FORMAT: BLU-RAY CAT. #: 0206992ERE YEAR: 2011 LABEL: EarMusic CODE: Region-free Vi sender med post fra USA/UK/Tyskland etc. - levering tager typisk 6-12 postdage (men posten kan en sjælden gang være forsinket)

'Live At Shepherd's Bush, London's main feature is a concert recorded & filmed at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire in London, England on February 19th, 2011.

After the UK dates of their 2010 touring were so successful supporting their latest album 'Last Look At Eden', Europe wasted no time immediately booking another full UK tour for 2011 as the first live shows of the year and, apart from a few festival appearances, their last proper tour for the album before recording a new one.

Europe revealed shortly before the oddly named “Balls ‘N’ Banners” tour started that they would be recording the London date for a new live DVD, so expectation was high that their performance would be one of their best. In fact, the band rarely acknowledged the presence of the cameras in the manner most bands being recorded do (but asking the crowd to make extra noise, etc.), and instead went about their business in the same way they always do. With energy.

The core set hadn’t changed a great deal since the one-off intimate London show in late 2009 after the release of 'Last Look At Eden', as it stands to reason that if the band wanted to document this tour then they would play most of the songs which have characterised it. This meant the usual evergreens like Rock The Night, Superstitious and Scream of Anger and most of the same tracks from the new disc, including both singles Last Look At Eden and New Love In Town.

The differences came in the shape of new songs The Beast and No Stone Unturned, the inclusions of which, along with the return of 2006′s The Getaway Plan to the set, showed how disappointingly unfamiliar many Europe fans are with any of the band’s post-reunion material. Later More Than Meets The Eye from 1988′s Out of This World album provided a real surprise, but still didn’t stop nostalgia fans from complaining there weren’t enough old songs in the set after the show.

The biggest change of all came in the encore, before the obvious finalé of The Final Countdown, as singer Joey Tempest revealed that Europe will be recording a new album later in 2011, and they proceeded to play a brandnew Queen-esque song called Doghouse, which also didn’t receive much of a response from the crowd.

In the end, regardless of the efforts the band made to produce an interesting set that was still permeated by the hits fans have historically loved the most, the response to any songs besides those hits (More Than Meets The Eye and arguably Start From The Dark excepted) was undeservedly lacklustre. Europe are still a highly entertaining, energetic band and are producing some of the best new material of their career. They aren’t a nostalgia band, and rightly don’t feel like they should be, but it seems the recognition and praise they are getting for pursuing that path is coming more from newer fans and converts than from fans of old.

Nevertheless, a band as high-tempo in their live performances doesn’t need to be rescued by a rapturous crowd, which isn’t to say the crowd didn’t show their appreciation, just that they only did it at certain times, and the resultant Blu-Ray of this excellent show should be a treat for fans when it’s released.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Prelude 
2. Last Look At Eden 
3. The Beast 
4. Rock The Night 
5. Scream Of Anger 
6. No Stone Unturned 
7. Carrie 
8. Guitar Feature: The Loner 
9. The Getaway Plan 
10. Seventh Sign 
11. New Love In Town 
12. Love Is Not The Enemy 
13. More Than Meets The Eye 
14. Drum Feature: William Tell Overture 
15. Always The Pretenders 
16. Start From The Dark 
17. Superstitious 
18. Doghouse (brand new song) 
19. The Final Countdown 

+ bonus features:

* Live footage from Stockholm Ice Stadium Hovet - Dec. 28th, 2009:
'Prelude/Last Look At Eden'
'Love Is Not The Enemy'
'Superstitious'
'Gonna Get Ready'
'Scream Of Anger'
'No Stone Unturned'
'Carrie'
'Start From The Dark' 
'New Love In Town'
'Let The Good Times Rock' 
'Cherokee'
'The Beast'
'Seven Doors Hotel' 

*Live footage from Gröna Lund in Stockholm - Sept. 17th 2010:
'Last Look At Eden'
'Seventh Sign'
'Start From The Dark'

*Live photo gallery

*Documentary: interviews and rehearsals

*Music videos:
'Last Look At Eden'
'New Love In Town'