Going For The Final Countdown With EUROPE Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia, PA
By Steve Trager
What seems to be much like reminiscing the old days of the eighties hard rock bands these days can be a rare accurance. some bands have drifted into space, others have cashed in and left a legacy of hits and superior mind blowing tours to to say hey we came to rock and we did. We forget how wonderful the eighties rock days were, yet some bands are still making some sort of comeback with albums and tours, though it can be a rough ride if your trying to regain the essence of the fans with all the newer well known radio friendly artists who have basically conquered the world hand over fist.
Lets take a journey back into time with this one amazing band who called themselves EUROPE who made their dent in the world back in the early eighties with a record that not only broke them in America but significantly earned them a platinum album at that. Defiantly made their mark in the world of rock. Yet they have gotten back together to record and tour for the first time in twelve years. Indeed it is all five original members including guitar wizard John Norum and front man Joey Tempest. Like any band yeah they have gotten older but still have the raw energy that makes them sizzle in a live performance.
At this moment EUROPE has released a new studio recording intitled Start Of The Dark which is heavy and the best yet. I had a rare chance to catch up with them in Philadelphia at the Trocadero on their current mini north American tour in support of this record. The stage was set, and they rocked just like it was the eighties all over again. Nearly two blistering hours of music which featured many of their hits like "Carrie," "Superstitious," "Cherokee," and "Rock The Night." For some bands like EUROPE who never really made it big in America until achieving a certain part of their success going out as a support act at one time or another, EUROPE can certainly Kick Ass as a head lineing rock act. A small but rockin crowd at the show, raising fists in the air, heads banging and a lot of sing-a-longs to a lot of their earlier works which I myself weren't familiar with all sounding way to great not to pay attention to the five guys pounding out newer material with the likes of "Start Of The Dark," " Got To Have Faith," and "America." Ofcourse the entire evening wouldn't be complete without "The Final Countdown" a song which molded this band and made them well known not just in their native home Sweden, but to the rest of the world as one of many premier rock bands of the eighties making a true come back after all these years. EUROPE nothing fancy, nothing elaborate but anything less then straight forward Scandinavian heart filled rock and roll at its best better then ever.
