And the final concert of the season came and went as fast as the whole season itself. Today it was time to see Europe again. It’s barely the second time I see them live and I would probably go see them again. I was supposed to go to their concert in Bucharest last year for my birthday, but they canceled and rescheduled for a date when I wasn’t at home anymore, or better said, “home” was somewhere else. So I saw them today. I have to say that I am familiar with their old songs, most of which I’ve been listening to since I was 6 or 7. So their new material is what I come across on the radio and have the curiosity to look into if it seems appealing. However, not knowing all the songs from a band is not a reason for me to go insane and say I won’t go to their concert. A rock concert is a strange combination of sound, show, energy, a feeling to be experienced as a whole. And the cool Autumn evening made it even more enjoyable. The guys led us through a very nice ride made out of new and old tracks. Fortunately they played “Rock the Night” which is my favorite from them. Unfortunately I have to say that I’ve never seen a more passive crowd. Besides the drunk kids standing somewhere to my left, people around just sang along a bit and clapped eventually. I really hope that the people in front of the stage were more active. It is true that for “The Final Countdown” all the audience simply exploded and that everybody sang along to “Carrie” (I still don’t like this song) but come on people, put some spirit into it, dance a bit, jump some more. And that comes from someone who is quite passive while attending concerts. But how can you let such a track pass you by without singing out loud, clapping and jumping?

Long story short, it was a great concert. It is simply amazing to actually see bands that I’ve known of for a quarter of a century (sounds better than 25 years, doesn’t it?) The list of artists I’d like to see from that time is still long but slowly I am working on it. I am a bit sad the concert season in Gröna Lund is over, if I stick around here long enough I might just do this again next year. Until then: tusen tack, det var en trevlig sommar!