I'm putting this blog out because I've been following this band for nearly a decade. It's been ten years, out of 15 years listening to their music. I have gone from teenager to grown-up, and I still cherish the memories.
I figured I'd have all the reviews in one place.
Feel free to comment!
It's surreal to have a member of a band you've known and loved since you were 14 - as I was in 1999 - greet you by your name, or have another band member change from English to Swedish when he started talking to you (in an english-speaking country, no less). It totally blows my mind. Every time, I might add, because it's happened to me on numerous occasions. Not often enough that I grow tired of it, though.
For a brief period, when there was less action on the forum, Europe ran their own page here on Blogspot. On this page they shared clips from the studio where they were recording Last Look at Eden, and they shared some things from their life on the road, I especially remember a clip that Europe had filmed of some guys in a car following their tour bus in Central America. The fans in the car were singing along to "Love is not the enemy - LOVE IS NOT THE ENEMYYYY". The last party they formally screamed, they were so psyched to be filmed, I think. I played it 10 times in a row, it made me laugh so hard!
Anyway, around the time that Europe toured with the album "Last look at Eden", Joey often filmed or photographed himself on the stage with the audience behind him. The audience - of course - went quite wild when this happened. I managed to save a picture from the now dead blog, where Joey has captured the audience in Skien, on June 5th 2010. It was so cool to have Joey take a picture of me (of course I mean us), when I had taken a picture of him so many times! I'm front row, right next to the girl with the red sweater.
Nowadays the forum is dead and gone, but Europe has an official Facebook page, and they're continually working to keep it fresh. In the beginning of October, the band posted on their Facebook page urging fans to share their pictures with band members or with memorabilia. I emailed a photo of myself an John Norum. Almost every Friday, Europe would post one of the pictures submitted by fans, but mine never came. So I figured they didn't want to use mine. Then came New Year's! On December 30th, I woke up quite late, and had so many notifications from friends that posted the same link, to Europe's newest submission.
I had no idea I would feel so honoured and happy to have my picture with John on Europe's own Facebook page. It made my whole day! After work that day, I drove to a friend who lives 1 hour away. I parked my car, turned the engine off to wait for her, we were meeting at IKEA. While waiting, I decided to make a comment under Europe's post. I had felt quite famous that day, with all my Europe friends 'tagging' me in comments or messaging me. So you can imagine I felt quite "famous". And so I decided to tell people.
As you can see, Europe decided to make my day even brighter, by commenting on my comment.
Now it's been a little over two months. And you know what? I got my second picture posted on their page! In addition to Fan Feature Friday, Europe decided to do 'Tattoo Tuesday' I absolutely love my tattoo, I've had it for 9 years now. I loved the fact that they decided to include it, 'cause then I got to show the world of fans my devotion :) Mine is at the top right.
Am I getting anywhere with this intermission? Yes. It's a hard market for the bands these days. But doing things like this, to really honour the fans; I think that makes all the difference. Europe has a really devoted fan base (I think they've had 3 or 4 'Tattoo Tuesday's' now... that alone is saying something) ''
My story starts Friday 19th August at Oslo Central Station at 09.30. My train leaves in 4 minutes, I’ve just been walking around the station gathering supplies, so now I’m stocked up on coffee, Coca Cola, a bottled smoothie, a really nice club sandwich and some chocolate for my train ride to Ă ndalsnes, then bus to Ă lesund. My Facebook status reads
"(…) it's Joey's birthday and also the day before my 29th concert. I've already started my trip towards Ă lesund. Looks like a clear day so the scenery should be epic.» I’ve got a new book from an author I really like, so the 7.5 hours ride should go pretty smoothly."
When leaving Oslo, it’s just the city, and then a few tunnels till you’re at Oslo Airport, and it takes a few hours for the real sights to appear, but I’m keeping myself entertained, with music and my book, and a little bit of social media on my phone. I should probably save the battery more, cause it’s a long trip, and my new phone is a battery eater, but I’m in control.. I can stop whenever I want …. Finally I’m able to put away my phone, the landscape outside the window is now more countryside. The grass and the trees are still summer green, there’s only some occasional auburn seasoning of the treetops here and there to tell you that autumn is waiting. I’m passing rivers and streams which are oh so merry and blue. Occasionally I see a cottage with thick, green grass instead of roof tiles, it’s a fairytale landscape, but nothing compared to what’s coming! I’m finding it hard to keep my face passive, I’m actually sitting there half smilin’ although the concert is not ‘till tomorrow, even though I’ve been up since half past six!
You know what it’s like with long rides, though… You just wanna check Facebook one more time, you want to take a picture here, and listen to a song, and end up listening to the whole album. The battery is showing it’s critically low, so I make a decision to put it away. The pictures I want to take for this review (which I have already started writing in my head, in english) I’ve already taken! I was in this particular area for 4 days in July with my girlfriend and her family, experiencing the best of Norway’s spectacular scenery, even bathing in the green rivers filled with glacier water! Now the mountains are wilder-looking, one of the bridges we’re passing is … words elude me on this one, see for yourselves:
And now I see the mountains of Ă ndalsnes. I know I said I had taken lots of pictures in July but I just… can’t … help … it … just … one … more …. «Oh, the view is even better here» *click*. Battery power 2% … I might still yet make it. The last half an hour before the train arrives in Ă ndalsnes must be THE reason why so many tourists come here every year. When arriving in Ă ndalsnes I’m experiencing the same sensation as the first time I came here: dizziness, nausea and butterflies in my stomach. It’s like car sickness mixed with anticipation, but I’m not car sick, I’m just totally overwhelmed and in love with the mountains. They make me feel so small and insignificant. As you might have guessed; when I’m boarding the bus to Ă lesund, my battery is all out, and I have no physical student card to show the bus driver, so I have to pay the full adult ticket, costing me 100 NOK more than I planned for. But it was worth it.
