Uriah Heep live in Athens

Uriah Heep is another band that I wanted to see live for years. The reason for this was that about 10 years ago they had come to Athens for an acoustic gig, but it was not the kind of gig for which one could buy a ticket. It was organized by a tobacco company and you had to take a part in a survey conducted by that same company in order to get a free invitation and only if after the survey they decided to give you that invitation. Well this time they were coming for a proper, full-electric gig and I was alerted to it by a co-worker. The only problem was that I was not sure if I could make it. I would finish work at 9:30 and Uriah Heep would come on stage at 10:00. Well, for once I decided it was worth the extra expense and I arranged for a taxi to wait for me outside work and take me straight to the venue.
I just made it on time just five minutes before Uriah Heep came up on stage and managed to find my friends in the process. Not only that but it was sold out but that time and we could barely fit into the main hall. I ended up watching a large part of the gig from the lobby, since the doors were open and the sound - and visibility - was just as good as inside.

As an added bonus, when looking to our left, towards the stairs, we could glimpse posters adverising what was to come during the summer!

The band played several tracks fron their latest album. Although with a band that has such a history as Uriah Heep, albums as these, so late in their careers, tend to be dismissed as below par (also taking into account the fact that, if I'm not mistaken, there is only one original member left), the songs they played for us on the night actually sounded quite good. I haven't listened to the full album yet, but my judgement is based on the songs I heard that night, especially the title track ("Living The Dream"). Apart from these, all the other classics were there including "Lady In Black" and "Easy Livin' which ended the main set and the encore respectively.

All in all, it was a long overdue enjoyable night despite all the trouble I had to go through to get there...

SETLIST:
01. Grazed By Heaven
02. Return To Fantasy
03. Living The Dream
04. Too Scared To Run
05. Take Away My Soul
06. Knocking At My Door
07. Rainbow Demon
08. Waters Flowin'
09. Rocks In The Road
10. Gypsy
11. Look At Yourself
12. July Morning
13. Lady In Black
Encore:
14. Sunrise
15. Easy Livin'