2016 Lemons later...

A lemon. Having travelled all the way from Athens, Greece, it finally came to rest under one of the seats of Manchester's Etihad Stadium, having seen its favourite band, The Stone Roses live...
Several years ago, I was warned by a fellow blogger, to avoid writing a "Year In Review" post at the end of the year. So I'll try not to do that. (And I hope that she'll probably be reading this from somewhere in Poland). I won't mention every gig I went to in 2016, but I will instead stop at some key moments that happened this year which I have been waiting for for several years. (As Bruce would say, they've been a lot time coming). These were the "lemons" that I was expecting 2016 to give me on my very first post of the year.
Well, obviously, I finally saw The Stone Roses live this year. And not just anywhere, but in Manchester. And they played the full first album, including, most importantly for me "This Is The One". But what other key moments were there for me in 2016? Bruce? Well, it was only the 12th (and 13th) time that I saw him live. But... I didn't know if I could make it, if I would be able to see him this year. However, I was really looking forward to hear the full River album live, having already heard the full Born To Run in Padova and the full Born In The U.S.A. twice in Milano and in Paris. So, when Bruce announced that after the end of the US tour he would stop playing the full River I was somewhat disappointed. Now what would I get? Another one (or two) of the "Greatest Hits" shows? Was that worth waiting for? My question was answered when Bruce came up on the San Siro stage on the evening of the 3rd of July starting once again with "Land Of Hope And Dreams" exactly as he had done 3 years before in the same stadium. Because once he comes up on stage, no matter what he's playing (even "Pony Boy" I guess), you forget all your doubts, enjoy the show, and wonder why on earth did you ever doubt that you were going to have a good time (again). And he did play most of The River (at least on the first night). Now one of the reasons I was looking forward to a complete performance of The River was that I would be guaranteed to hear one of my favourite songs, "Sherry Darling", which up until then I had experienced only once, in Udine in 2009 (my last concert with Clarence). Bruce did not disappoint me and he played it both nights and I got to hear it for the 2nd and 3rd time. The 2nd time I got to sing along with it at the top of my lungs with no people pushing me. The 3rd time though, i got to dance to it with my girlfriend. So, thanks Bruce!

Another key moment was when I realized I was going to hear "Drive All Night" for only the second time, after my first time in Torino in 2009. And whereas back then, it was just a sign request (albeit a very clever one) we weren't sure if he was going to play it. This year in Milano, there was no warning. The lights were already off and suddenly the piano intro was heard, courtesy of Professor Roy Bittan as a chill went through all over my body. Which left only one thing... "Point Blank"... for the first time ever. I knew when it was supposed to come in the setlist. And the lights went off. And then there was silence for several seconds. And then there was Roy Bittan's piano and I knew that was it.
Yes, there were a lot of important moments for me in 2016, which I realize that was not a very good year for music. But these few ones from Manchester and Milano were the most important for me. I guess that paraphrasing The Stone Roses you could say that "these were the ones I was waiting for"...

One Night @ Remedy

I have been to Remedy Live Club twice in the past for gigs, but this time as I was passing by outside, I thought I'd go in and have a beer and listen to some music.

As my luck would have it though, there was also an (unpublicized) gig scheduled for that night by The Mighty N (you can find them on Bandcamp where you can also buy their album)

And this would prove to be my last gig of 2016, but also the discovery of a great local band!

