The PAP DX Blog

Tuesday, 20 October 2026

Release Athens Festival 2026 - Imiskoumbria reloaded

I returned to see Imiskoumbria for a second time, since I already had a ticket. As I have already explained in my post of the first concert, I bought a ticket for the second one because the first one was sold out before I had the chance to buy a ticket. However later a friend gave me one of hers, so I ended going to both. The second one was also sold out just a few days before the event.

Since this was going to be my last Release Athens Festival date this year (not to mention my last Water Square gig ever since this area will not be available for concerts any longer and Release Athens Festival will move somewhere else), I decided to get there early in order to both explore the sponsors' stands and listen to the DJ S set preceding the main event. DJ S is a friend of the band and has collaborated with them on their past albums as I discovered by reading the credits on their CD's.

I went through most of the stands getting as many freebies as I could. Apart from eating at my favourite Jackaroo, I got tote bags, hats and even a pair of 3D-like glasses through which you could see hearts around light sources, not to mention the usual drinks. But the two most imaginative offers were these two: A toothpaste company that was giving away free ice cream to highlight the problem of sensitive teeth and a mobile phone company that let you create your own mixtape (well, only one song) according to the style you had specified. Yes, they were giving you a real cassette tape, but also the opportunity to download the song as an MP3 file.

When Imiskoumbria came on stage all attention was shifted to them. You would expect the two shows to be identical, but there were a few subtle differences. Not all guests showed up again (Evrydiki was there again but Foivos Delivorias was not and only one member of Going Through appeared). This time there was also a video message from Nick Gallis, the greatest Greek basketball player who was frequently mentioned in their songs. The most important difference though, was that this time there was an encore, granted, of one of the songs they had already played, but they felt that this was the appropriate way to thank the fans for selling out not one, but two festival dates.

As we were leaving the festival, the feeling was that had they announced a third date, that would have been sold out as well. And as we learned a few days later that they started a mini-tour with dates in other parts of Greece, including my favourite island of Santorini. Thanks for the memories Mithridatis, Dimitris and Prytanis!

SETLIST:
01. Ta Imiz Einai Edo
02. Imiskoubria (Isagogi)
03. Le Ham
04. Katalavate I Na Kano Kai Kaka
05. Noris
06. Dimosio Forevah
07. O Kyris Tou Spitiou
08. ...Me Ti Mama Sou
09. O Erastis
10. Tsonta
11. Horevontas Me To Lipos
12. Greek Lover
13. Brazil - Imiz 1-0
14. Je Suis Bossu
15. To Sex
16. O Diavolos Katevike Sto Xolargo
17. To Doro Tou Kaisara
18. Katadotes
19. O Ypoklopeas
20. Pos Na Sou To Po
21. To Skliro Mp3 Tou Diskou
22. To Ipotheto
23. La Klikaria
24. Oi Laikes
25. METH Sto Volan
26. O Monahos
27. Voukoliko
28. An Isoun Allos
29. I Magiki Tsatsara
30. Pyretos To Savvatovrado
31. Pame Oloi Mazi Se Mia Paralia
32. Sti Discotheque
Encore:
33. Brazil - Imiz 1-0

Tuesday, 29 September 2026

Release Athens Festival 2026 - Moby & Garbage

This was one of the first summer of 2026 gigs that was announced and the only one for which I had bought my ticket during the previous winter presale. The organizers even offered a payment plan with installments which I took full advantage of. This particular gig combined a band that I had seen before with an artist I hadn't seen before.

The band I had seen before were, of course Garbage. That was back in 1999 on the first Rockwave Festival I went to, back when it was held at an accessible location and not at faraway Terra Vibe. Garbage were one of the few bands I had started following in the 90's when I heard "Only Happy When It Rains" at the Our Price record shop in Bayswater, London and I immediately bought the CD single (remember them?). Now that I've mentioned it, another band I can think of that I started following in the 90's is Oasis. You see, I was mostly listening to dance music during that decade and most of my favourite artists and bands originated in the 80's. Back in 1999, Garbage had only two albums under their belt (their best ones IMHO) so we were assured that we would hear all our favourite songs. Not to mention the fact that Patti Smith was appearing on the same bill before them.

