Before both halves of the show – billed as “An Evening With Europe” and augmented by an interval – they play excerpts from a new film about Europe.
The first half delves into their formation. It strikes me that you never really think of Europe as a “gang,” yet, for the most part, these guys have been making music together since 1984 (and many even earlier). While we’re on the subject, you never really think of Europe as a heavy metal band. However, listening to “On Broken Wings” and “Seven Doors Hotel,” both from the early days, that’s what they are. Or, perhaps more accurately, were.
By 1986, with the lineup (minus Kee Marcello, who wasn’t part of their 21st-century renaissance – a period Jon Norum calls “way more interesting” in the video before the second half), they had become somewhat like a European Bon Jovi. “Rock The Night” from that era has lost none of its power.
What’s best about Europe, though, is that they’ll do as they please. For every “Walk The Earth” with its quasi-power metal and “War Of Kings,” which is as bombastic as can be, there’s a “Carrie” or the new one “Hold Your Head Up,” a sort of self-help anthem for the modern age. The fact that it sounds like it belongs in 2023 is a testament to the band’s ability to fit in by never quite fitting in at all.
The first half ends with an absolute stunner. “Stormwind,” from their raw earlier days, might be the best they play all night.
The video before the second half deals with their reformation, and it begins with “Always The Pretenders,” one from early in their return. However, the fact that it is followed by “Ninja” perhaps underlines that the sets are a mix, not strictly “old” and “new” as many might have expected.
It also needs reiterating that Joey Tempest is a magnificent frontman, and he thoroughly enjoys playing his guitar in both that song and the huge-sounding “Prisoners Of Paradise.”
As befits a band that’s been together for as long as they have, there’s chemistry as well as skill. No one plays a power chord quite like Norum, as “Sign Of The Times” shows. “Last Look At Eden” remains as wonderful as ever.
This being about the history of the band and all, there is “Memories,” the first song Tempest wrote with Norum. Oddly, this song encapsulates the occasional lack of flow in the show, punctuated with a bass solo. There’s a later drum solo too, as well as an acoustic cover of “Space Oddity.” Even in the last song of the main set, “Superstitious,” Tempest leads a segue into “Here I Go Again.” It would have been nice to hear something from the “Bag of Bones” album, a personal favorite. It’s worth noting that Tempest jokingly chided anyone for their sentiments about the set, saying, “If we don’t play your favorite, it’s their fault.”
They return, of course, with a brilliant, fist-pumping “Cherokee,” and there’s one more. You, me, and even the next-door dog know what it is, and it’s one of “those” songs. I’ve loved Europe for almost 40 years, and while it might not be in their best 20 songs, I’m probably in the minority, given that Leicester is up and dancing.
The all-seated nature of this event, perhaps as much as anything, prevented it from feeling like a raucous gig, but maybe it wasn’t meant to be.
As a celebration of an underrated band, it’ll do just fine. And yes, despite the millions of records they’ve sold, the term “underrated” is deliberate. Europe is more than their hits, way more. They are a wonderful band, and after 40 years, they’re nowhere near “The Final Countdown.”