Leonard Cohen, live in Athens, July 2008

My first experience of Leonard Cohen was a bit strange. Back in the early 80's I was in high school and I used to study with the radio on because, as I told my parents, "music helps me study better" (yeah, right). Now there was a 15-minute radio program then which was targeted at English learners and was probably a BBC production, where a song was played and its lyrics explained by an English presenter. On top of that a Greek presenter would translate his explanation. When the whole song was explained and translated, the show would be repeated, this time without the Greek translation. I remember two particular songs from this show. One was "Blue Suede Shoes" by Carl Perkins (it was funny hearing the presenter trying to explain "one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go cat go" but at least I ended up learning what the word "cat" meant in slang) and the other was "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen. "Suzanne" was explained beautifully, even why the tea had come "all the way from China". It was a few years later that my mum told me that she really loved "this Canadian singer with the deep voice called Leonard Cohen". When I heard the song she was referring to I first thought it was a Greek song. The harmonies reminded me of the songs of a famous Greek singer of the time. It wasn't Greek though. It was "Dance Me To The End Of Love". And after all the time Leonard had been spending in Greece (he has a house on the island of Hydra) it was inevitable that he would be influenced by the country's music.
He played live in Athens in 1988 when his "I'm Your Man" album had been released and I somehow managed to miss that. A few months later Tanita Tikaram broke into the UK charts who cited Cohen as one of her major influences. And one of his backing singers on the "I'm Your Man" album, Jennifer Warnes, would release "Famous Blue Raincoat", an album of Cohen covers. However, it would take Cohen four more years to release another album. I was living in London by then, and I saw him at the Royal Albert Hall a few months after "The Future" had been released. Incredibly enough, the people sitting behind me were Greek, too! It would take him a long time to start touring again, but in 2008 I finally saw him in Athens.
It was a little over a month since I had seen Bruce Springsteen live for the first time in Paris and I was surprised that Leonard also played for three hours even with a 20 minute break. Amazing, considering he was already 74 by then! He treated us to all our favourite songs, backed by a very good band and some wonderful female backing singers, who he treated just like the gentleman he was.
"Dance Me To The End Of Love" was the first video I ever uploaded on YouTube and because it was featured on the Speaking Cohen site it got 3000 views.

It was a beautiful summer night, it was a great concert and this was the last time I would ever see Leonard. As always, it was hard to get to and back from Terra Vibe, but I will always remember it.
Goodbye Leonard. Have a nice trip. Stay safe up there at the tower of song...

SETLIST

First Set
01. Dance Me to the End of Love
02. The Future
03. Ain't No Cure for Love
04. Bird on the Wire
05. Everybody Knows
06. In My Secret Life
07. Who by Fire
08. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
09. Anthem
   
Second Set
10. Tower of Song
11. Suzanne
12. The Gypsy's Wife
13. Boogie Street
14. Hallelujah
15. Democracy
16. I'm Your Man
17. Take This Waltz
   
Encore:
18. So Long, Marianne
19. First We Take Manhattan
   
Encore 2:
20. Sisters of Mercy
21. If It Be Your Will
22. Closing Time
   
Encore 3:
23. I Tried to Leave You
24. Famous Blue Raincoat
25. Whither Thou Goest

   

   

The greatest live album of all time

    

30 years ago, the best live album ever was released. Yes, that's Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's "Live 1975-85". The first Springsteen album I saw on the Greek music press was "Darkness On The Edge Of Town". The first album from which I heard songs on the radio was "The River" (and yes, the first song I heard was "Hungry Heart"). And the first album I owned was, of course, "Born In The U.S.A". I was gradually becoming a fan while reading the lyrics of that album, but it was this 5 LP set that made me the big fan that I am today.

Before it came out, I bought the 12'' single that preceded it, "War", thinking that I could probably not afford to buy the whole album. This was a very wise purchase as it also featured "Merry Christmas Baby" and an amazing 10 minute version of "Incident On 57th Street". Thankfully, when It did come out, the price was pretty reasonable so I bought it at once. I had already heard of his famous 3 hour live shows so this album was, as I believed then, the closest I could get to that experience. Indeed, I would have to wait nearly 22 years to finally see Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band live in person!

I was probably already hooked after the first few notes of "Thunder Road" and that is why, to this day, this is my favourite version. Little did I know that the next song "Adam Raised A Cain" would be the first song I would hear Bruce play live at the Parc De Princes stadium in Paris, France, on the 27th of June 2007.

Some of the songs I already knew. "Jersey Girl" in this particular version, I already had, as a b-side to the "Cover Me" 12-inch single. "Because The Night" I had already known, like most people, from Patti Smith. And weirdest of all, "Racing In The Street" was featured on Queen drummer Roger Taylor's second solo album "Strange Frontier". Seeing as Queen were (and still are) my favourite band, I had bought that album. "This Is Your Land" I had already heard in a television programme, probably about Woody Guthrie. Plus there was that cover version of "Born To Run" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood on their debut album...
With the help of the 36-page booklet featuring the lyrics of all the tracks, I immersed myself in the songs and the stories that Bruce told in them. And not just the stories in the lyrics but the stories Bruce himself narrated at the beginning, or in the middle of songs (Like the story in "Growin' Up" and its sequel at the beginning of "The River"). They spoke of an America that was totally different of the one I knew from the movies and TV series and the one reported from in the news. That was when I started dreaming of a road trip across the US from one cost to the other, something which I did 14 years later, in the late summer of the year 2000. I made that dream come true and I owe it all to Bruce Springsteen.

