Europe - O2 Sheperd's Bush Empire, London (UK) - 19th of February 2011.

Sweden's biggest hard rock export returned to the UK with the Balls 'N' Banners tour exactly one year since their last tour on these shores. With no new album to promote, they nonetheless succeeded in selling out the Shepherd's Bush Empire and thrilled the audience with a formidable performance. In fact, this is one of the best shows I've seen from the band and it couldn't have been a better moment as they filmed this gig for a live DVD and CD release later in the year. 

Singer Joey Tempest wears his frontman shoes with true spirit and together with the original line-up of John Norum on guitar, John Leven on bass, Mic Michaeli on keyboards and Ian Haughland on drums, delivers maximum power and joy. Opening up with the title track of their current album 'Last Look At Eden', the five-piece played a few numbers from this, from the more aggressive 'The Beast' to the sweet 'New Love In Town', which the now London-based singer dedicated to the birth of his son three years ago. Naturally their classics were not forgotten and it was with these that the crowd (myself included) sang at the top of their lungs, making 'Rock The Night', 'Carrie' and 'Superstitious' the highlights of the evening. From previous albums a good selection of songs came along, including 'Scream Of Anger', 'Seventh Sign', 'Start From The Dark' and a song they hadn't played in a long time prior to this tour, the catchy 'More Than Meets The Eye' from 1988's 'Out Of This World', and which was followed by an impressive drum solo to the tune of Rossini's 'William Tell Overture'. However, a surprise was to come as the first song of the encore was another rocking new track by the name of 'Doghouse' that will feature on their next studio album.

Given the very sad passing of Gary Moore, a guitarist admired by the Swedes (and it goes without saying all of us), they very appropriately paid tribute to him and performed his instrumental beauty 'The Loner', where Norum's feel was astonishing. When the 90-minute set came to an end with the mythical closer 'The Final Countdown' everyone was left with a sweet taste in their mouths and craving for more, yet we will have to wait until their return in the hopefully not too distant future. In the meantime, we shall keep an eye out for the live DVD to remember how Europe rocked the night.

Mónica Castedo-López