I was never a big fan of Geography when I was in school. Memorizing the names of the deepest oceans, the longest rivers, the widest lakes or the biggest fjords was not in my interest at the time. I grew up near a lake called Holsfjorden, connected to Tyrifjorden, so all my life I thought a fjord was a lake, and that a lake was a fjord. I learned the error of this some time last year, but while on the bus from Ă ndalsnes I really realize for the first time what makes a fjord so intriguing to people from other countries. I ask the couple in front of me who sound like they’re from abroad if they know the name of the fjord we have been driving next to for nearly an hour now, and they give me a map that tells me it’s Romsdalsfjorden.
A new pop culture reference slams into my head; Slartibartfast. He is a character in Douglas Adams’ book series «A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy». Slartibartfast is a «designer of planets. His favourite part of the job is creating coastlines, the most notable of which are the fjords found on the coast of Norway on planet Earth, for which he won an award.»
I can’t really say what it is about fjords that suddenly is so mesmerizing to me. Maybe this is about size too… The mountains and islands seems to go straight down into the body of water, the bus is driving through tunnels and over bridges, and the water outside of the bus is the same fjord that you have been driving by for almost 2 hours, you expect the next big turn to show you the ocean, but then it’s another mountain in the distance. It’s just epic! My kind host HK meets me at the bus station near Ă lesund, and we go out with friends that night, before going back to his house where I get the guest room.
Through my years travelling in, with and to see Europe, I’ve experienced some fantastic hospitality. This time is no exception. I have acquired a lot of friends and acquiantances through all my years studying, going to concerts and parties. I can’t really say I know exactly where everyone lives. So a month before the gig I made a shout out to my friends and acquaintances of Facebook asking if there was someone who could offer me a sofa for a few nights in or near Ă lesund. A relatively new acquaintance, Hans Kato, heeded my call. He even told me he made some really mean breakfasts.
A couple of days before my departure to Ă lesund, he contacted me to ask what I’d like to eat, offering quite a range of choices for breakfast. This was also one of the reasons I was smiling on the journey to Ă lesund; I was looking forward to all of it, not just the music!
So, when I get up all rested on Saturday morning I take a shower, and the unmistakable sounds of breakfast-making comes from the kitchen, accompanied by a delicious smell. Hans Kato serves me Morrocan omelet; fried eggs with garlic, chili and ginger, with red onion and sweet cherry tomatoes; it’s the most perfect start to a concert day, all full of proteins and vitamins. The recipe may sound hot, but it is actually very balanced; sweet and seasoned all in one.
Hans Kato isn’t that into Europe, he isn’t going to the concert, but almost by mistake I discover that we share a common interest for Nightwish, so we spend some hours listening to, goofing over and really appreciate some fine Nightwish-songs while I am going to and from the mirror in the hallway to the sofa in the living room trying to get the make-up just right! I am relaxed, not stressing about going to the venue really early to maybe catch the sound of soundcheck. I still ride on a wave of energy; this time provided by Nightwish music that I haven’t listened to in a while. Safe to say, HK isn’t just an aquaintance anymore, I can honestly say we’ve become friends.
My newfound friend drives me to Ă lesund (it takes a little while by car and a 15 minute ferry ride to get there), and drops me of an hour before the festival opens for the day, I’m gonna catch some PokemĂłns while waiting, exploring a new city and just get to walk a bit, in the hot sun. Caught myself a Pikachu and a lot of Magikarps. Yes, I know; I’m 30 years old, and cell phone games aren’t cool when you’re 30. So maybe I should’ve kept it out of the review? Nah, I like it, it’s fun, and you wasn’t expecting to read it. So there :P
I eat a sandwich and a couple of carrots before entering the big Color Line Stadium where Europe is due at 21.20 p.m. My first impression of the stages (there are two) are that they are a bit small, you can’t even tell if the one is bigger than the other, so how do I know where Europe will appear? Oh right, look after clues. Clue number one: I spot an Italian girl sitting on the ground with her back to the fence in front of one of the stages where a band is currently playing. Impersonating Sherlock it wouldn’t take me long to deduce by the fact that she’s sitting there reading a book, that she’s not here for the current band. By the amount of stuff she’s brought, one could deduce that she is experienced at going to festivals and waiting for a long time in order to secure a good spot. Her warm clothes also shows that she’s used to a warmer climate.
I didn’t deduce any of that; I know she’s Italian ‘cause it’s a girl I know; Valerie. I have only ever met Valerie while in Norway. But still, I have met her more than three times. Not for a long time now though! I sit next to her, also ignoring the band on stage, and we catch up a bit. Looking around inside the stadium I see balloons in different colours on the various sides of the stadium. One has «WC» on it, and is hovering in a direct line over the signs to the toilets. Another balloon shows where the exit is. Smart, for when the stadium will be filled with people, already there are people sitting in the seats around the stadium. Having some experience with Europe playing in Norway, I am not really expecting a full stadium, but judging by the flow of people passing when I was eating my lunch, it should fill up quite good.
