Story: Meeting Jenny: Edmonton, November 11th, 2014 by Peter Markiw
I arrived at the club where Jenny was performing an hour early to get a good spot in from of the stage. I was with my sister, father and a friend I dragged along. We got some drinks and waited for the opening act to begin when an acquaintance of mine introduced the opening act! He also announced that he was Jenny’s tour promoter here in Canada and was in charge of taking her from city to city. So random that I ended up somewhat knowing him! I wasn’t expecting that at all and right away I knew who I had to talk to and was glad to somewhat know him. About halfway through the opening act I approached him at the back of the clun and told him I was hoping to meet Jenny. I told him to mention Jessi to Jenny and her people since she was helping to set up a meeting for me. He told me he would and that it would be fine to meet Jenny but wasn’t sure when it would happen exactly. He said Jenny had been so much fun to travel with and get to know over the past few days. They apparently even joked about him going to visit and Jenny finding him a hot Swedish boyfriend!
The tour manager left for about 10 minutes while I stood with my friend and watched the opening act from a distance at the back of the club. We stood close to the door where tour manager went into so as not to miss an opportunity. I wasn’t paying much attention to the opening singer and was mostly just nervous and excited! Then… about 10 minutes later he walked through the same doorway up behind me and motioned with his hand to follow him in. I gasped and told my friend to run and grab my sister who had my camera. I followed him into the doorway slowly where a group of people were standing. I turned my head and BAM! There was Jenny posing for pictures with some people! By that time my sister came with my camera and we both looked at each other with excitement! I watched people pose for pictures but didn’t want to stare and then a man from Jenny’s group approached me… “Are you Peter? I got an email about you” he said. (Jessi was kind enough to help me set up this meeting and he must have gotten word of it). We made small talk while I waited for Jenny. The man then motioned for me to approach her. I walked up and introduced myself and we took some pictures. They were more than happy to take a bunch with many different angles. After that I asked her if she could sign some album covers and she agreed.
While she was signing the four Ace of Base albums, (I already have a signed My Story), I asked if she will be starting work on a new album. She said yes and that they are currently trying to figure out music styles and direction. I suggested more dance music and Jenny seemed to agree. I also asked if she had spoken to Jonas recently and she replied yes, they talked just last week mostly about the new A*Base group. I asked her what she thought of the new group. She said it’s good that they seem to be having fun but that they are so young! I agreed and said it feels a bit strange but it’s nice that the music is living on in some form and that I’m excited to hear more. I then asked her what the chances are of the band getting back together. Jenny said that she is always open to it but there would be some restrictions if it was to happen. Then there was some small talk. I didn’t want to probe her with too many serious questions! I was then told they have to prepare for the show which at that point was about 20 minutes away. The man in charge told me I would have more time with Jenny after the concert if I wanted so of course I agreed to it! I thanked her and made my way out of the room and back to get a good spot for the show. I was buzzing with excitement.
Soon the intro to My Story began playing on the screens and Jenny came out and started singing. It was surreal to watch someone I’ve only seen on screen for 20 years singing only a few feet away. It was nice to see her wearing a poppy for Canadian Remembrance Day. She talked about it for a while on stage and dedicated Life Is A Flower to the fallen Canadian soldiers. I could tell no one else knew the song since it was never released here. Same thing with Dying To Stay Alive, but I soaked up these moments. At times like this it really did feel like the concert was special and put on for just me
Setlist:
Happy Nation
The Sign
Life is a Flower
Don’t Turn Around
Dying to Stay Alive
Cruel Summer
Beautiful Life
All That She Wants
Immediately after the show a crowd gathered at the stage and she was over there for a bit talking to people. She soon made her way past me with her people asked “Are you going to stick around? I’ll be back.” Of course I planned to stick around and told her that I would! There was a little break before she made her way back onto the stage and began taking pictures with many people that had lined up. I didn’t bother lining up for these picture and didn’t want to seem too pushy. She knew I was the only Acer there and that I’d be hanging around for a bit. So instead I stood with my sister, friend and father and chatted to kill time.
When Jenny was done taking pictures with everyone I noticed her walk off the stage making her way toward my group. She had to walk past me anyway so I wasn’t sure what to expect. As Jenny made her way toward me she stopped and said hello again! I asked if we could take a few more pictures and we did so. Then I asked her if she knew anything about the Hidden Gems demo album to be released soon. She first looked confused, maybe she didn’t know the exact name of it but then said yes she did and that she is excited since the demos will finally be in good quality for people to hear. I mentioned I was hoping to hear songs like The Mask and Wish You Were Mine and then…out of nowhere (and this was the highlight of my night) Jenny belted out a loud “I wish you were miiiiine” followed by “I’m gonna give you the real man behind the mask oooaaooohhh”!!! That moment was amazing! She sang those lines so loud that people around us stopped and looked! I tried to contain myself and continued the conversation. We talked about her performance and she told me how much she loved performing live and that she didn’t get the chance to sing live much in AOB and missed it. Jakob’s brother Simon has also has really pushed her to sing more live. I asked about Jakob and Jenny said he’s been very busy lately working with Dirty Loops. We then had some other small talk and she said hello to my dad and asked my friend if I dragged him along to the concert and we all laughed. Our conversation went on a few more minutes before it was time for Jenny to leave. I thanked her for spending more time with me and told her it was a dream come true for me, she smiled and didn’t know how to reply haha. Jenny then walked off and it was time for us to go home. By this time it was already 1:30 am and I had to work the next morning. Of course I didn’t sleep much that night since I was still buzzing from the experience!