Review
Europe
Here we are at last! A magnificent evening with EUROPE
Swedish hard rock band Europe is celebrating their 40th anniversary. The Lausanne concert is the first date of the band’s European tour, which will include around twenty concerts. We had the privilege of welcoming them to the Salle Métropole in Lausanne on Saturday 30 September 2023.
The hall was sold out. People were very happy to be able to listen to Europe again. Many families came with their children to show them their stars. Even very young children were present. Talking to 3 people in their fifties, they told me that they had come because Europe was their youth, and that they had enjoyed this unforgettable evening.
The lights went out and everyone started screaming. The atmosphere was already there from the very first track….. Ian Haugland hits his drums hard, followed by guitar and bass, and then an extraordinary light show. Singer Joey Tampest gets things off to a strong start
During the song “Seven Doors Hotel”, Joey started playing with his microphone stand, spinning it in all directions. There were only seats in the hall, so a few people shyly got up and started dancing. We could see the huge smiles on the faces of the audience.
As soon as the next song came on, the atmosphere on stage moved to all the rows and to the back of the venue. Joey got the audience involved by making them clap their hands.
On the song ‘Hold Your Head Up’, Joey gets the audience to repeat parts of the song. People started jumping up and down to John Norum’s guitar tunes. In just a few songs, the band got the audience actively involved. The atmosphere in the venue was excellent. It was at this point that the majority of people stood up.
The band went from one song to the next until “Stormwind”, the last song of the 1st set, and a couple next to me started dancing, followed by another a little behind. Then everyone in the audience started singing along.
Time for a break. People leave the room to buy food and drinks. About twenty minutes later, it’s time for the 2nd set, which begins with the song “Always the Pretender”. In the middle of the song, John did an electric guitar solo. The audience started screaming.
On the song “Prisoners in Paradise”, Joey picked up his acoustic guitar, and it was off to an old-time soft rock song. The audience joined in by moving their arms.
Halfway through the 2nd set, Joey and John were in the middle of the stage playing guitar. They covered a David Bowie song – “Space Oddity”.
Everyone was waiting for the famous song ‘The Final Countdown’, but it wasn’t time yet, as we moved on to ‘Last Look at Eden’. Children and adults alike got up and danced to enjoy the concert to the fullest. Joey was spinning his mic stand again and suddenly stopped and the song ended.
At the end of the song “Memories”, John Levén gave us a magnificent bass solo. It’s not often you hear solos with this instrument these days, but it’s really nice.
Two songs later, it was the drummer’s turn to play a drum solo that set the room alight. A stunning show, highlighting the drummer in the middle of the stage.
The last song on the setlist was obviously ‘The Final Countdown’, and everyone recognised it from the first note. Half the audience took out their phones to take a video of the concert when Europe came to Lausanne.
A song that has lost none of its freshness over 40 years later. What an atmosphere! The show lasted over two hours and it was excellent! The quality of the show was masterful. The artists were in top form. I recommend this concert 100%. The seating arrangement was perhaps not the best as most people were standing during the show.
At the end the artists threw out guitar picks, drumsticks and setlists to the delight of the fans.
Report Writing by Nat
Translation and pictures by Kevin