Looking around further, there’s also a big banner there advertising Burn, the energy drink. The slogan reads «Light it up». I smile to myself; this is one of the songs on the most current Europe album; War of Kings. I see more people I know, funnily enough they are all from not Norway. Michaela, like Valerie, has travelled from Italy, and Kelly has come from Glasgow. Through them I meet Cindy who is also Italian.
The only artist I want to mention before Europe hits the stage is Ina Wroldsen, a norwegian singer. Her voice is so clear, and she certainly know how to use it! Her next to last song is Space Oddity by David Bowie. Only its' several keys higher than anyone has ever sung it before, I think. And still she manage to sing beautifully! Check her out sometime, if you get the chance!
After Ina and her band (a dj, a keyboardplayer, a guitarist and a drummer) leaves the stage, the crowd is thinning again, to check out the band playing on the other stage. I decide to find a toilet, just in case. I ask Kelly and Michaela to save my spot. They pledge to try. When I get back, I find there are quite a crowd in front of the stage, but I still get a spot … right in front of Joey’s white mic stand. And I mean RIGHT in front of it! Suddenly the stage doesn’t seem so small. It’s perfect height, the front row fence is set 5-6 metres away from the stage. Close to the stage, maybe half a metre out, there’s a row of tall amps. Not as tall as the stage, but tall enough. In front of those are another row of amps, half the height of the big ones. Pay attention; This will become important later ... Our band enters the stage, and although small, the stage is not cramped. The band has space to move around. The first three songs is as always all about the press. The photographers are all over the band members. But I feel that at this concert, the press is also very intent on capturing the audience, I even catch some photographers trying to get my crazed (but well groomed for once) face on their cameras. So I might have been a little extra crazy, trying to represent my band as best as I could in terms of devotion. I think I succeeded.
I told you I didn’t think the stadium would fill up. It does. People everywhere! Of course this cause for a bit of drama, people getting shoved into other people, creating uncertainty in the front rows now and then. But I get to keep my focus on the band. I didn’t tell you, but there are big screens on either side of the stage, so that the people watching from the seats and further back can also see the artists performing. Europe is being filmed from down on the ground in front of the stage and on the actual stage. The overlapping between cameras is smooth, and the camera men manage to not not take the focus off the concert. But poor guys … when Joey jumps down on one of the aforementioned hig amps, further down on the lower amp, and then onto the ground in front of the audience…. He is reaching out to the audience, running from one side to the other, and I can almost feel the confusion and frustration coming from the camera men «Now what do I do??» What becomes more and more apparent while Joey is down right in front of us, however, is the question: «How does he get up again? There’s more than two steps up from the highest amp to the stage, AND there’s a half a metre gap between those two!» It seems to me that Joey is working these same questions, cause he is taking his time down on the ground with us.
He goes back up on one of the smaller amps, sings a little bit there. Then he goes onto one of the bigger amps, and it takes me a bit longer to realize that the security guys have also been working on the problem. The solution to the confusion is provided by one of the security guys, he lends his shoulder (!) to Joey as the missing step between the tallest amp and the stage.
Speaking of security guys... For those of you that have attended one or more Europe gigs the past 4 years, you may have noticed parts of the entertainment routine Europe does. One is John Norum stopping to play a phrase, then putting his hand behind is ear and looking encouraging out into the audience, as if to say “so, do you think I’m good? I wanna hear ya!” Joey has a call and response-thing during Rock the night (I’ll come back to that in a second), and he has this thing where he lowers his microphone beside one of the security guys, maybe this time they will actually sing into it? Well, today’s victim is with his back to the stage, looking out into the crowd to make sure things go smoothly. Michaela is trying to mimick to him that he has a microphone beside his head now. He is smiling, and giving her a thumbs up or something. I take part in the mimicking and pointing, so he understands there’s something going on at his side.... The look of this guy when he very visibly jumps with surprise is just hilarious! Thank you Joey, that was priceless!
Anyway; like in Karlskoga 6 years ago, the sound is so clear, the lighting is as always perfect! It has just been 7 weeks since I last saw Europe live, so the set list hasn’t changed that much, except they played “Cherokee”! I haven’t heard that song live in 3 years, so when I hear Ian taking it away, I can feel my tonsils vibrating as I yell “Jaaaaaaaa!”.
Speaking of Norwegian words, Joey has a tendency to pick up the local expressions. Like for instance he’s saying “Tusen takk!” (Norwegian) Instead of “Tack sĂ„ mycket!” (Swedish). The norwegian word he is testing today is “Stas!”, which can be translated to something like “Grand!”. He is a talented entertainer for sure.
Europe is offering the perfect ending to a good show when they do “Cherokee”, followed by “Days of rock’n’roll”, and concludes with “The Final Countdown”. Three amazing songs, I think the crowd really has had a good time.
Epilogue: Hans Kato picked me up in town an hour after the concert had ended, and made me a really late dinner. While he was making food, I decided to go online to see if the local newspaper had written anything about Europe before the concert. The first thing I saw after the page was done loading was a picture of me and Valerie. We were interviewed by a couple of young women at the concert, and I had thought they were junior reporters doing something from the festival or something, but it turned out they were actually from the biggest local newspaper.
