Europe gig no.27 - September 24th 2015 - Rockefeller, Oslo, Norway

Back to the start…. Gig 27: The easiest trip.

Saturday, 26 September 2015

I have now been to my 27th Europe concert. In 11 years. You can’t help but get into the «habit» of things after a while. You buy your ticket, plan your trip, whether it’s 2 hours by car, 2 hours by plane, or 15 hours by train, as has happened. This time I didn’t spend much time planning the trip; I live 35 minutes outside of Oslo. I know Oslo. I can even drive around in the center of Oslo without panicking now.

My job ended at 4.30, and the doors opened at 8. I drove directly to Oslo, to stop right outside Rockefeller Music Hall. I found some fans there; listening in on the soundcheck. I wanted nothing more than to jump out of the car and join them. Problem was, there was nowhere I could park.

So I had to park my car near my sleepover place, and then walk back to the venue. By then the soundcheck was done. So I walked back to where I would be sleeping, to say hello to my wonderful friends who had travelled from Finnmark in Northern Norway to see Europe.

I was VERY expectant and excited, to say the least. You would think that after 26 gigs, I had calmed down some. And I feel I have. But this night was special. This was seeing Europe in Oslo again, at the venue I had seen them twice before. Once is an event, twice is a pair, but three times? That’s a pattern.

The first time they played at Rockefeller was in 2004 (http://followingeuropetheband.blogspot.no/...), and that was my second ever gig. Last time they played at Rockefeller was in 2006 (http://followingeuropetheband.blogspot.no/...), which was my fourth gig, and that’s NINE years ago. This time it felt like it did back then, or even back at my first gig. I was 18 again! I was stressed and anxious to get my place at the front row. I was positively squealing with anticipation when meeting the other fans. I was, in short, the scatterbrained girl that left her camera in the car with the windows open on her way to her first concert. This time I left the car with all windows closed, luckily :)

In the line I talked to Stein Vidar, Michaela, Mei, Trude, Nina and two twin guys that were at their second Europe concert :) The doors opened before it got too cold. I secured a space in the front row, next to Michaela and Nina. The support band sounded great, despite the fact that I couldn’t hear their singer. In the rigging time in between the support act and Europe I talked to my surrounding friends; Thomas, Camilla, Nina and a couple of other people. As always, when the time is near for Europe to come on stage, people run a little impatient, and their senses are more focused, and so they notice more the background music. Around ten, the background music was Bohemian Rhapsody. And suddenly there was a mass breakout of song from the crowd down near the stage. I know I started singing, but I soon noticed that there were more voices. And we kept on singing!

«Too late, my time has come Sends shivers down my spine 

   Body's aching all the time 

   Goodbye everybody - I've got to go 

   Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth 

   Mama, ooo - (anyway the wind blows) 

   I don't want to die I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all,»

Just as we were starting to sing «I see a little silhouetto of a man», we noticed the music was no longer playing, the lights went down, and we did indeed see the silhouetto of a man, no two, no five men! I had to admit, I was a bit put out by the fact that I couldn’t sing more «Bohemian Rhapsody», but Europe my Europe soon made up for it.

For me, 5 feet tall and die hard fan, there is no alternative to being front row. I know that my guys will deliver a perfect show every time. I remember back in 2004, when I was standing pretty much at the same spot as I did this time, when I had the thought that «Wow, they are actually even better live than they are on their albums!». For me, the concerts are, and have always been, as much about the visual, and the connection with the band. Back in 2004 I remember Joey touching my hand from the stage. That didn’t happen this time. This time I got many recognizing smiles from John Levén, we even communicated about about a song at one point, through gestures, facial expressions and smiles.

 Flashback:

[Back in March this year, I went to see Europe in Glasgow, 2 nights in a row. I saw them on Thursday, and then I had a Meet and Greet with the band on Friday before gig number two. I approached Joey, who smiled when he saw me, and then he said «Long time no see!». After this exchange e switched to Swedish, saying; "oh, but you understand swedish, isn’t that right?" This took me by surprise, cause the last time I spoke to Joey was in 2008, 7 years previously.]

This encounter was very clear in my mind on this Rockefeller concert. During the song «Second Day», the amazing lights in red, white and blue were shining outwards into the audience. The audience could see the stage and the band just fine, but I kept thinking that they had a better look at us in the crowd on this song. I am not a huge fan of this song. I heard it live in Glasgow as well, and it’s better live than on the album, but it’s not my favourite. However, I was quite pleased with knowing the lyrics and singing along to them when Joey stood right in front of me, purposefully bending down to look directly into my face. There it was again, the sign of recognition. The look that said «there you are!» Not «Hey sexy», or «Rock on, dude», but «Hey there, my loyal fan, it’s nice to see you in the audience again» - look.

