Europe
Leas cliff hall - Folkestone
James Bianchi
Wow! One of the best known names of the 1980s played Folkestone…And I was there!
Everyone knows either directly or indirectly who Europe are. Ever heard of the “Final Countdown”? A classic single
and album well worth getting your grubby hands on.
Anyway, the support band who played before them were pretty cool, Viking Skull, sounds
kind of harsh but in fact they weren’t as nasty or thrashy as id have liked, cheesy more to the point. “This next
songs about beer, drugs and bitches”. hmmmm. They were catchy but I wasn’t won round.
Anyway Europe, after all that’s who we wanted to see, were amazing. It was like
being back in 1985 (not that I remember being 19 and all). With a crowd of maybe
300 it was really intimate and this made it all the better. In fact it was awesome, one of the most famous metal bands alive,
in Folkestone, with a handful over 300 people, it don’t get better than that.
The front man (whose name escapes me) was absolutely mesmerising, running about the
stage, brandishing a mike stand or guitar. He was a real spectacle, very impressive, as were the rest of the band, despite
showing their age, and disappointingly with no hairspray or spandex insight, “rocked the night away”.
This was probably the greatest gig I have had the pleasure to witness, with the exception of W.A.S.P. the stage presence was awesome, the band were stupendous, the songs were both catchy and heavy in just
the right proportions. The crowd were great, and I was so happy to have seen such a great show. You could really feel the
full on 80s vibe, it had a feeling of a Bon Jovi gig, only way cooler. And if they play near here again I suggest anybody
reading this gets a goddamn ticket.
Review copyright of James Bianchi and Dover Soul Media 2005
