Electronic superstars Swedish House Mafia tap into “Paradise Again” at United Center

Swedish House Mafia Photos by Andy Argyrakis

After supposedly waving goodbye to Chicago in 2013, Swedish House Mafia reunited and returned to the United Center for the “Paradise Again” Tour, named after a newly released album that’s loaded with collaborations.

Despite the false alarm on the farewell, fans nonetheless filled up the arena, just like they when the electronic superstars co-headlined Coachella with The Weeknd, and were treated to a joyfully relentless 90-minute rave, accompanied by an insane production straight out of an alternate universe.

Swedish House MafiaThankfully, DJs Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso haven’t missed a beat since they’ve been gone, getting right down to the adrenaline rush of “Can U Feel It” as strobes burst, flames shot and the giant circle behind them glowed.

Though the group had material dating back about a decade-and-a-half, this was far from a nostalgia trip, centered heavily around the current collection, alongside an updated reworking of “Miami 2 Ibiza” and many other mega mash-ups or remixes.

The recent “Red Light” was one of the few moments that took a retro twist, although not in the Swedish House Mafia sense, as a pre-recorded Sting offered his classic lines from The Police’s “Roxanne” over throbbing pulsations.

Other major moments included “Turn On The Lights Again” and “Moth To A Flame,” either of which would’ve been epic enough to be finales had an even more electrifying encore not been on the way.

Swedish House MafiaIt turns out Swedish House Mafia was saving the gargantuan sandwich of “Don’t You Worry Child,” “For You” and “Save the World” until then, the former of which made for a prime audience participation moment where everyone screamed at the top of their lungs, followed by the guys being as appreciative as they could be while expressing hope to be back sooner than later.


For additional information on Swedish House Mafia, visit SwedishHouseMafia.com.

For a list of upcoming Live Nation concerts, visit LiveNation.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the United Center include Kendrick Lamar (Aug. 19); Duran Duran (Aug. 20); Seventeen (Aug. 25); Eric Clapton (Sept. 12-13); Post Malone (Sept. 14); Kid Cudi (Sept. 16); Panic! At The Disco (Sept. 17); Roxy Music (Sept. 19); The Killers (Sept. 21); Mary J. Blige (Sept. 25); Gorillaz (Oct. 3); Iron Maiden (Oct. 5); Harry Styles (Oct. 6-14); The Who (Oct. 12); Lizzo (Oct. 16); Smashing Pumpkins (Nov. 5) and Arcade Fire (Nov. 12). For additional details, visit UnitedCenter.com.