My favourite songs from this concert was Hole in my pocket, Sign of the times, Days of Rock’n’roll, Firebox, Girl from Lebanon, and the biggest surprise of the evening… The mood lighting together with Mic on the keyboard indicated «No Stone Unturned», even if that was a bit unlikely considering they had played «Firebox», so I reached down to my bag to find my cellphone and start filming, cause the beginning of No Stone Unturned gets to me every time. But it wasn’t «No Stone Unturned». At first, when John Norum started playing this oh so familiar song, I thought «Gary More tribute, now?». But then it dawned on me: Oh my God, he’s playing "Vasastan". Normally I would squeal/scream/jump at the apprehension, but this time I just stood filming, swallowing and almost tearing up. It was so tender and beautiful. A sold-out Rockefeller with crazy rock fans that could make so much noise, and yet John Norum managed to play so soft and tender. It was magical!

The encore began with Rock the night, and in his ad lib-bit, Joey put in a Norway tribute by singing three words: «Take…. On…. Me…», I liked this little homage. It brought me back to when they played a bit of «In the hall of the mountain king» when they were in Skien 5 years ago. 

It’s very clear that the band enjoys their concerts in Norway, and feels a connection to the country. This night, I was attending my 16th Norwegian Europe gig, and I haven’t even been to all of the gigs they have done in Norway, so that’s saying something. Days of Rock’n’roll came all too soon. I say that because there can not be any other song following this new classic but The Final countdown, and that means the show is coming to a close.

But when the band got out after Days of Rock’n’roll, they experienced their first techical hiccup (that I know of) this evening. It seemed to me like the intro to TFC would not start! I heard half a second of the roaring bass, then nothing more. Then I heard it again, and again it stopped. The crew came on stage and fixed some wires and some stuff, the audience continued chanting. And then it finally began.

It had been so hot during that gig, I could see Joey’s hair all wet from the heat, and I was feeling very hot myself. But what happened at the end of the gig was worth all the heat. I had, as I mentioned, had a couple of nods and smiles from John Levén, and at the end of The Final Countdown (which was nearly The Final Breakdown for a few minutes), I mimicked to him that I wanted a plectrum.

After he was done playing, he gave a sign to one of the crew, and then he came back with a handful of plectrums. He tossed it in my direction, I saw it fly, and tried to grasp it, but I didn’t have any real hope to catch it, I never was very good with the whole eye-hand-coordination-thingy. After the band left the stage, I found Camilla, and hugged her, we had rocked together a while during the concert, so I knew where she stood. After I hugged her, she picked at my forehead. «You have a plectrum on your forehead, here you go!», she said. I was sure she was joking, surely she must’ve caught a plectrum and decided to give it to me? But as far as I know, she doesn’t joke with that kind of things. So… Yeah… Caught a plectrum with my sweaty forehead :-p

After that, I was hurrying to get outside, because the place was boiling. Outside I met up with friends from all over Norway. It was so great! I talked like I was being paid for it, at very high speed with few breaks, but the people around me were all smiles anyway.

The night ended in even more perfection, when after a good while, three band members came outside, and took some time to meet with the fans, there were maybe 5-7 fans there. I asked John Levén politely if I could have a photo with him, and he obliged smilingly, at least according to the photos.

I think that was the best smile I have seen on him ever :D I got a photo with Ian as well, and the photos turned out very well! At last came John Norum, and when he saw me, he made a gesture clearly inviting me to a hug. And what a nice hug it was. While there, I asked very silently «So, you remember me still?» And his reply was just as calmly and very friendly «Of course, of course. How are you? All good with you?». At this point Thomas was holding my cellphone, cause I wanted to ask John Norum for a picture. A bit later on, Thomas showed me the picture of me and Norum. Not the one where we are posing and smiling for the camera, but the picture of John Norum hugging me so closely! I was SO happy :D Now I have the memory AND the picture to prove it for when a couple of more year passes, when I start to imagine that I dreamt it all :)

My third gig at Rockefeller was a real treat :D

I am looking forward to the next!

Europe gig no.21 - June 7th 2013 - Sølvesborg, Sweden

 

This post was first published as a note on Facebook.

This is number 21. The "2 hour 35 minutes concert" review. You ready?