The next day HK served american pancakes with bacon, maple syrup and blueberry jam, before driving me to the bus stop where the bus was going to take me back to Ă ndalsnes.
When planning to write this review, I was thinking of skipping writing about the little things. But it’s the little things that matter. I could of course start writing things after «sobering up» from the effects of a good time, but when you’re still sleep deprived after a weekend of fun, you don’t just remember things, you still feel them! And when you feel them, you can write them down more accurately. Or, if at a later time, you read through what you wrote, and find things that doesn’t really make sense to someone that wasn’t there, you can change it into something more comprehensible. During the time of the festival, I kept posting statuses to facebook, I will put them in this review as quotes.
I cannot remember the last time I was looking forward to a concert for such a long time in advance as for this concert, I almost started counting down from the day Tons of Rock released the news. I now live in Ă s, which is about 1 hour drive from Halden, where the Tons of Rock festival was to be held for the third year running. Initially, I only had tickets for Saturday, when Europe was playing, but a couple of weeks ago I found out that Alice Cooper was gonna play there on Friday - not Thursday as I thought - so I looked at my salary for June, and found out that I could afford to go on Friday as well.
The day I found out that Europe was going to play at Tons of Rock, I tried calling a Europe fan friend in Northern Norway; she and her husband had booked tickets months back to see Alice Cooper at this festival. I had to call her – Camilla - to tell her that her teenage favorites were also coming there! She was of course very thrilled when I told her. Well, after I had decided to buy the Alice Cooper tickets, I asked her about accomodations, if I could share tent with her and her husband. They were happy to share! So the last two weeks before the concert I was not only thrilled to be going to another Europe gig, but to be experiencing the full festival experience as well. I have seen Europe at festivals before, but I have only ever been there for Europe, and to sleep in tents haven’t been a natural choice. I have slept at hotels, or at a friend’s or a family member’s place. This time I was doing the full experience, even drinking alcohol, which is something I very rarely do, it’s not a priority when I go to concerts, or even to parties.
When I go to concerts, I pack like a man. The necessary amount of underwear, concert wear, and going home-wear, maybe a perfume. Minimal of extra stuff. This time I had packed lots of clothes, sun screen, moist towelettes, anti-bacterial hand gel, umbrella, clothes for hot weather, for cold weather, for wet weather etc. I had even packed the cap for my toothbrush. Too bad I forgot the toothbrush...
I drove to Halden on Friday around noon, I had the day off. I had been showering and packing and fuzzing around my girlfriend’s apartment for some hours, I bet she was relieved when I finally left. One of the last things she said was to remember to eat lunch. I told her I would buy it on the way. I have a favorite shop in Ă s, where I currently live. It’s called «Health Food and Coffee Bar». I had decided to buy some healthy snacks, and my lunch, and coffee there. All organic. So now I wasn’t just a rocker going to a concert, now I felt a bit like a hippie! An "all organic sandwich, ditto double mocca, and snacks; dried pineapples"-digesting hippie! Plus granola bars and ginger pop (the latter makes you sneeze whenever you drink it, I don’t now why, but it goes directly to the sinuses!). The thought was that healthy nutritious food gives more energy when you need it more. This turned out to be a good choice!
«24 June at 12:49 · On my way to Tons of Rock for my first complete festival experience! Lots of wonderful butterflies in my belly!»
So, I was driving alone to Halden, with my gut full of butterflies, with not enough room for lunch, just a granola bar, and coffee. That didn’t help the matter. When I came to Halden city I turned off my GPS, cause the festival crew had put up very clear direction signs for the drivers. Not of the «black markers on white cardboard»-variety either; the signs had the Tons of Rock logo, and arrows in the direction you were supposed to go. I knew the festival was at Fredriksten Festning (Festning means Fortress), but I only realised this was an epic location when I saw the fortress from down in the town centre. You can see the impression I got on this picture:
I parked my car at the assigned parking lot, and got my stuff out from my car; a bag which could be used as a backpack, a Europe bag over my shoulders, a rolled up sleeping pad in one hand, and a cooler in the other. With jeans and a leather jacket on, with ten minutes to go to the camping site. Here came the first problem; where is Camilla and her husband Stig? They had come to the festival on Thursday to see Black Sabbath. I couldn’t reach them on their phones, no doubt their phone batteries were empty. I went into the camping site anyway…. Figured I’d just stand there for a time, cooling down from carrying all my stuff, jeans hot on my legs, leather jacket clinging to my sticky skin. Maybe I was lucky, and a familiar face would just poke out of a tent near me? Mind you, I was half a mind to just shout their names once, just to see if I got lucky.
«24 June at 15:23 · Halden · Arrived at the festival, but can’t find my camp mates :-p Amazing location for the festival nonetheless!»
While standing there I contacted another friend I knew was there on the phone. He told me he was staying in a house near the festival exit, and told me it was a short trip there from the camping site. My phone’s GPS agreed, so after having stood there a while longer, I headed in that direction. I came to the house, and a red haired girl met me: «Is this number 20?» I asked her. «Yeah» she said. «Is Henning here?» «No, but maybe he’s in the cottage!» In back of the tiny house was an even tinier cottage, and there I met Henning, and could actually sit down and have my lunch! At this point I was almost shaking because I was hot, and my body was hungry. Met some nice people there, and got to rest for a bit, listening to the conversations, and of course mention Europe a number of times! Then I walked with them to the festival entrance, planning to go inside the area to look for Camilla and Stig.
