Welcome to esc-chat.com’s live blog from the first dress rehearsal of the second semi-final for ESC 2013!

Martin here, taking over from Felix at the keyboard after a mad run from Hyllie station! The show has just begun on the  big screens, and the intro this time appears to be  a lot of men and women in suits dancing on podiums at various levels. Quite impressive, if a little baffling so far.

Oo, and now they’re skateboarding and cycling up and down a ramp! Urban chic! Then the ramp turns into a laptop and, almost inevitably, there’s a moment which calls for ESC Nation‘s “DUBSTEP!” sign. Petra then emerges and cracks a joke which, without wishing to spoil the surprise, suggests that 1980s hair rock band Europe might be making an appearance on stage tomorrow night. And then it’s time to begin as the Latvian butterfly emerges!

LATVIA
PeR are playing video games in their postcard, which might go some way to explaining the attention deficit disorder nature of their performance of “Here We Go”. The suits are glittery, the atmosphere is set to “party” – and it’s worth noting that their call-and-responses to the crowd really work, because there’s a full live audience for this show: schoolchildren and students from the local area, being rewarded for their participation in a local ESC-related project in recent months. It’ll be interesting to note their responses throughout (and it’s quite nice to see a full crowd without any flags in the way of the cameras!). Anyway, they love Latvia, and why not?

SAN MARINO
They’re a little perplexed by Valentina Monetta, though, not really responding even when the beat kicks in. That situation will be rather different tomorrow night, one suspects, based on the fact that the gathered “press” here are applauding San Marino before the song even starts… I think they’ve improved a few of the camera angles during the ballad section, which is good to see, and the stage might be slightly brighter for the final minute – another improvement if so. One thing’s for sure, Valentina is mostly in excellent voice throughout this, and that could bode well for a strong jury vote tonight.

MACEDONIA
Vlatko has ditched the glasses for this performance, and to be honest, it makes him look a bit mole-like and blind. He’s playing with his earpiece throughout, which explains why he’s off the beat a few times, I suppose. No such troubles for Esma, who wanders on to sporadic applause in the press centre and basically owns the stage as usual. She’s wearing the red and gold number from the other day, headdress and all. The song structure remains the barrier here, although some of the schoolkids wave their arms in the air gamely as Vlatko does his stuff. Quite what they make of Esma is anyone’s idea. As mentioned elsewhere on this site, Macedonia have an excellent chance of reaching the top 10 for the first time if they can just get out of this tricky semi-final. Momentum is with them if you ask the assembled fans – the ending gets a huge cheer in the press centre – but whether Europe will agree is another matter.

AZERBAIJAN
Fireworks and skiing in Farid’s postcard. (Azerbaijan: Land Of Crampons.) No notable changes to the staging and camerawork here, which is a relief for this weary blogger’s fingertips! Farid is in good voice for “Hold Me”, and this does feel a bit like the “real” opener to this semi-final when you see the songs in order like this. There are some handprints on the dancer’s glass box – looks like someone forgot use a serviette after grabbing a falafel roll earlier. Gosh, really, what else is there to say about this? It’s visually striking, it’s sailing into the top 10, and the fates will determine where it goes from there. A hugely professional package.

FINLAND
Krista’s postcard also involves snow and ice, followed by a bit of live music. Astonishingly, she’s not singing “Oh oh, oh oh oh ding dong”. At this point, it strikes me that, both during last night’s show and here too, the lights hanging from the ceiling are not displaying the colours of the respective country’s flag before the song begins. During open rehearsals, they were, so we’re not sure why the change. Anyway, Krista! A really assured performance of “Marry Me” here, with all the quirkiness and camera flirting you’ve come to expect. I still think the performance and the backdrop are a little too much at times, but I suppose you’ve got to throw the kitchen sink at this kind of thing. The girl-on-girl kiss at the end prompts cheering and applause in the press centre – but mostly embarrassed giggling among the schoolchildren in the arena…

Some improvisation from Petra in the (obviously) empty green room during the commercial break between songs 5 and 6 – nothing to report here.

MALTA
The Maltese postcard features Gianluca at the hospital, understandably enough, before he and his Shoreditch hipster crew gather on a beach for a bit of music. They then do the same on stage for three minutes, and if nothing else, the camera shots are all a bit more settled than they were previously – Gianluca seems to know where he’s going in all his wanderings around the stage (copyright Russia 2002), and he’s relaxed enough to cup his ear to the crowd and do a few high-fives with the kids as he walks along the catwalk to the satellite stage, which is nice to see. This song’s success will depend on transmitting a happy, fun atmosphere to the viewers at home, so a bit of audience participation certainly won’t hurt!

BULGARIA
Elitsa and Stoyan do some drumming in the postcard. Surprise! The real question is whether their complex routine will be captured effectively  on camera this time, as it hasn’t really worked during the rehearsals to date. (Also: will Elitsa drop a drumstick again?) The first minute and a half of this are reasonably straightforward, then things get more complex – and it seems as if the powers-that-be have decided to do some longer, more lingering shots of the drumming twosome rather than trying to capture every moment, which is probably sensible. The strut along the catwalk to the satellite stage is quite effective, and all in all this is starting to make sense. Well, about as much sense as it possibly can.

