Stein
Webmaster
Posts: 3,642
|
Post by Stein on May 14, 2023 12:24:52 GMT 2
|
|
|
Post by medius on Oct 24, 2023 12:12:32 GMT 2
Long-time lurker of the forum so I thought I’d post my 2 cents on the Wolverhampton gig on the 21st.
Huge Europe fan, have seen them on every tour since 1987 so I couldn’t wait for Time Capsule to come to town.
Not going to lie, I had watched online footage of earlier dates in the tour and I thought this may be the first time where the ravages of time start to show on them, particularly Joey’s voice. It wasn’t a huge concern of mine, I’m still getting to see my favourite band after all, but it was at the back of my mind that maybe they were on the downward slide, like so many other bands of a certain vintage.
I was lucky enough to go to the VIP sound check and I have to say it was absolutely fantastic to see the boys running through a few songs in a very relaxed atmosphere. Joey was sensibly protecting his voice so didn’t go “balls out”, but I did get the chance to sing a little of “On Broken Wings” with him which, let’s be honest, is a total fanboy moment which I’m never going to forget.
If I was being hyper critical of the VIP thing I would maybe have liked to have heard some songs that weren’t in the regular set. But that is being “really” nit-picky, I really enjoyed the experience and went away feeling we got value for money.
As for the gig itself I’ve got to say I should never have worried about it. The guys were on absolute fire, possibly the best I’ve ever seen them live. They were enjoying it and that fed back to the crowd which made the atmosphere electric. The set list is about as good a retrospective of their 40 years as it could be. The fanboy in me would have liked to have seen “In the future to come” in the set, as a nod to the Rock SM final, but I thought everything chosen flowed well together and made a cohesive show. I may be the only one who thinks this (and maybe it’s the OCD in me) but I love the symmetry of starting the show with the B Side to “that” song and then ending the show with the A side. It's like the show comes full circle.
And if singing with Joey wasn’t enough I ended the night with one of Ian’s sticks and a few of Norum’s plectrums, so from a personal point of view it made a bloke counting out the last few months of his 40’s feel about 12 years old again.
If you’re going to any of the shows on this tour please don’t get too worried about how those online videos sound. The boys are firing on all cylinders and long may it continue.
No doubt I’ll see some of you on the tour in support of the new album in 24/25 !!
|
|
|
Post by Harry on Oct 24, 2023 19:41:42 GMT 2
I was at the Salford show the next night. That also was an absolutely amazing show. At first I did worry about whether Joey's voice would be strained as there was a show the night before but he was spot on apart from the few minor voice cracks here and there which adds to the charm of a live performance and shows he's giving it his all. My fourth Europe concert and arguably the best one I've been to so far. The band were absolutely on fire for the second night running. I bought two tour T-shirts and was very happy. I'd been wanting to hear songs like Open Your Heart, Dreamer and of course Seven Doors Hotel and Memories live. On Broken Wings was amazing and I'd never thought I would hear it live as it was only over played in 1987 before this tour. It did surprise me that In The Future To Come and The King Will Return weren't in the setlist as those songs they won Rock-SM with. I'm not complaining about that. The snippets from the documentary were very interesting as I was really surprised that there was footage from the 1983 tour as I only know of three bootlegs from that era which I've been able to obtain. It also surprised me that there was a snippet of audio from what sounded like the 1981 Upplands Vasby show in which Stein has a bootleg of on his youtube channel.
|
|
|
Post by medius on Oct 25, 2023 11:22:07 GMT 2
I was thinking about that nod to the Rock SM final Harry. I had kind of discounted "The King will Return" as "War of Kings" was in the setlist, and, whilst it's debatable exactly how many monarch related songs you really need in your life, I think "War of Kings" is perhaps a better song. I think its composition and lyrics show a maturity that, for very obvious reasons, were simply not there in 1982. The only issue perhaps with "In the Future to Come" is it has quite a downbeat lyrical message I guess, and this was a celebration after all. More likely I'm completely overthinking it As Joey mentioned, you know who to blame if they didn't play your favourite tracks My hope for the documentary is we get to at least hear from Tony and Kee at some point, as they are part of the overall story of the band. The clips we saw certainly whetted the appetite though, can't wait to watch the whole thing.
|
|
Stein
Webmaster
Posts: 3,642
|
Post by Stein on Oct 25, 2023 11:37:40 GMT 2
My hope for the documentary is we get to at least hear from Tony and Kee at some point, as they are part of the overall story of the band. Kee has been interviewed for the documentary. https://www.instagram.com/p/CizvlTPo4_B As for Tony, I hope he has been interviewed as well, but I doubt it. And welcome to the forum, medius!
|
|
|
Post by Marina Art on Oct 25, 2023 11:37:41 GMT 2
|
|
|
Post by medius on Oct 25, 2023 12:28:24 GMT 2
That's great news Stein - makes me even more excited to see the whole documentary now And thanks for the welcome - as I said, long time lurker of this here board Also, thanks for posting that Marina, I hadn't seen those videos ! Weirdly, that bald bloke getting a fist bump from Mr Norum at 10:05 in that video of Cherokee / TFC from Wolverhampton is in fact me
|
|
|
Post by EuropeMagnum on Oct 26, 2023 15:18:45 GMT 2
I may be the only one who thinks this (and maybe it’s the OCD in me) but I love the symmetry of starting the show with the B Side to “that” song and then ending the show with the A side. It's like the show comes full circle. No, you're not the only one.
|
|
|
Post by VinegarAddict on Oct 2, 2024 14:31:27 GMT 2
It's nearly a year since this gig, and I'm still thinking about it, really keen to see them next time around. My wife was extra-happy because she got to connect with Joey for a little bit!
|
|
Stein
Webmaster
Posts: 3,642
|
Post by Stein on Oct 3, 2024 8:07:24 GMT 2
|
|