Toronto 1996

One of the first shows after the release of First Band On The Moon, this particular soundboard recording had the privilege to be issued as a bootleg CD called Weekend Warriors. Unfortunately this is certainly not the best concert the Cardigans gave, as it includes several bum notes and/or technical problems. Still, in the same way it's good to hear the Beatles butchering Paperback Writer live, it's good to hear than even great musicians are human and therefore can make mistakes... And you get to hear a great live version of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, the Cardigans' first Black Sabbath cover, but also Nina's skeptical introduction to Lovefool : "This is what in the industry they call a single, and it's supposed to be a good song, that's what they say", as if she already felt that this song was going to be both a blessing and a curse for them...

1. Iron Man
2. Your New Cuckoo / Sick And Tired
3. Hey ! Get Out Of My Way
4. Step On Me
5. Lovefool
6. Fine
7. Been It
8. Celia Inside
9. Rise And Shine
10. Carnival
11. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Link

A word from Magnus

Here is what Magnus (the Cardigans' bass player, for those who don't know) wrote on the Cardigans forum about this blog :

"Great stuff Yann!
I am flattered and proud that you and other guys want to collect our music.
Thanks for sharing in a brotherly and sisterly fashion. Hope I can contribute in any way."

:)

Roskilde 2003

Roskilde is a huge festival taking place every year in Denmark. This was the biggest crowd the Cardigans ever played to (about 50000). This concert took place a few months after the release of Long Gone Before Daylight and therefore features many songs from this album, plus the big hits from Gran Turismo. The set also includes Changes, in my opinion the greatest of the Black Sabbath covers that the Cardigans did. And in spite of the band's usual reluctance to play their oldest songs, here we get to hear their first single, Rise And Shine.
Soundboard recording.

1. The Road / Explode
2. You're The Storm
3. Live And Learn
4. Paralyzed
5. Erase/Rewind
6. Feathers And Down
7. Lovefool
8. Been It
9. A Good Horse
10. Changes
11. For What It's Worth
12. Hanging Around
13. Communication
14. Rise And Shine
15. My Favourite Game

Link

KCRW Acoustic Session 2004

One of the greatest live (in-studio) recordings of the band, during the promotion of Long Gone Before Daylight in the USA.
They play stripped-down arrangements of songs from LGBD, but also Erase/Rewind and My Favourite Game from Gran Turismo, allowing us to hear these songs without the heavy electronic wizardry (and that's a kind of relief :)). Absolutely essential to your collection.

1. intro
2. And Then You Kissed Me
3. Erase/Rewind
4. You're The Storm
5. interview
6. For What It's Worth
7. Communication
8. My Favourite Game
9. outro

Link

Welcome !

This page is all about the Cardigans, a Swedish band mostly known for two huge hits, Lovefool (1996) and My Favourite Game (1998).
But there is much more to them than these two songs.
Re-inventing their music constantly, you never know what to expect from them. Formed in 1992 by two hard-rock/early Britpop fans, Peter Svensson and Magnus Sveningsson, with Nina Persson as their singer, they first became known for their light indie pop, retro-sounding music (Emmerdale, 1994 and Life, 1995). before turning to harder and colder sounds for their most successful album, Gran Turismo, in 1998. After internal problems and a quasi break-up, they came back in 2003 with what might be their greatest album, Long Gone Before Daylight, a warm, Americana-influenced collection of songs. It was praised by critics but was not a commercial success, unfortunately. Neither was their last album to date, Super Extra Gravity, in 2005. The band was dropped from Universal Music in 2008 after the publication of a best-of CD.

More details about the band : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cardigans

Sick And Tired is the title of the first song on the Cardigans' first album, and the song that instantly got me hooked. Since 1995, I've tried to attend as many Cardigans concerts as I could. and over the years, I've built a quite nice collection of live recordings. Sick And Tired is also the name of an old Cardigans webpage that I ran from 1999 to 2004. And now, in 2009, it's back again as a blog where you will find links to various live performances from the band, from their beginnings from their last tour to date in 2006.

I will try to document all "periods" of the band, and will also include performances by Nina Persson with her band A Camp.

Enjoy, and if you like what you hear, please send comments !