ICELAND
Eythor’s postcard involves a fishing boat – again, shock! – followed by some socialising in which he wears a silly plastic crown. Nice. Ooh, a fashion update! Having tried out a black suit jacket and a white suit jacket in his rehearsals to date, apparently being unable to decide which to use, he’s turned up to this in a maroon shirt with a grey jacket on top. These may just be his casual clothes, of course – but they actually work quite well against the “wooden hut at twilight” backdrop, so perhaps there’s more to it than that. Eythor is in wonderful vocal form here, as he has been throughout. Apparently the Icelandic delegation were unhappy in particular with what we’re calling the “Jesus shot” at the end of the middle eight, but to my mind it looks (a) the same as before, and (b) very effective. Predictably big applause in the press centre, and presumably a fairly safe path through to Saturday night for Iceland.

While writing that last paragraph, two people just whisked by us, depositing Cezar “It’s My Life” CDs and pens (!) on our desk as they passed. No wonder they ran away quickly. That kind of thing is considered a war crime in several countries.

GREECE
The Koza Mostra boys and their drunk uncle are a bit more playful and humorous here than we’ve seen them before, joking with each other and flirting with the cameras, Andrius Pojavis-style eyebrow movements and all. Not sure whether this is part of the plan for tomorrow night’s performance or just cabin fever starting to set in. (If it’s the latter, we sympathise entirely.) Anyway, a predictably solid rehearsal for Greece here, and if they’re having this much fun from feeding off an audience of slightly bemused teenagers, they’re going to be on fire when the arena is full of flag-waving fanboys.

ISRAEL
Lovely postcard for Israel, with Moran looking radiant and relaxed in, well, normal clothes. Her stage outfit remains the “bicycle rack bling” look we’ve come to know and love, though. Moran’s vocals are near-flawless, with only the big note before the final chorus sounding a bit squeaky, but that’ll be tempered by the squeals of thousands of Eurovision fans tomorrow night. Not as huge a response in the press centre as I would have expected for such an obvious “fan vote sponge”, but there’s nothing else like this in semi 2 so it really ought to do some serious jury business, at the very least.

ARMENIA
And here we have two of my favourite songs in this semi-final back-to-back. Performance-wise, though, I’m still not hugely keen on Armenia – their look remains stranded in a curious no-man’s-land between hipster scarves and stonewashed denim, and the pyros that kick in for the last minute of “Lonely Planet” aren’t really as effective as they could be. There’s no denying that Gor is absolutely nailing this vocally, though, doing the same “improvised” (but heavily rehearsed) vocal runs as we’ve seen throughout the rehearsal days so far. We’ll see if that’s enough for a spot in the grand final.

HUNGARY
The Hungarian postcard: Alex looks moodily at Budapest. Alex looks moodily at a horse. Alex enjoys a beer with a friend. (Alex smiles!) There’s a gasp around the press centre as the guitarist appears on-stage in a black vest. Arms, everybody! Arms! The floating words on the backdrop are now in English, and I’m not particularly keen on it, to be honest – but maybe it’s sensible in terms of transmitting the idea of the song. Alex does his usual thing, connecting with the camera when he wants to (i.e. not much) while the guitarist grooves and the backing singer grins like she’s the happiest woman in the known universe. Vocally, no problems – it is what it is, mumbling and all. Quite where this is going, I have no idea. I hope it’s the final, but it might not connect at all.

NORWAY
“Margaret Berger at a nightclub” is the overriding theme of the postcard. “Margaret Berger being given a superb place in the running order by SVT” is the overriding theme of the performance. This couldn’t be better placed, after several more introspective entries with less in the way of obvious appeal and before a commercial break, and as soon as the beat kicks in you’re left with no doubt as to where this is heading. Margaret’s not fully on her vocal, but then she never is – the backing vocalists provide more than enough support to cover up her occasional flaws – and the stage is particularly effective, though one assumes an epilepsy warning will be required from the BBC commentator! Some of the kids in the audience are really going for this, too, which might be an interesting sign. (Then again, they might just be Norwegian.)

The Lynda Woodruff skit is wedged between songs 13 and 14 this time. She’s in “Malmö”, except it turns out to be Copenhagen – how was she supposed to know the difference when it all looks the same and she’s got Bonnie Tyler programmed into her car’s GPS (“turn around!”)? She then plays a bit of football in honour of Zlatan, and… that’s about it. What’s to say? While I wouldn’t say the Lynda Woodruff character has quite jumped the shark yet, it’s certainly coming to the end of its natural life and I hope Sarah Dawn Finer retires her gracefully after ESC 2013.

