Europe – Institute, Birmingham – 19th September 2018

Tonight’s opening act is Scottish blues rock band King King. They’re a great choice given the bluesy nature of recent Europe albums, and the fact that King King are a great live band. That fact was evident from the fact that the hardcore Europe fans who had been queuing outside for several hours before the doors opened to make sure they got a spot at the front, were clearly enjoying King King’s set. King King get a great reception from the crowd and I certainly enjoyed seeing them again – a band that never disappoints.

After a short break it was time for Europe. Kicking off with “Walk the earth”, the title track of their current album they start as they mean to continue – showing the crowd a good time. A surprise came early in the set when during “Rock the night”, they decided to play a bit of Black Sabbath (“Iron man” to be precise) – a nice touch given the city they’re playing in.
It’s a set that covers material from the new album and going right back to the 80s and everything in between.

As always Joey Tempest is a superb frontman and makes the job of getting the crowd involved and having fun seem easy. Alongside Joey, the rest of the band tend to get on with just playing the music, and their experience is clear to see as they move around as they play and put in flawless performances.

Europe are a consistently great live band and tonight is no exception. They close the set with “Superstitious” and again have some fun and include a bit of classic Whitesnake during the song. After a short break they’re back for the encore and end with two classic songs – “Cherokee” and the inevitable final song of the night…The final countdown.

A great gig with excellent sets from both bands.

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About Ant May

I spend half my life at gigs or festivals and the other half writing the reviews and editing photos, and somehow find time for a full time job too. Who needs sleep - I've got coffee.