10 June 2013 at 18:45

Hey guys :) I'm back at home after two days travelling :) I'm sitting here watching YouTube-videos from the show I have just attended, and I can feel the aftermath of having been to a great show. For instance, I was just watching a video of The Final Countdown on my cell phone, and suddenly realized I was fistpumping, sitting right here on the couch. To that song, of all songs. A song I should be ridiculously tired of by now, almost 9 years and 21 live concerts since the first time. But I'm not.

When I hear the roaring bass that announces the intro, my first reaction is always «Nooooo, F*****ck!!» Cause even though the song is amazing, the playing of it means the end of the concert. But then the synthesizer start, and I forget everything. All I can remember is that this song is what started the whole thing. This song is AMAZING live.
When the song ends, and the band makes their walk of absolute triumph on this gigantuan stage, I'm woooing and hooing, clapping and smiling most giddy. This has been a two and a half hours concert without any crowd pressure, drunken bastards or flying beer bottles ruining the joy of it.

Imagine that. Front row in a festival with 20 000 people. Twenty-thousand! I met up with my lovely dutch friend Anke earlier that day, and she had no plans to try to get to front row, due to
her last experience with Europe at Sweden Rock, in 2009, when front row became quite the mosh pit. But this time it was different. I don’t know what made it different. But anyway, I LOVED the front row. Fans from Argentina, Chile, America, Taiwan, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Italy, to name a few, had been standing and sitting in front of the stage from 4 to 10 hours that day.  It was nice, though, to go to the biggest stage in the festival inbetween the other bands, to get to know the Europefans better.

On one of the other stages (there was 4 in total) I had the pleasure of watching a couple of songs by Treat (they sounded really good, and I got to hear my favorite; “Skies of Mongolia”). I also caught Hardline (sitting in the hot sunlight barefoot, hearing an incredible live band doing their hit “Hot Cherie” was a dream come true; a dream I didn’t know I had). I also got to hear a couple of songs of the band Asia. Great sound from their stage, and good songs, I have to listen to them a bit more! But when I wasn’t watching other bands on either of the other 3 stages, I kept returning to the Festival Stage to say hi to other fans. Meeting some friends I have known for sooo long, but never met before. I met a girl with the most amazing Europe tattoo. I was about to introduce myself, when she said “You’re Tone-something?”. Apparently I’m not the most invisible Europefan out there. Which is totally okay.

While waiting by the biggest stage, we got to hear Doro Pesch. Doro, whom I have seen before, was looking great, and sounding great! This time I managed to draw my eyes away from her and watch the others in her band too. The bass player was a real eye-pleaser, both due to good looks, and amazing energy. It looked like the entire band had a world of fun!

From where we stood (in front of the main stage) we had good vision to one of the smaller stages, Rock Stage, and the sound carried all the way to where we stood. So we could stand there and gather some of the songs from UFO. I guess most fans, like me, only knew the few UFO-songs Europe has done some covers of, like “Love to love” and “Only you can rock me”. We did hear the intro to Love to love.. But then the techies to the next due artist on the Festival Stage started to tune their instruments and bang their drums, so I couldn’t hear the whole of that song. Pretty irritating. But what I did hear was great!

This was my first real big festival. I’ve seen Europe in other norwegian festivals, and one swedish one, but never this scale. I have been asked to go to SRF previous years, but always thought that it would be too noisy, big and crowdy for my taste. But I am absolutely IMPRESSED. Four stages taking turns to host amazing bands, a festival crew that was like a well greased machinery. Immediately after a crowd left the stage after one band was done playing, you could see plastic beer bottles everywhere, the ground was littered. 10 minutes later, the crew had come over to clean it up, leaving the ground bottlefree once more.

After another couple of hours of waiting and socializing, it was time for Krokus. But my Converse-covered feet was kind of sore at this moment, so I tried to focus on keeping them in motion, so my back wouldn’t go all out on me. I did however get a lot of Krokus’ vibe, even if I wasn’t listening that intently. Their singer was good, and I liked their music.

But... you know what? Call me biased, but there’s something about Europe that sets them apart from all the other bands I saw. The crowd started intensifying 60-90 minutes before Europe came on stage. Fans from every country, all ages, whole families (I stood next to a family of three; a mother and two teenage/just-over-20-kids. Who had come from the Netherlands.
Intensifying was natural, due to them being the headliners, having a 30 year anniversary etc etc.
No, what I meant about Europe having something that sets them apart... It could be the experience. Their 30 years of writing, playing and conveying music. They have a way of drawing the audience in. They’re not actually asking anyone to love them or their music when they’re performing. They concentrate 100% on the music, helped by some breathtaking lights and a well-driven sound. They love their own music, which makes you love them.