At the entrance they check your stuff before you’re allowed into the festival area. Checking for alcohol, drugs and food… I had a cooler with alcohol, for crying out loud! And food that I really wanted to finish! So I asked the guards there if I could place my stuff with them for half an hour while looking for my camping mates, throwing my beverage and delicious food in the garbage was just not an option. At last they gave in to my pleas, and my search just became so much easier, not being weighed down by all my gear. Then I finally found Camilla and Stig, and they showed me around to the main stage. Then we headed down to the camping site, stopping to pick up my gear from the security crew tent. On my bag, and on the sleeping pad, they had attached a big note with some duct tape reading «Looking for her camp mates». Haha, made me chuckle. I was happy that I hadn’t started to walk among all the tents in the beautiful, unusual well-kempt green field, because their tent was 10 metres from where I had stopped upon first arriving, thinking about hollering for them!!!
Now I could finally change out of the clothes clinging to my skin. But what to wear? I had ordered some nice rock wear that would both look cool and expose my fantastic tattoo, but I ordered it too late, so I had to bring my (in my opinion) worn-out clothes instead. I changed into my black with white polkadots halterneck dress, which I ended up wearing all weekend! The weather forecast had promised a cloudy weekend, but the temperatures was OK on Friday, so I changed into the dress, bringing my Wings of Tomorrow zip hoodie for when it got chillier. I had brought my Converse shoes, but left them in the car, so I just made a decision to wear my hiking sneakers all weekend. In retrospect, that was another wise decision.
After I had changed my clothes, we returned to the festival, to actually enjoy some music! My plans was to check out Sixx:A.M and Alice Cooper. There wasn’t anyone else interesting me this day. While there, I met Thomas, a very good friend. He had attended Sweden Rock some weeks previously, and heartily recommended that I paid attention to Sixx:A.M. While we waited for them I introduced Stig and Camilla to Thomas, and they in turn introduced me to their friends from Oslo; Siv and Jan Ove. Siv told she remembered me from the concert Europe did in Oslo in September 2015, and I must have looked really bewildered. «Have we met?»
«24 June at 18:59 · Halden · Quote Siv: "I remember you from Rockefeller (2015)! But I can understand that you don’t remember meeting me, you were high as a kite!"»
I have never done drugs, so for those who don’t know me, that quote must have sounded very wrong. But for those who know me, and have been to a concert with me, they know how «high» the music can make me. Siv told me she had looked in my eyes, and just seen that I wasn’t quite present. I had not had alcohol (or drugs) then, I was just on a different plane, fueled by the concert. Well, I am glad I met Siv this time, because she was SO nice! And she was my witness to what happened during the Europe gig on Saturday. But we’ll get to that.
When Sixx:A.M started, we were just sitting in the grass, looking at the stage, but I heard from the first song that I wanted to know their music better. It was only 7.45, so although there was a lot of people gathered in front of the main stage, there wasn’t any real crowding, I sidled towards the third row, where the crowd was thicker. There I suddenly saw a girl in a fluffy crocodile costume rocking out with her buddy Spider-Man. I just love the different people you find at a festival! Anyway, here my view to the stage was completely blocked by several tall guys. I found an opening, however, and then I was second row. New obstacle of tall guys. The tall guy next to me saw my – in lack of a better word – short-comings. He shrugged at me and gave me a friendly smile, something along the lines of «If I was that guy, I’d help you!» Well, I tried my luck. I carefully poked the towering obstacle on the shoulder (or as high as I could reach from down in the Shire). No reaction. My compassionate new partner-in-crime tried. The guy turned around and looked at him, then down on me. And what do you know, suddenly I was front row at Sixx:A.M (with plans of holding that spot until Alice Cooper entered the stage, of course!)
«24 June at 20:33 · I made it to the front row! Thank you, fun-sized legs!»
I thanked him heartily, and watched the band. They are definitely worth checking out if you haven’t heard them already! This concludes the first day of writing. I knew I had a lot to tell, but this is turning out to be quite the long tale! Hang in there, I will come to the Europe bit eventually. But not today. My wrist can’t take it any more!
The tracks that Sixx:A.M played that caught me from the first notes were “Rise”, “This is gonna hurt” (I’ll tell you about what hurt later!) and “Life is beautiful”! Check them out. I have to admit, when I first heard the female chorusing, I thought “Backtrack choir vocals? That’s lame!” But then I saw the choiring ladies! There were back vocals live at the show. That got so much more respect from me!
