Live Review: Europe

Perhaps sensing their loyal fanbase had already waited long enough - many of them a few decades - for the band's debut Sydney appearance, there was no support act as Europe promptly kicked off proceedings at the advertised start time of 8pm.

Europe's career trajectory represented a curious dichotomy on this evening. On the one hand, there was the series of '80s/early-'90s pop/rock hits (including cheesier-than-a-Bega-factory power ballad Carrie, executed with conviction and adored by the gathering) that many long-time fans and subsequent generations alike shelled out their hard-earned cash to finally witness live. Conversely, there's the band members' collective desire to remain vital by continuing to create new music - much of it heavily influenced by '70s hard-rock titans like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin - and ensuring said material was well-represented within the setlist.

It was a delicate balance the Swedes attempted to maintain during a two-set, two-hour-plus show, interspersed with a 20-minute intermission. The overall crowd energy was down somewhat; perhaps attributable to being a Tuesday night, the older demographic showing a good degree of unfamiliarity with some of the newer cuts.

However, boosted by a strong mix, the group attacked the task with vigour from the outset as they opened with the title track from last year's Walk The Earth and soon aired crowd-pleasing early favourite Rock The Night, featuring an excerpt from AC/DC's Whole Lotta Rosie. Former '80s pin-up boy, frontman Joey Tempest was in his element throughout; still in fine vocal form and whirling his microphone stand about like a quality showman. Meanwhile, guitarist John Norum may have looked like he'd just rolled off a couch somewhere and possessed the least rockstar-like demeanour of the band, but delivered his leads with class and aplomb. Observing what appeared to be a father and young son in matching tour T-shirts, belting out the lyrics to Superstitious with equal gusto, was a standout moment of the evening.

The aforementioned factors may have prevented the evening from reaching truly grand heights, but when that synth line kicked in to signal inevitable closer The Final Countdown, all and sundry proceeded to lose their composure to an anthem transcendental of genre, language and age barriers. If this was to be Europe's first and only visit to these parts, they put in the hard yards to ensure it was a memorable occasion.