I also noticed a couple of songs about murderers that both ended up in the chair ("Nebraska" and "Johnny 99", both of course from the "Nebraska" album, here in much "richer" versions).
Finally, I also started "pairing" songs. What did that mean? Well, I would pick a couple of songs that, in my mind, one complemented the other. Like, for example, "Thunder Road" and "Growin' Up" which I thought that there were both great "opening" song. Now "Thunder Road" was the opener on "Born To Run", but "Growin' Up" was not the opener on "Greetings". I felt, however, that if "Live 1975-85 did not open with "Born To Run", it should open with "Growin' Up".
Another couple were "Sandy" and "Rosalita". That one's easy. They both had girls' names (and brackets) in their titles! Then I had "Badlands" and "Backstreets". Well, they both begin with "B" and end with "S" and they're totally different as far as musical styles are concerned. But I felt somehow that they both told similar stories. Finally there was "10th Avenue Freeze-Out" and "Incident On 57th Street" (And yes, yes, I know "Incident" is not featured on the album, but as I've mentioned before, it's on the b-side of the "War" 12-inch single, which, for me, is part of the whole set). Well, these two both tell stories about something that happened on a certain street (Actually, one of them is on an avenue, but there you go).

Four months later, in early 1987, I would buy the album again! By then, I had a CD player and I could not resist the similar box with 3 CD's instead of 5 LP's. Plus, I was studying in another country at that time and I had of course left the vinyl box set at home.

Fast forward to the noughties when I decided to "complete" my collection. One of the first items I bought when I opened an account on eBay was the 3 cassette box set. And after that, I decided to buy the singles that were released from the album. I got "Fire" on 12-inch vinyl which features "For You" which is not on the album and the CD single of "Born To Run" (which is apparently, the first CD single Bruce ever released)

30 years later, when someone asks me to name my 10 favourite albums (or the 10 records I would take with me on a desert island), "Live 1975-85" is always on both lists. "But, no!" they go, "you have to pick 'proper' albums like 'Born To Run' or 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town', no compilations or live ones". "But it is a proper album!" I insist. "It's just... well, a bit longer!".
Admittedly when you are asked which 10 records you would take with you on a desert island and one of those you pick is... 5 records instead of one, it's cheating, but it's my desert island, so what if my luggage is a little bit... heavier?

Needless to say, every year, i pick a day (usually on a Sunday), when I put on my headphones and listen to the complete album from start to finish...

Jethro Tull @ Terra Vibe quite a few years ago

I remember Jethro Tull since I was a kid. A little kid. Even before I started reading POP + ROCK (a Greek music magazine). I had seen pictures of the covers of their Heavy Horses, Aqualung and Thick As A Brick albums on the inner sleave of Saturday Night Fever (well, you do have to start your music listening lifetime experience from somewhere) where Phonogram (later Polygram and now Universal) used to advertise its other releases.

There were considered one of the pioneers of progressive rock, a genre all Greek "serious" rockers used to listen to during the seventies even though the band themselves claim that only one of their albums can be classified as prog. On the other hand we had the Greek disco listeners (called "kareklades" by the rockers) and the punks.

Of course  Jethro Tull had a peculiarity! Their frontman and singer, Ian Anderson, played the flute! And a phenomenally unusual instrument in a rock group always clicked with the Greek music listeners. (East German band City with their violin and Street Boys with their accordion and their Some Folks hit come to mind)

There weren't a lot of people at Terra Vibe, and combined with the fact that the music of Jethro Tull is not suited to dancing, made the organizers bring the stage higher up and the VIP section consisted of theatre-like seats. Even in the standing section where I was there was good visibility. The concert was very good with Ian Anderson often playing his flute in his characteristic posture (with one leg lifted) as well as all their songs that are popular in Greece (Thick As A Brick, Aqualung, Locomotive Breath)

Of course this was not the first time they had come to Greece. I remember a few years back they had played the Lycabettus theatre and I did not go, so this was a great chance to finally see them.