Then there was time to wait for Alice Cooper. After 50 minutes or so, the gig started. I was gonna see a full Alice Cooper show! Woohoo! The last time I saw him live, I caught only half the concert. The other half, me and the aforementioned Thomas were in line to get our tickets to the joint Alice Cooper/Iron Maiden show. We got the full Maiden show, but only some of Cooper. Alice Cooper was.... a fun show. I wasn’t really in it, for some reason. There were a lot of the songs that I didn’t know, or didn’t remember, and while the entire concert was really entertaining, it didn’t really draw me in, cause there weren’t much band interaction with the audience! But now I can say that I have seen Alice Cooper live, we’ve been only a few metres apart! Some highlights from the concert for me was “Poison”, “School’s out”, and “Elected”. During this song, there was a couple of actors masked as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and they were attacking each other physically. It was entertaining, to say the least. I have to mention one thing that actually drew me into the show: The female guitar player. She was so skilled!! During one of her solos I had massive chills up and down my back! The last thing I will remember from the concert was when Alice stood there in his “penguin coat” and conducted the music! For a long time! With what looked to me like an epee, a very thin and small sword. I doubt that was what it was supposed to look like, but that was my impression. I am a conductor myself, and have stood at a couple of concerts conducting the band from the audience, instead of fist pumping. This is what I sometimes do when I listen to music at home, whether it’s Beethoven, Mozart, Nightwish or Europe. So of course I do this when I’m at a concert, too :)
After Alice Cooper, I was satisfied with my evening. I was also starting to get a bit cold, so I retired to the tent and fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up, cell phone battery was completely drained from the night before, and although they had a charging booth at the festival, it was closed until the festival reopened at 1:p.m later that day. When I woke up in the tent, no daylight to guide me, it felt like it was wake-up time. And when I learned the time, it was the normal time I get up in the morning! I dressed and found my health food; Had crispbread, walnuts and dried pineapple for breakfast, yum! Then the other two got up, and then there was nothing else to do but wait until 1:p.m. So I opened one of my cans of cider. Then can number two. How bizarre, to be drinking in the morning! But hey, I had decided to do this festival thingy for real! And there was no rush. I had everything I needed, I had friends to talk to, and there was no rain. While we sat in the grass outside the tent the clouds started departing, and the sun peaked out! I had as I mentioned remembered to pack sun screen. Sun protection factor 50 for my chest and my tattoo, and spf 30 for my face. Normally I also use 25 everywhere else. I asked Camilla if she could help me apply spf 50 on my shoulder and my tattoo. I applied the rest on the aforementioned spots. The rest of the back (I had a halterneck dress exposing the upper half of my back) was totally unprotected. I didn’t feel that the two cans of cider had affected me... maybe they had a little bit, considering NOT putting sun lotion on a back is a very foolish thing to do when you’re going to be outside all day. Anyway, there was still an hour until the festival opened, and I had another can of cider!
The festival finally opened for the day, 2 hours before the first band would play on the main stage; Ammunition! Ammunition is a band with Ă ge Sten Nilsen, the singer of the former band Wig Wam. Ă ge is one of the few people in Norway that can really do Queen-songs, I admire his vocal skills, as well as his down-to-earth being. His band also features Erik MĂ„rtensson from the Swedish band Eclipse, and Victor Borge from the Norwegian band TNT. I really enjoyed their concert! First and foremost because of their music, but also because people I know from different places came to greet me there on the front row (it wasn’t really crowded although many people had gathered on the grass surrounding the stage, and some on the plaza in front of it. First, I met the red haired girl that had showed me to the tiny cottage the day before, she really knew the music, and especially the Wig Wam song they did towards the end: “Hard to be a rock’n’roller”, I also know this song very well, having been to 4-5 Wig Wam shows. Then came Henning, and asked if I wanted a beer. I told him I didn’t like beer, but if he was willing, I’d really like a cider! He came back to me with my fourth cider that day (it wasn't even 4:p.m yet!), and on a stomach filled with just a couple of crackers, nuts and pineapple snacks! Then Torild came to meet me, I knew she was coming on Saturday to see Europe, so I wasn’t surprised to see her. I had my full focus on the concert, so I just told her hello before returning to the stage. Felt a bit rude, so I turned around to say hi once more, and even put on a smile this time :-P Lastly a woman came to meet me that I had not anticipated; a colleague from when I used to work at Spar! I got a hug from her, then I had to peer over her shoulder, because surely, if SHE was there, then another colleague from that job had to be there as well. Kjetil goes to almost ALL the big concerts. I’ve bumped into him on so many gigs or festivals through the years! And surely, he was there this day as well. I was very satisfied with the Ammunition gig. Although they have only released one record, and haven’t played together all that long, they’re all so skilled, and their music is great.
" 25 June at 16:22 · Bergen · I am truly among my own people! Meeting people I know from everywhere! The music is really great, too :-) 3+ hours until Europe! (Quote of the day Ă ge Sten Nilsen: I bet you’re looking forward to Europe now!”)”
(Why this Facebook status was geo-tagged in Bergen, I have no idea)
After the show Torild mentioned in passing “I see Ă ge is standing over there.” Of course I had to greet him, and while doing so, I got a hug. About the quote above: It started in 2004, when I was in my senior year celebrations (Russefeiring) in high school, Wig Wam had turned up in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest (this was the year before they won and participated in the Eurovision Finale), and they were going to play at one of the outdoor parties where lots of high school third years (Russ) is gathered to drink and have fun. I was there almost solely to see Wig Wam, who I’d liked since I saw them briefly in a TV cameo prior to the Norwegian ESC. While at this gathering, I bumped into a guy with a Wig Wam T-shirt, and next to him was Ă ge Sten Nilsen. This was my first “music hero” meeting ever, so I think I might have made an impression. Anyway, this was in May. In that coming June, I knew that Europe (who was back from hiatus) was going to perform for the very first time since their reunion in Norway, and Wig Wam was set to be supporting them! So when I met Ă ge, this was what I talked to him about. He told me he had been a fan of Europe since 1985! The second time I met him, I had this photo with him
Meeting Ă ge with a Europe T-shirt on in 2005
and he remembered me from almost one year before, so whenever I have met him during the past 12 years, we have always talked about Europe.
