Last band of the ProgPower Scandinavia festival this year; there was no mistaking which band was the most waited of all. Pain Of Salvation from Sweden.
People nearly crawled on top of each other to get as good a spot as possible for the show, a complete contradiction of what we had seen from Vanden Plas, the main act of the night before, where people were leaving in droves.

First thing to hit me as the band entered the stage was a change in looks on Daniel Gildenlöw since last time we him. He was now sporting a pair of sunglasses and a moustache rivalling any given 70ies porn-star. Luckily, he lost the glasses a short way into the set, but the moustache stayed on as a general distraction.
The voice and music had not changed though; it was as vital and still soulful as ever. And so was the show. Even though the band-members didn't leave their given places except on a few occasions, you could tell that they were living the music right there on the stage.

However, something was rotten in the state of Denmark. And it was Daniel Gildenlöw's mood.
On several occasions he made remarks or stopped the music to complain about the audiences' behaviour.

"I'm not going to speak Swedish, and I'm definitely not going to speak Danish. Did you know it's the same language? It's just a matter of how drunk you are."
- Daniel Gildenlöw (vocals/guitar)

Starting the show by offending the host nation, he then continued to heckle some people who were talking over at the bar; "Should I help you shut up?" and as there were some laughs at this and they then continued talking; "No really, should I?".
Someone remarked that this was just his type of humour, and that can't be ruled out I suppose, but to me he just came off as arrogant.

Still, as long as the music is working, and you have such talent on stage, you can't go completely wrong, can you? And there were fun times as well; like when Daniel said they were going to hit us with something hard, whereupon they started playing Happy Birthday for Leo Margarit (drums). Or when they started the encore with a singing Daniel hanging from a sofa halfway over the backstage area balcony.
And of course, as a given crowd pleaser, Pain Of Salvation ended their set with the upbeat Disco Queen.

Tired, and with a clear sense of fulfilment we took leave of Pain Of Salvation and this year's ProgPower Scandinavia as we stepped out into the crisp night air...

Setlist:

Beyond The Pale
America
Ashes
Handful Of Nothing
Undertow
Nightmist
Yellow Raven (Scorpions cover)
Cribcaged
Used
This Heart Of Mine (I Pledge)
Flame To The Moth
Diffidentia (Breaching The Core)
Mortar Grind
Disco Queen