream into the mic, the dropped the KISS curtain over the front of the stage.

Björn Gustaffson stood right next to me for about 5 seconds, before he pushed on through to the front somewhere. So I snapped a pic of the man and myself instead…

And just as I did that the show started! And it was SO GREAT! It was the first time I was able to see KISS, and hopefully not the last! We had so much fun screaming and singing loudly to all the songs. It went by SO fast, though. But what I thought was REALLY cool, was when the concert was over, the first song they played over the speakers as we were all getting out of there, was God Gave Rock’n'Roll To You, and the whole stadium was singing along as we walked out.

Ah… good times!! So it was definitely a KISS-inspired weekend. Even my Thursday (so late it turned into Saturday) comic was touched by KISS!

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Well, the Eurovision Song Contest… whoops sorry! I mean the Eastern Eurovision Song Contest is over and it was a bust! I think Western Europe took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up at the wrong contest. Clearly we weren’t wanted there.

OK in all seriousness…

The first couple of hours were great with the performances. All my favs did an excellent job, especially Sweden. Charlotte did amazing! The singing was on and the energy was great! Much better than at the semi-final! I ended up voting for the UK and Norway, my two favorites other than Charlotte. But then the results came. And I just deflated. It was more than just disappointing. Well, here is how all my favs placed.

Ukraine - 3
Norway - 5
Turkey- 7
Iceland - 14
Sweden - 18
UK - 25

ARGH! Kudos that Norway made it so high. She was my absolute favorite for the night. Such a great song. A real song. Something you could easily hear on the radio and buy on a CD. That is rare in Eurovision. So it’s great that she got so high. But let me be a bit cynical and say I think the only reason she did so well was because she was the last to perform and fresh in everyone’s minds. Because, obviously, having a great song, singing well and performing well is not actually what people want.

Instead, Russia won. Russia. Russia. Which their cheap-sounding song and ridiculous ice skater. I keep going over and over and over in my head HOW they could have won. Was it because of the ice skater? Must be. Because the song was boring. And the singing? Terrible! The guy could barely even pronounce the words, and he sang in that awful vibrato the whole time. I just wanted to smack him. I never ever thought he’d win. He song is, at most, entirely forgettable.

Ah but he won, and no amount of complaining will change that.

And Sweden came in so low! Which I really don’t understand. For the first time, I really had faith in Sweden’s song. For the first time I really believed Sweden would do well. Last year, when Sweden sent The Ark, I laughed when we got low points because we deserved it. The Ark! PLEASE! But not this year. I was utterly shocked. I was convinced we’d make it to the top 5, if not win the whole damn thing. But maybe it’s too “old fashioned” a song, and people don’t want that anymore. In that case, maybe we should have gone with BWO as was my first choice.

Well anyway, if there was ever a high point, it was when Björn Gustafsson presented the Swedish voting results. He sat there and blatantly mocked all those countries who choose presenters who can’t speak a word of English but pretend they can. For the record, of course he has no problem with English. He’s Swedish for goodness sakes! I don’t know if any of the other countries understood that he was joking. But that’s the fun of it! It was the good hard laugh I needed by that time of the evening.

12 points to Björn Gustafsson!