It has often been a source of frustration for Australian music lovers that bands don’t necessarily get the opportunities to tour here often, or at all. Europe are one such band that many Australian fans had reserved themselves to never seeing live, but by some divine power the stars finally aligned and the band finished their first ever Australian tour in Brisbane this past Wednesday.
As to be expected for a show in the middle of the week, the crowd turnout at The Tivoli was limited to a low, yet respectable gathering of fans which made for a very intimate evening with the band. While it was disappointing that there wasn’t a better turnout, this small crowd exuded a positive energy and ensured that Europe’s first appearance in Brisbane was one to remember.
While there wasn’t any fanfare or build-up to the band’s entrance on stage, their emergence garnered a sizable cheer from the crowd. Diving straight into the title track from their latest album Walk The Earth the band quickly established that this evenings performance was going to be special and that the two hours of music ahead of them was going to be well worth the 35 years that some of the crowd had waited.
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Consistently whirling his microphone stand like a baton, vocalist Joey Tempest and his stage movement conjured up visions reminiscent of the bands energetic performances shown in their early film clips. But what was even more impressive was that his exuberant energy display didn’t impact on his vocal delivery. Hitting some of his recognisable high notes while running around the stage is sure enough to be a difficult task, but Tempest did it with relative ease. He often engaged with the crowd, asking for people to sing, or would stop to make comment that the band was humbled by the reception they had received in Australia, and this sincerity only enhanced his likeability and presence further. Tempest was truly remarkable to watch on stage and proved to be not only a fantastic singer, but an engaging figure that had the crowd at his beck and call for the entire show.
John Norum was particularly impressive on guitar. While there might have been minimal flourish or flair to a majority of his time on stage, it was his workmanlike undertaking that shone through. Given the opportunity to showcase his incredible ability during a guitar solo early into the set gave the audience a good glimpse into his ability while free of all the other instruments, and was extremely well received.
Rounding out the band, jack-of all-trades Mic Michaeli might have been relegated towards the back of stage, but made his presence felt through his wonderful keyboard work, backing vocals and occasional trips to the front to play guitar. Bassist John Leven and drummer Ian Haugland were probably the two quietest members for the evening, and with the exception of a drum solo towards the tail end of the evening, spent the majority of the show quietly powering through their work.
The sound overall was quite good, even moving freely about the venue to different locations there were no discernible sound issues, but it was a touch disappointing that the evenings mix favoured the keyboard more than the guitar in certain songs, often diluting the guitar tone. Thankfully this didn’t affect the bands bigger hits but it was a small, yet noticeable blemish on an otherwise balanced mix throughout the course of the night.
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Normally a 30 minute intermission would be reserved for a band changeover, and on paper it seemed like it might have run a tad bit too long for the band to just take a break, but this break seemed to work in Europe’s favour. Where the band had seemingly run through the motions for the first portion of their performance, they returned reinvigorated after this intermission and delivered the second half of their performance with a conviction and fervour that seemed missing from the first half of the show. The final 12 songs of the 27 song set were easily the better part of the show, with the crowd exhibiting much more engagement with classic like Cherokee, Carrie, Seven Doors Hotel and many others
While the years of touring and performing might be starting to wear on Europe, there is no denying that the heart and spirit of their music continues to come through during these live performances. While the night came to an end in a joined chorus of band and crowd singing along to The Final Countdown, it left an overall air of satisfaction to what was an otherwise long overdue performance. It may have taken an astonishing 35 years to make it to Australia, but the showing of the Australian fans across this tour must have been so great that if the words of Tempest are to be believed, a return tour in the coming years is definitely on the cards.