Setlist:
01. Nothing Is Easy
02. Beggar's Farm
03. Life Is A Long Song
04. Serenade To A Cuckoo (Rahsaan Roland Kirk cover)
05. A New Day Yesterday
06. Back To The Family
07. Thick as a Brick
08. Hare In The Wine Cup
09. A Change Of Horses
10. Cross-Eyed Mary
11. Farm on the Freeway
12. Dharma For One
13. My God
14. Aqualung
Encore:
15. Locomotive Breath

The best of Jethro Tull performed by Ian Anderson

Six years after seeing Jethro Tull live I had the chance of seeing Ian Anderson again, this time as a solo artist, accompanied by session musicians, but mostly playing the band's songs, as the event's title "The Best Of Jethro Tull Performed By Ian Anderson" informed us. I had been to another gig the night before, but I was adamant I was also going to go to this one. You see, when I saw him with Jethro Tull at Terra Vibe I went because I had wanted for years to see "that band featuring the only frontman in rock whose trademark instrument was the flute". But, more importantly, on that day 6 years ago, a certain period of my personal life was ending. In the autumn of this year however, a new period was just beginning. So, I thought, what better way was there to welcome this new era in the same way I had said goodbye to that old one: With Ian Anderson and the music of Jethro Tull!

As I entered Technopolis, the first thing that caught my attention was the restaurant high up in the air that has become a semi-permanent feature there in the last few years.

I then went in search of my seat. Yes, there were also seats this time around, so I chose a seating ticket and I've read elsewhere that the artist himself requested them. It is also possible that it was he who requested that photographs and videos were not allowed. I remember back in Terra Vibe how relieved he was when the photographers had finished taking photos and had moved away from the front of the stage. 

This is the reason why there is a lot to be desired concerning the quality of the videos featured here and that's why I decided to make a video of my audio recording of "Think As A Brick" superimposed with a photo of Ian in his classic posture. 

That rule was not strictly enforced but instead politely requested by the event personnel. There was only one incident of a person being removed from the venue but that was not because he was taking photographs (he was), but due to the fact that he was not just rude, but downright insulting to the people working there that night. Aside from that, the average age of the people in the audience was relatively high to put it mildly, but that is something that is probably expected of Jethro Tull fans.

The structure of the setlist was quite similar to the one in Terra Vibe ("Nothing Is Easy" at the beginning, "Thick As A Brick" relatively early in it, "Aqualung" and "Locomotive Breath" at the end. 

All this featuring stories (with strong English undertones) ranging from the 70's all the way back to the era of Henry VIII. In fact they even played a song fron that era. There were even some new songs played. I particurarly enjoyed "Banker Bets, Banker Wins" from "Thick As A Brick II" but I wasn't too keen on "Fruits On Frankenfield" (as far as music was concerned, because its lyrical content was particurarly interesting and valid in the world we currently live in)

As the concert was ending with "Aqualung" I decided to ignore the "no photos and videos" rule. 

By then nobody really minded. Especially during the encore with "Locomotive Breath" when that rule was completely forgotten, people were off their seats taking photos and videos and even some headbanging took place! And Ian didn't seem to mind.

The show was over before 11 with some Benny Hill music coming out of the speakers.

A friend of mine who was at the concert with me, told me that seeing Jethro Tull, or at least Ian Anderson was something that was on her bucket list. For me it was an experience that had already been fulfilled once, but did not mind dipping into it a second time as an added bonus...

SETLIST:
01. Living In The Past
02. Nothing Is Easy
03. Thick As A Brick
04. Pastime With Good Company
05. Sweet Dream
06. Mother Goose
07. Bouree
08. Banker Bets, Banker Wins
09. Songs From The Wood
10. Fruits Of Frankenfield
11. Dharma For One
12. Farm On The Freeway
13. My God
14. Aqualung
ENCORE
15. Locomotive Breath

Saint Etienne presents ''Foxbase Athens''

Saint Etienne were back in Athens in little more than a year and a half after their last visit. Back then they presented us with the soundtrack to a movie which got some people bored and maybe that was the reason why this time Gagarin 205 Live Music Space was not full when they played their "Foxbase Alpha" album, which is 25 years old this year, in its entirety.

Support was provided by Etten, the former singer of Film and current singer of Mechanimal.

When Saint Etienne came on stage they launched into a compete performance of "Foxbase Alpha". (And I managed to catch one of the pieces of candy Sarah threw into the audience). 