OK, so back to the festival. Time for some food! Not just alcoholic beverages. I had, as I said, prepared for the festival, and looked at their website. There I could read about the different food stalls. They even had a culinary street; “Matgata”. I had read that you could buy Moose Kebab, from a local family business. So I was very intent on trying it. And let me tell you; it was delicious! Served in a wrapper with a Warning! Moose!-sign on it.
Time has run out on me again, and I have to conclude my festival review tomorrow
“25 June at 18:02 · Halden · I'm so psyched to see Europe again today! For the 17th time in Norway, and 28th time in total!!”
Okay, so here comes the part about Europe. After having eaten my first proper meal that day, I made a discovery! I was commenting on the hot weather, and the scorching sun. Thomas and Torild replied something along the lines of “We don’t think it’s scorching, but we can see that you do!” Sixx:A.M had after all tried to warn me in their song: “This is gonna hurt!” My exposed back, or the parts of it not covered with SPF 50, was burning red! The picture below was taken 2 (!) days later.
At least the sun screen worked on the parts I applied it to....
Although I was pretty laidback at this festival, the Europe concert was only an hour away, so I didn’t feel I had time to go back to the tent to put some more sun lotion on. So I went to wait in front of the stage instead, at least that spot was now in the shade! So there I was in the shade, exposing my lobster red upper back to the people behind me.
“ 25 June at 19:17 · Bergen · Heard at a festival: (also known as 'you know you’ve got a sunburn when:') "I just have to apply some of my own sun lotion to your back, I can see you have a severe burn!""
This quote - again geo-tagged in Bergen, for some reason - was from a woman I had never met previously, and will probably never meet again. She had just noticed my burning back, so she came to my rescue! This is the second time I get a sunburn at a festival, the first time was at Sweden Rock in 2013, and both times I had helping angels!
I was talking about lyrics, and how I have a tendency of forgetting them. Same as Joey. I am glad we both remember the lyrics to Sign of the times. What Joey did made my whole evening extra special. He was in the middle of the stage during verse 1 and chorus 1. Then he started the second verse. He then began to saunter purposefully (!) towards where I stood singing “It wakes him up, he turns around, and now he’s gone, he’s been waiting for this moment....” He went down on one knee on the edge of the stage right in front of me, only to meet my eyes as we both sang “desperately” (I’m not putting too much meaning in the words here, they were random, but as I tend to be very intense, I thought it was a fun coincidence anyway, because then I could act with superdramatic movements in from of him)
“ 25 June at 22:18 · Not the best position in front of an already way too elevated stage, but in the end it didn't matter. I saw them (with the exception of Ian), and they saw me. John L smiled at me, and Joey gave me a thumbs up at one point, and a wave at another. And then, during Sign of the times, he came over to sit down on the stage facing me, and then we sang together, while both of us were smiling and just, appreciating each other,; him appreciating seeing a loyal fan, and me, appreciating the recognition, the music they have made, and this concert. The concert was so short, but they put SO much into their alotted 70 minutes”
I was so happy with this concert. There were NO dead spots. I was so happy with the setlist. I like drum solos, but as with the vocalizing parts in Rock the night and Superstitous, the William Tell overture drum solo routine is starting to bore me. So the fact that this gig was without drum solos or Carrie was just fine with me. I was very happy to hear Ready or not again.
The sound they had at Tons of rock was fantastic. I normally wear earplugs at concerts, but this time I could take them out without any audible damage to my ears, and the sound was still very clear!
I bounced around like a crazy person during Days of Rock’n’roll. Then the band went behind the stage. I discussed with Torild whether they would come back for two songs, or just one. I was intently hoping for Cherokee before the end.
But alas. The intro to The final countdown began, and this time I was nearly choking on tears. I had waited 9 months for this gig, I had counted down from two months prior to the gig. And now it was over! I think that brought me down to earth faster than normal. But I got to tell my friends about what had happened during Sign of the times, and my newest friend Siv told me she had noticed both the subtle recognition earlier in the show, and what happened later! I love having witnesses. Without them, I would no doubt start to question the actual happenings a few years later. In fact, every 16th of May, I text a good friend in Holland, asking if the meeting I had with Joey in 2007 really happened, ‘cause she was the first one I told about it, when it was still so fresh in my mind...
Anyway, now I feel I am starting to ramble. I think this will be it for this concert experience. Let me know if there is something you think I’ve forgotten to write :)
“25 June at 23:29 · EUROPE THE BAND AT TONS OF ROCK
GREAT GIG! GREAT CROWD!
HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON NORWAY!
// EUROPE”
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.
[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.
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.
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 :)
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.
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.
Have you ever been so fortunate to be able to sit down on a
concert with your favorite band? Without the pushing from people behind
you, without people chattering in your ear while your favorite song is
being played, and without the fear of your neighbour accidentally
pouring beer on you while staggering to a tune?
Yesterday I was in a venue meant for symphony orchestras, with
fantastic acoustics, and very few really die hard fans present. During
the first three songs I was sitting in my seat on 2nd row, taking in the
fabulousness of 'Riches to rags', 'Not supposed to sing the blues' and
'Firebox'. Enjoying perfect view to the stage, having perfect sound in my
ear undisturbed by screaming or whistling (save from my own, I know, I'm
a horrible person ) noticing the little things you don't notice when
you're standing squeezed between screaming girls craving Joeys
attention. Like the PERFECT lighting.... and every beautiful perfect
note from each member of the band alike.