ALBANIA
We’re having a couple of server problems here, as you might have noticed, but hopefully we’re back on track now! The Albanians also have a minor problem when Bledar’s microphone doesn’t appear to be switched on at the start of the song, though it’s quickly resolved. Adrian’s rock star poses have become one of the highlights of the delegation party circuit over the past week, and he’s the most convincing thing about the Albanian entry (along with the pyrotechnics that fire out of the end of Bledar’s guitar during his solo, of course). Otherwise it’s quite a straightforward rock number played by some pretty straightforward-looking guys, and one wonders if that’ll be enough to ensure qualification. You’d hope so, as these guys are hugely likeable and clearly love what they do.

GEORGIA
If IKEA made Eurovision songs, the Georgian entry would be their signature mid-price self-assembly wardrobe. Everything about this screams “efficient”, absolutely nothing about it screams “human”. But it’ll do just fine, won’t it? Sophie and Nodi are consummate professionals (even if he still misses the first camera and ends up looking blind as a result), and you can’t fault the build of the song and the effectiveness of their delivery. It just feels a bit like two breakfast TV presenters doing a performance on a charity gala rather than something that could or should exist in the real world. Top 10 for sure, presumably garnering Georgia their best result in the process, but will anyone back at home really feel any identification with this entry? You do wonder.

(A few people in the press centre ironically chant “Pastora! Pastora!” after Georgia finishes. Nice!)

SWITZERLAND
If being 95 years old means you get presented with tons of chocolate on a regular basis, as happens in the Swiss postcard, then I can’t wait to be old. Lys Assia was floating around the press centre today, but she’s put into the shade by the Takasa bassist Emil, who proved to be a real charmer in an interview with Mark Levengood on Swedish TV yesterday. Like Vlatko from Macedonia, singer Christoph has ditched his trademark glasses for this performance – as a fellow bespectacled nerd, I disapprove! Interestingly, while Sarah’s vocals have been the strong point of Takasa’s rehearsals to date, she’s arguably the weak link today. Not that it matters as long as she delivers tonight, of course! Other than that, this is precisely as you’ve seen it before, with the six of them standing in a line delivering the song about as safely as humanly possible while the schoolkids in the moshpit look around, tangibly bored.

ROMANIA
Cezar’s postcard underlines his Serious Musician credentials – only for his three minutes on stage to completely undermine them. Honestly, what the hell can you say about this? It’s equal parts glitter, glamour and genocide, and the response it’s getting from the press centre – crazed laughter from some, (only semi-ironic) clapping from others – probably reflects quite accurately how people around Europe will feel tomorrow night. In this barmy semi-final, maybe it is a qualifier, who knows? I’ll say one thing, Cezar is more vocally convincing here than he’s been at any point this last week, even if the stage routine remains fundamentally ludicrous. God. Eurovision, eh?

First voting reprise. Confession time: I was getting a cup of tea so I didn’t see the start of it, but that run from Iceland to Israel comes across very well in this context. Norway is flying through. Albania use the sparky guitar solo in their reprise clip, which is wholly sensible. And who knows what to make of the end of the semi, really.

More talking with the extras in the green room, and then it’s time for Petra’s second look back at the history of ESC. This time focusing on the 1980s, with clips of Seyyal Taner, Plastic Bertrand, Kate Guldbrandsen’s ridiculous hair, and all. Fabulous! And then we go all ethnic, with Poland 1995, Doris Dragovic, Riverdance, Inga & Anush, and ending with Paparizou. So that’s us already up to the modern day – what’s left for the final now? ABBA, I suppose!

Second reprise. “Hold Me” sounds absolutely massive after the puny beats of Latvia, San Marino and Macedonia. Amazing what a bit of production can do. The Maltese clip uses a slightly awkward shot of Gianluca sitting on the bench near the end of the song, which I’d advise against, but then nobody’s asking me. Final chorus for Iceland, final chorus avec dancing for Greece – nice. And Cezar to end. Cezar should always end everything.

As previously announced, the interval act features Agnes and Darin. The latter is particularly (if predictably) popular among the kids in attendance this evening. They perform a medley of their hits, and that’s about the height of it. A bit strange having such a conventional interval act after the Kleerup-soundtracked interpretive dance we saw last night – although there’s dancing here too, of course. This is Eurovision, after all. And the beats certainly get the arena moving, so why not, I guess.

Clips of the big 5 plus Sweden are played at this point in proceeedings, with the songs accompanied by shots of the postcards again. Then it’s time for the fake results! Like last night, the first seven qualifiers are announced quite quickly, before things slow down and Petra ramps up the tension for the last three lucky finalists. The kids in the audience chant “Norge! Norge!”, but to no avail: our ten fake “qualifiers” this evening are Azerbaijan, Iceland, San Marino, Macedonia, Latvia, Albania, Armenia, Hungary, Malta and Bulgaria.

By the way, we’re loving the work of the extras and stage hands in the green room, who stand in for the “qualifying” acts for camera purposes – the hairy guy masquerading as Farid, PeR and others is always particularly vocal in his joy.

And that’s about all from this first dress rehearsal for the second semi-final! You can read coverage from the second rehearsal – the one on which the juries will vote – at our partner site ESC Nation. Thanks for reading and sharing this blog!