After the full album performance though there was more time left for hits this time. I was very happy to see that they played "You're In A Bad Way" again.

Hearing this song live brings back memories of an incident at their 1999 Athens gig when somebody in the crowd shouted "Sarah! You're In A Bad Way!" to which Sarah promptly replied "Thank You!". Needless to say, the song wasn't played then.

Finally "Hobart Paving" provided the perfect ending to a perfect gig... 

No wait! That was not the end! The final song was "He's On The Phone" with everybody dancing. Yes!...

SETLIST:
Foxbase Alpha:
01. This Is Radio Etienne
02. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
03. Wilson
04. Carnt Sleep
05. Girl VII
06. Spring
07. She's the One
08. Stoned to Say the Least
09. Nothing Can Stop Us
10. Etienne Gonna Die
11. London Belongs to Me
12. Like the Swallow
13. Dilworth's Theme
===
14. Join Our Club
15. Who Do You Think You Are
16. Filthy
17. Sylvie
18. You're in a Bad Way
19. Tonight
Encore:
20. Hobart Paving
21. He's on the Phone
  

Duran Duran live in Athens on election day (but they didn't play it)

It was 10 years ago when I saw Duran Duran live for the second time. The first one had been back in 1989 during the Big Thing tour in London at the first ever concert at the then newly built London Arena in the Docklands. That concert had been filmed and it was expected to be released on videotape, but as far as I could find out it never saw the light of day. If anyone knows what happened to it, please inform me. Anyway, by 2004 the band had gone back to its original line-up and a gig in Athens was announced in the summer of 2005. I didn't go then but I was wondering who was going to go. The reason was that back in the 80's one could not admit that they were a Duran Duran fan in Greece because the rock fans would hurl abuse at them. So I never met any fans back then. But suddenly the 2005 gig presale was such a success that it had to be moved to a bigger venue (the well-known "Terra Vibe", one of the reasons that I could not go). And the gig itself was a huge success and during the next few days, ordinary fans and TV personas alike were talking about how they enjoyed it and how Duran Duran reminded them of their youth of which they were a big part back in the day. And all I wanted to ask them was this: "Where were you in the 80's when I was afraid to even admit that I was listening to Duran Duran?". Needless to say, I regretted not going, but thankfully the next year they were back in Athens to play an indoor gig at one of the 2004 Olympic venues. That particular day was the 2nd round of the local (municipal) elections in Greece. I was determined not to miss them this time. So after voting, somewhere in the city centre, I had to travel all the way to the southeastern suburbs of the city to get to the venue which was at the site of the old airport. Thankfully, thanks to the Olympics, by that time we had a tram service that made getting there easier.
There were two types of tickets for this gig both of them standing only, Pitch A and Pitch B. I thought, what the heck I should buy a Pitch A one for which I paid about 80 euros if I remember correctly, and as a second thought, since I was going to be near the stage I decided to bring my relatively new then Sony digital camera and that's the reason this post came about 10 years after the event when I decided to delve deep into my hard disks and look for the photos and videos from that day. I had already used that camera at the Shakira gig three months before, but in that one I was far from the stage in the stands. This time however, it was going to be put to good use.

What I didn't realize on the day was that this was one of the first gigs without Andy Taylor who had decided to leave the band (again!). I was so preoccupied with singing along that I didn't notice. In fact, at some point I started wondering if it really was possible for them to sound like they did all those years ago.

Surely, this couldn't be a playback, could it? Of course it couldn't as I realized after watching Simon closely for a few minutes not just singing but also talking to the audience. And 10 years later I still remember the highlight of the evening... "The Chauffeur"...

20 years after the 80's Duran Duran had finally become fashionable in Greece!

SETLIST:
01. Hungry Like The Wolf
02. Union Of The Snake
03. Serious / Nice
04. Is There Something I Should Know
05. Come Undone
06. What Happens Tomorrow
07. Hold Back The Rain
08. Some Like It Hot / My Own Way
09. The Reflex
10. The Chauffeur
11. Ordinary World
12. Save A Prayer
13. A View To A Kill
14. Electric Barbarella
15. Notorious
16. (Reach Up For The) Sunrise
17. Rio
Encore:
18. Girls On Film
19. Wild Boys

The Big Nose Attack 5 year anniversary party with special guests on stage

After their appearance at Gagarin in January as a headline act, I thought I wouldn't need to see The Big Nose Attack again this year. I mean, what could possibly top that? The answer is of course "coming home". Where home is An Club for their 5 year anniversary party. This was obviously not going to be a usual BNA gig. The first set could be described as a typical Big Nose Attack short(ish) set.

