Down & Out and Dirty Fuse live in Athens January 2011

- I love you pumpkin
- I love you honey bunny

This conversation is what first came to mind on the 6th night of 2011, when I first heard Dirty Fuse playing at Six D.O.G.S.

Incredible, but true. A Greek band playing surf tunes! That's what I thought back then anyway... And of course, the next line from Pulp Fiction that comes to mind is "Zed's dead baby... Zed's dead" because at that moment during the movie is when Bullwinkle is played, the tune that Dirty Fuse played that night.

All in all a very pleasant surprise, bearing in mind that we had gone to Six D.O.G.S. to see Down & Out. The band that we had already seen in December at Gagarin when they played support to The Sonics. Two of their members would later go on to form The Big Nose Attack, and if you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know who THEY are... 

They had already played gigs all over Europe and their highlight was playing support to ZZ Top abroad...

So, it was a night that apart from good company also had lots of rock, lots of beer, lots of blues (albeit performed by white guys :LOL:), and of course the usual (should I call it obligatory?) cover of Prince's Kiss.

And as we can see from the following photo the audience was very keen on them...

The venue was great (it was my first time there), as small as was needed for such a gig and the ticket was only 7 Euros.

It even had a back yard...

...and also hosted exhibitions.

(By the way, whoever disses Kelly again will have to deal with me. Enough is enough! Go back to Brenda!)

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel live in Athens April 2011

When I heard the news of the recent loss of Steve Harley, I remembered that I had seen him and Cockney Rebel back in 2011 at Gagarin. They were much loved in Greece, their previous gigs were all sold out (or almost sold-out, anyway), but not that time. People's abstention from gigs (but also from nights out and entertainment in general) because of the recession and the punishing measures imposed by the IMF and the EU had started to become apparent. Even so, they rewarded us with an unforgettable night, where apart from Hideaway they also played Sebastian and Mr.Soft among others. They even included Star For A Week, which, as Steve informed us, was inspired by a real story with a young bank robber, that had actually taken place in Greece. 

As someone commented on the Hideaway YouTube video: "Amazing concert, in my opinion, of priceless value !!! Its second part started with Hideaway, after a 20 minute break !!! Mr. Harley is like good old wine : As he grows old & matures, he becomes better ...."

And he bid us farewell with something more optimistic: Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me). Let's all remember him like this...

 

SETLIST:
First Set:
01. Audience With the Man
02. Here Comes the Sun
03. Psychomodo
04. Judy Teen
05. Sling It!
06. Red Is a Mean, Mean Colour
07. (Love) Compared With You
08. Star for a Week ('Dino')
09. True Love Will Find You in the End
10. The Best Years of Our Lives
11. No Bleeding Hearts
Second Set:
12. Hideaway
13. This Old Man
14. The Last Time I Saw You
15. Mr. Raffles (Man It Was Mean)
16. The Lighthouse
17. Journey's End (A Father's Promise)
18. Mr. Soft
19. Sebastian
Encore:
20. Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)

February 29 2024

 

I always plan something special for February 29 and this year was no exception. This time I decided to walk the nearby town of Varibobi (5km each way). But because this year I was working on that day I had to set off early.

This particular town was special to me for two reasons. The first was that I had gone to summer camp there when I was very little. The second was that I had done the same hike on a day I played truant from high school with one of my classmates.

 

The road starts with a few twists and turns but from one point onwards it's a straight line all the way.

There is a bridge over the railway lines halfway through.

There is a much smaller bridge further on where the road becomes narrower for a few metres and further on it ends.

There are several burnt houses along the road due to a forest fire that occured in 2021.

At the end of this road, in order to head towards Varibobi you have to turn to the right.

 One more turn to the left will take you to the town's main square.

 I walked down the square in order to reach the site of my summer camp.

And here it is:

It was then time to head back.

I even went to the same canteen where I had eaten 4 years ago, but because this time I had to go to work later, I took the food home to eat tonight.

The soundtrack and the movie were the same as the last time. Mark Lanegan's Leap Year CD from 2012 was the CD asd the DVD was "Leap Year".

A 10km walk in just a few hours. I feel refreshed!