It doesn’t hurt that they’re talented. It doesn’t hurt that they have a bag filled to the brim with old and new goodies. And the fact that they can reinvent themselves and their songs.

Take “Prisoners in Paradise” for instance. They played it on the festival, for the first time ever with John Norum participating on guitar. This is however NOT the first time they have played it live after the break. The first time happened to be in my home country in 2008.I had got my camera out, and was ready to film what I thought was Carrie. But no. Joey on acoustic guitar and Mic on keyboards played a beautiful version of PIP. They kept playing it in a few concerts after that. At SRF is was back in a new form:  “It’s been a long time since we did this one, so forgive us if we fuck it up, okay?” Well, they really REALLY didn’t. It was perfect. I loved it. I don’t normally listen to this song too much at home, but Europe can make you love every song they play live.

Another one of my favorite songs from this gig was “In the future to come”, one of the songs from the night they won Rock SM, a record deal, and a future as a band. It was really nice to hear live. Seven Doors Hotel came back, too! I love how Ian has done different drum patterns live on this song, very noticeable in the solo.

Paradize Bay, however, was a REAL big surprise for me. I don’t listen to that one too much at home, but having seen their live DVD’s from the 80s, I recognize the song. I had a moment of panic at the beginning when I thought “darn, I don’t know the words to this song”, but then I found out I did know quite a few! It still rocked live.

I love being front row in a concert with lots of fans. Instead of the standard fistpumping to the beat, we even get the “breaks” in the songs punched in the air. For instance right before the calmer sequence on The Beast. Dun-dun. Dun-dun. Goes bass and guitar, and then the drums take over.. “Way down here, I never wanna come down...there’s no fear”... You see what I mean? The fans not only know the song, they breathe the songs, they think the songs.

Speaking of “The Beast”. Joey doing an acapella balkan-like intro to that song just gave me the biggest goose-bumps of the evening. This was after they were halfway, too. His voice just got better and better and better as the show went on.

But Joey is not alone in this band... I loved how Joey used the aisle on the stage as a sort of catwalk for first Mic, then John Levén, then Ian, and lastly John Norum. It gave the audience a chance to see the pride in these men’s faces, having made a living out of rock music for 30 years! And the admiration for their fans. It’s not just empty words, Europe really LOVES their fans. The heartfelt gratitude shone through, although the words in themselves sounded pretty rehearsed. The band still radiated sincerety :)

They played No stone unturned, too... I LOVE No stone unturned. When the intro began I had a hard time singing along due to the swelling in my throat. Of tears. I don’t know why the song gets me like that, it’s not a sad song. It’s just so brilliantly made and played. Mic’s keyboard solo was somewhat free’er, with hints of ‘Girl from Lebanon’-notes just at the beginning. And his intermezzo was just.... in lack of a better word: epic!

There are so many things I could keep telling you about the music they played, for instance Wings of tomorrow being played, which is a personally favorite of mine, when played live. The guitar solo i simple, yet elegant! It gets me going every time!

But most of all I wanna write about the fans. How we stick together although there’s not a forum anymore. How I met Daantje for the FIRST time, and not only was her face familiar to me like a friend I see everyday, but the way she moved, the way she smiled, it was like I had met her countless times before. The hug we shared was so warm and long! I asked if anyone in the dutch party had some sun lotion I could borrow, and Anke came up with a bottle of SPF 30. So 3 minutes after having met Daantje, she was rubbing sun lotion on my red lobster back. Totally natural, right? :) As natural, maybe, as borrowing a sweater from another dutch fan you didn’t know at all 2 hours previous, but because you’re camping next to each other in front of the stage, you become natural friends.

I have something I like to call the Social Butterfly Syndrome. When surrounded by sooo many people I don’t often see, I bounce from one of them to the other, and then to another, and back to the first, and then ‘Hey, I like your tattoo, do I know you?’, or ‘Ooooh, I really like your OOTW t-shirt, where can I get one?’ , suddenly I have made a couple of new Facebook friends. It’s fun, but it’s kind of tiresome. Never being calm and having a lengthy conversation with ONE, just being all over the place beaming at all the lovely people. I wish I had had lots more days to get to know the people I met. You are all special, and it was great to share this experience with you.