Then came 'Superstitious', and some girls in the front row stood up
with their beer glasses and sang in front of the stage, trying to
recreate the feeling of an 80s gig as I supposed they remembered it, or
imagined it.
By the way, the top of the stage reached a bit over my knees. The
band was sitting a way into it, not out on the edge, but it was just
so... close. No fence between us.
Kneehigh stage!
The girls went back to their seats after Superstitious; one of the
few songs they knew, had been played. Then came Scream of Anger. I was
sitting and bouncing in my seat, singing along. Also, looking behind me
there was another guy singing along. Interesting I like that Europe's
music has touched so many people, both inside and outside your group of
die-hard fans.
The day before this gig I had been to another gig, in Stavanger,
where the band, for the first time (for me) since releasing 'Last Look at
Eden', DIDN'T play 'No Stone Unturned'. That was my first thought when 'The
Final Countdown' intro announced the end of the Stavanger show. No 'No
Stone Unturned'.
So in Bergen, when there came a keyboard interlude, after
'Scream of Anger' had ended, I was sitting on the edge of my seat (sitting
in my seat for five songs, I know a certain someone is gonna be
mightily impressed when she reads this), holding my mobile phone ready
to record video... Some nice oriental feel to the solo.... then came the
announcing drum taps from Ian, and I can hear myself screaming on the
mobile recording for a little while during the intro to 'No Stone
Unturned'.... Then the screen goes black, as I hurry as politely and
quitely as I can past the people sitting in my row, hurrying to come
closer to the stage, to
Sit down on my knees, leaning my arms on the stage and close my eyes,
just feeling the melody, the rhythm, the bass through my body and
head.
And no one was coming to take me away from there. I sat there during
the whole song, just sitting, with stars in my eyes and a stupid grin on
my face, and some urge to start crying or laughing, but ending up
just.... moaning? I don't know. It was so epic on a completely
FANTABULOUS epic-scale.
So.. how did the band react to this? Well, I was a little bit afraid
of being looked upon weirdly. Or get told off by a guard, or one of the
people in the front row (but why would they tell me, off, when I was
sitting, and they still had perfect vision?)
Next came 'Girl from Lebanon'... and then 'Demon Head'. I can't remember
if I was sitting down or standing up, or dancing.. Cause sometime during
the gig I was more standing and dancing (not rocking, dancing!) than
sitting and absorbing. Did plenty of absorbation anyway. The sound was
just so high class. The fact that the venue didn't budge with die hard
fans was just so brilliant. Once I realized no one was gonna tell me off
for being there, I tested it out by moving from the right side of the
stage over the left (bent, so I wouldn't annoy the ones on the first
rows)... then I sat looking at the fantastic band from the left side of
the stage. John L was looking at me, and I could tell he was amused, but
I didn't feel he was mocking me. I like to think he showed some kind of
gratitude toward an enthusiastic and respectful fan.
It wasn't until the acoustic set began that I pulled out my cellphone
to film some videos. I didn't film entire songs, I think that's a
violation of sorts.. I just did short clips, one verse and one chorus of
a song...
I just had to capture the feeling. Sitting on the floor on your 20th
concert, enjoying the perfect vision, perfect sound... yeah yeah yeah.. I
know you've heard it a thousand times by now
While I remember.. I was AWESTRUCK by the cool intro to 'The Beast'.
That song really is brilliant live. All of the 'Last look at Eden' songs
and 'Bag of Bones' - song are no less than brilliant live. Europe is such a
PRO live band.
During one song, I'm not sure which, I was standing directly in front
of the stage (if someone had crashed into me from behind I would have
buckled forwards and landed head-and-stomach-first onto the stage,
luckily, no one did). I know I wasn't coming on as anomynous (d'uh!), so
I wasn't so surprised when Joey finally walked towards me. I had tried
to hint that I really wanted his plectrum on several occasions... Joey
can look really casual. But it still turns out he has a plan. So, he was
walking towards the edge of the stage on a whim (I thought), and I
stuck out my arm, wanting him to touch my hand. He took my hand, held
it, and left his plectrum. I had NO idea that plectrum was there. I was
so happy I could cry. Now my collection of plectrums was complete!
Funny story about those plectrums. John kept tossing them out after
the Final Countdown. Starting from the left side of stage aiming right,
and towards me, so I hoped to catch one. One fell on the stage before me
and there was some hussle between me and another girl to get it, I had
both by knees up on stage, almost on all fours just to get it (caught up
in the moment). I know he must have seen it, I making such a spectacle
of myself. So then he knew I had one, right?
But I told you I had two...
John L proceeded towards me, plectrum in hand, holding it tightly and
putting it firmly and purposely between my boobs. I was such giggling
and laughing, having got the attention.
The audience eventually did get on their feet. It started for real with 'Carrie',
then 'Sign of the times', then 'Rock the night', and then... you know.. THAT
song
My 20th gig was just one of the most marvellous ever. Wish you all had been there
other bits of my memory...
Mic looking questioningly at the audience while asking "What do you want??" during Rock the night
Joey tossing one of his plectrums toward where JL stood... JL
later picking it up, looking at it, then looking at Joey with a look of
"what the fuq?"
Oh, by the way.... The local newspaper did an interview..