We could have been happy with just that. But no, when it was finished they blew the candles on their birthday cake (which wasn't a cake, but a pizza) and then played a second set with a different guest each time for at least two more hours.

There was everything in this mix: a drum machine, a synthesizer, a theremin, a bouzouki and even - shock horror!!! - a BASS! Yes, a bass!

Plus, an amazing cover of the Stones' "Honky Tonk Women"!

The whole gig lasted for more than 3 hours. Only Bruce Springsteen could do such a thing...

I got back home early the next morning very hungry,

so I took of my Big Nose Attack t-shirt and had some... pizza! What else?

SETLIST 1 (The Big Nose Attack)
01. A Bite To Eat02. All By Myself
03. Under Your Spell
04. Monday Morning Spaghetti
05. Fifty Shades Of Shame
06. Dirty Emma
07. Not The One
08. I Gotta Luv U
09. Adam And Eve
10. Left Alone
11. Drunk And Gibberish
12. Drunk Whore Blues

SETLIST 2 (The Big Nose Attack featuring special guests)
01. Let Me Tell Ya featuring Yiannis Biliris (Μεθυσμένα Ξωτικά)
02. The Black Hat Man featuring Konstantinos Kirtsis (The Wrinkled Suits) and Rsn
03. All The Time featuring Petros Kasimatis (ΠΡΟΦΙΛ)
04. Yeah! (That Girl) featuring Babis Papanikolaou (Planet Of Zeus) and Idra Kayne
05. Hey Joe featuring Thymios Spiliotopoulos (Mr. Highway Band)
06. Let Τhe Love Shine featuring Alexis Kalofolias (The Last Drive)
07. Don't Look Back featuring Panos Tsekouras (Mani Deum)
08. Holdin' On featuring Panos Tsekouras and Babis Mavridis (Black Hat Bones)
09. N.I.B. featuring Konstantinos Dreankcrocs (Mock Τhe Mankind) and Vassilis Magganas (SuperPuma)
10. Wild Cherry featuring Dani G. (1000mods)
11. Honky Tonk Women featuring Mickey Pantelous
12. Down With Me featuring Mickey Pantelous
13. Kick Out The Jams featuring Aggelos Panokas (Black Hat Bones)
14. Blues Jam featuring Stam (The Bad Slide Stam)

Leon of Athens in the open air

When Leon of Athens plays near your home you can't miss the opportunity... Especially if it's a free gig!
This is exactly what happened last month in Kifissia. It was my 3rd Leon Of Athens gig, but my first in the open. The place? Villa Kazouli in Kifissia. When I first moved near the area, more than 30 years ago, the place was a derelict and abandoned building. Thankfully, at some point it was restored and put to good use by the local council. And it was indeed the first time that I visited it.

While wandering outside the place, trying to find the entrance, I disovered that the doors were still closed, I managed however to catch a glimpse of Leon's final rehearsal playing a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound Of Silence".

This was indeed the song with which he opened his set, after an introduction by the organizer.

All the usual favourites were in the set, including "I'm On Fire", "Under Pressure", "Over The Rainbow" and "Baby Asteroid". 

Plus a very nice song about his island, "Corfu", which I had seen on YouTube before, but with a different arrangement. 

But it was a completely different experience listening to all of these on a summer night under the stars and a full moon!

Not everybody was amused though. You see this gig was part of a summer-long festival organized by the local council.

And some of the locals, mostly old age pensioners attend every gig mostly of Greek stars of the 60's and the 70's. It wasn't surprising though that some of them started shouting, in the middle of a song "don't you speak any Greek?" "I don't like this!". The organizer, who was sitting directly in front of me was trying to explain that it is clearly stated in the programme that Leon sings mainly in English, but to no avail. And he did sing a song in Greek but by then they were not paying any attention so nobody noticed it.

Aside from that, it was a great gig with an encore, the highlight of which was when Leon sang a song about a childhood friend of his and spotted her mother in the audience.
But most importantly, after the gig I had the chance to meet Leon in person, show him my Bruce Springsteen t-shirt and thank him for always including "I'm On Fire" in his set!