Post by Claire on Oct 19, 2006 15:13:04 GMT
Wohoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Well, what can i say...........FUCKING AMAZING springs to mind!!!
It was the gig of Europe in Newcastle, and omg they rocked the place... The guys were fantastic, flawless, so perfect, and Joey's voice never ceases to amaze me... fantastic...
Well it all started with a day out in Newcastle, after checking into our hotel etc, we went into town around 4pm, sat in a pub called The Star, just across the road from the Venue, we met up with the oh so very lovely Dannjte, Joyce, June, Simon, Jo and Adrian, plus Sam and Nigel and myself... We had a few drinks, and took a few pictures, and generally have a fantastic time, getting to know eachother more, and laughing lots!
We headed over the road around 6.30 when the doors had opened, but we waited first for the queue to dissapear into the venue before we went over, as it was raining and we didnt want to get wet *lol*
We went into the Venue, and i collected the VIP backstage passes for our group of winners, to meet the guys after the show.
We headed to the bar area and the place was already getting packed, there were at least 15 rows in front of the stage when we arrived, so the bar area where we were was actually raised up, so we stood there at the front and omg it was an amazing view.....
Europe came on around 8pm (ish) there was no support band, and the lights when down, and they were there....
Here is the set~list that someone kindly posted over on the Europe Forum.
Love is not the enemy
Always the pretenders
Superstitious
Seven doors hotel
Let the children play
Bass solo
The getaway plan
Flames
Sign of the times
Forever travelling
Dreamer / Carrie (acoustic)
Guitar solo
Girl from Lebanon
Yesterday's News
Start from the dark
Rock the night
----------------------
Got to have faith
Cherokee
The Final Countdown
I have to say, i was soooooooooooo pleased when they opened up with Love is not the enemy, this being one of my favourite tracks on "ss", i was also very happy indeed that they played Forever Travelling, god i love this song, and i was very surprised when they started playing it.
Joey's voice was amazing... he was flawless, and was very very happy.... as were the other guys, they shined on stage, and you could just tell they were REALLY enjoying being there....
Well to be honest, the gig went by so fast, in fact too fast, and the only thing that i was a teeny weeny bit upset about was that they didnt play Ready or Not ( i did have a discussion with Joey about this later *lol*)
After the encore, and the last few songs, came TFC, well we all know what this means when we hear it?? I love this song, but it makes me feel so sad as i know thats it.... the end of the show
Well, that was that, Europe went off stage, the lights came on, and everyone started to leave. As we were having a Meet n Greet with the guys, we stayed behind and stood in the Bar Area and waited for Mark the Tour Manager to come and get us. We stood there for around 30 minutes, and we were all getting very excited at this point of the prospect of meeting the guys. I spoke briefly to Anna and laura (twins) and there friends (who were all very nice) and then Mark came to get us... We were shown into a room, which i can only describe as a shoebox *lol* it was the tiniest room ever! There was a sofa, and some chairs and that was about it *lol* Joey was sat in there alone, and he welcomed us in there, Mark let all the Competition Winners go in to have our time with the guys, and everyone else waited outside the room. We sat and spoke to Joey, and i was very shocked as i remembered me, and he said, Mmmmmmmm i know you, i just said wow, its been 2 years since we last met, and he spoke to me about the Forum, and stuff in general, we were having a really good chat, but there were other people waiting to speak with him, so i said, i do have something to ask you, but i will ask you later, i didnt actually think he had heard me, so then John Leven was the next person to enter the room, and he was speaking with the winners, then i walked up to him to ask him to sign some of my things, and he said, i know you.... *lol* its Claire................ (he was trying to think of my username on the forum) so i said Claire-Europe-Chick, he said, yes thats right, and omg he was so nice and funny, he gave me a big hug, and nearly squeezed the life out of me... but it was cool, and he was stood joking and laughing, and i was pleasantly surprised as in that past when i have met him, he had seemed very tired and not very talkative, but this time omg i think i saw the real John Leven for the first time, and i really liked his humour... I had a picture taken with Joey when i first entered the room, then i had one with John Leven, then in came Ian... so i stood and chatted to him for a while, he signed my things, we had a picture, and i asked him how he was, and he wasnt really very well, he had a cold/temperature and told me he had taken some medication to make him feel better, he was as lovely as ever, and very polite. I was then taking pictures of everyone in the room chatting to Joey, John and Ian, then i sat down for a brief moment on the sofa, when in walked Mic, he came over to me and Sam and said come here!!! Give me a hug... *lol* so we did (of course) he was pleased to see us, and we also spoke of various things, Sweden, the Gig, and he kept giving us these huge cuddly hugs... he was in a very good mood, and seemed so happy to see everyone... after a while, in walked John Norum, and as i imagined there was a crowd around him, so i sat chatting to Mic and John leven for a while longer, when Joey came up to me, and asked "What was it you wanted to ask me earlier"? I thought... omg he must have heard me after all, so i said... Mmmmmmmmmmm i wanted to ask you why you didnt play Ready or Not, he just smiled, and said well you know... and he laughed... and said that they wanted to change the set list slightly, and i explained that we were all shouting for it, and he said, if you get 50 more people to shout at the next gig then we might play it he said possibly Birmingham, but didnt think they would play it at London either... I thanked him for being so nice and caring, and for the gig of course, and took his hands into mine, and shook them, and smiled... Joey i have to say, was also in a VERY good mood, he was chatting to everyone, and smiling and laughing.. it was great to see! Well i had only one more person to see, and the crowd that had formed round him earlier had gotten smaller, so i decided to wait my turn, and get my stuff signed and have a picture taken, he gave me a really big hug, and just stood smiling... it was a nice moment, he looked so happy, people were stood around him complimenting him on being such a great guitarist, i just smiled again and walked back to the sofa... he then walked over and said i want to sit with Claire, so i moved up, and he started chatting to me some more, and we had a few more hugs *lol* and a few more pictures *lol* he said i smelt so nice... i just sat there smiling and saying thank you, it was a very special moment for me, as the last Meet n Greet that i attended 2 years ago, i had saved John Norum for last as i was a bit nervous of meeting him, and by the time i had got round to him, he had been whisked away to do an interview, so i didnt get to see him back then, so im sure you can imagine i was very very very happy that he was here finally i could sit and talk to him about lots of things, and he was so great, with everyone, having pictures with them, and saying that wasnt right, lets take another... *lol* he was so happy aswell, and kept asking everyone if he sounded ok on stage, and if he was loud... Me and Sam were sat in the corner of the room on the sofa and chairs with Mic, Norum and Joey, just chatting in general, when Mark the Tour Manager came in and asked me if i could round everyone up, as it was time to leave... i did this, but it kinda took a bit longer than i expected *lol* as everyone were still chatting to the guys, so i just went round everyone, and politely told them that Mark had request we all go out of the room, this went on for about another 10 minutes *lol* and Mark came over again, and before he could speak, i said i know i know, im trying.... he just laughed and said ok... so after a couple more minutes we were all stood in the corridoor outside, the guys had also come out at this point, so again it was like a big meeting but now it had moved to the corridoor *lol* i went up to Mark and thanked him, shook his hand, and apologised for the time it had taken to round everyone up, and he said its fine, my pleasure and great to meet you.
Soooooooooo we all left we went across the road again to the pub to meet up with Nigel (Sam's husband) and June, Simon, Daanjte and Joyce came over with us too... We were all smiling very happily, and we all had our last drink of the evening, had big hugs, said our goodbyes and we all left... then Nigel, Sam and myself went for a bite to eat, then we got into a taxi and went back to our hotel...
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh such a great day and evening, one i will never forget, and i want to thank everyone for being so lovely and caring, it was great meeting everyone in the day, then of course followed by the Gig and the Meet n Greet...
I also went to the London and Birmingham Gigs, the set~list was more or less the same, i met the guys again after the show in London, and they were as happy as ever ;D nice guys!
I have to say, their new album Secret Society kicks ass played live on stage!
Pictures to follow shortly.
Hugz C xx