As far as Moby is concerned, well, I will refer you to the previous paragraph where I mentioned that I was listening to dance music during that decade. Not only was I listening to dance music during that decade, but I was buying every dance single that entered the UK Top 40. That's how I ended up buying Moby's first single "Go" back in late 1991. You all know what has happened since then. He went from dance music to indie and then back to dance music again at the end of the decade culminating with "Play" and "18". I revisited Moby's back catalogue three years ago when I bought his Reprise album when he was getting into a genre he hadn't attempted before: classical music! (The album was even released on Deutsche Grammophon). And that's what made me interested to see him live when this gig was announced last winter.

Since it was announced that the gig had sold out (and since I wanted to eat at Jackaroo before Garbage came on) I decided to get there early. That proved to be a wise decision because I discovered the opening act Pale Blue Eyes.

Call them old fashioned, but they were selling their CD in the merchandise stand. Call me old fashioned but I bought it (I still listen to my music on physical media, no streaming for me).

Following that I was off to Jackaroo because, as they say, you cannot enjoy a concert on an empty stomach.

Then it was finally time for Garbage. Shirley may be quite older (I stopped counting years ago), but she's still hot. I mean she was probably my #1 Crush in the 90's (see what I did there?). As was probably expected they played quite a few songs (5, in fact) from their latest album which unfortunately is the only one I haven't got. However, they played 7 songs in total from their first two albums ("Garbage" and "Version 2.0") which took me back to 1999, but nothing from their 3rd one ("Beautiful Garbage"). Nonetheless they played a lovely cover of "Lovesong" by The Cure. Moreover. what was more enjoyable was Shirley's between songs banter. She seems to really like Greece. Then again she probably says similar things in every country she visits or perhaps to be more fair to her, she finds interesting things in every place she goes to. And one more thing: she complained that they haven't been invited to Greece for many years. As we all know, a band can't just play in a specific country unless a local promoter asks them to and from what I remember they have only played in Greece just once after 1999.

And so it was time for Moby. He played the exact songs we wanted to hear and apart from the songs he sang himself he had recreated the samples he had used in his music with real singers. So there's no question here of this not being "real music". Like Garbage earlier he also offered a cover: "Heroes" by David Bowie complete with a story of how it came to be. Moby was very pleasant and he kept thanking us after every song with a big "thank you thank you thank you". He didn't play "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" although I would have reached for mine if I had one every time someone was trying to pass around me while I was trying to enjoy the music. But the highlight was saved for the very end when he admitted that although in his career he had played many different kinds of music deep down at heart he was a rave kid. And he went on to play "Feeling So Real" turning the concert into one big rave party!

That was when the show ended and we were transported from 1990 back to 2026. Everybody listens to techno after all...

SETLISTS:

GARBAGE

01. There’s No Future In Optimism

02. Hold

03. Empty

04. I Think I'm Paranoid

05. Stupid Girl

06. It’s All Over But The Crying

07. Special

08. Have We Met (The Void)

09. Vow

10. Chinese Fire Horse

11. Lovesong

12. When I Grow Up

13. Push It

14. Only Happy When It Rains

15. The Day That I Met God

MOBY

01. Bodyrock

02. In My Heart

03. Go

04. Next Is The E

05. In This World

06. We Are All Made Of Stars

07. Heroes

08. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?

09. Raining Again

10. Disco Lies

11. Machete

12. Flower / Find My Baby

13. Honey

14. Extreme Ways

15. Natural Blues

Encore:

16. Porcelain

17. Lift Me Up

18. Feeling So Real

Thursday, 27 August 2026

Release Athens Festival 2026 - Pet Shop Boys

It is a rare occasion for a band who has just played in Greece to be invited again on their next tour. What is even rarer is for such a band to be invited back on the same tour. And that's what happened with the Pet Shop Boys this year. Having played Athens on the Dreamworld Greatest Hits Tour four years ago they were invited to play again this year on the same tour. Which raised a most important question: Is it worth going to see the exact same show I watched 4 years ago? Thankfully, that wasn't an issue, for more than one reason as we'll see later.

Until a few weeks before the gig no support acts had been announced. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when it was announced that one of them was going to be Saint Etienne. I had seen them a few times in the past the first time as far back as 1999. However, they had announced that this was going to be their farewell tour so it was a good chance to see them for one last time. They were going to be the first support act so it was a rare occasion when I arrived at the festival area before fhe gates had opened. There, at the queue I met several of my friends. You see i had made several pethead friends over the years, most of whom are still here on this earth, while some are missing as the song goes.

As a result I was there at the front when Saint Etienne took the stage. Since they were the opening act, their set was quite short, but they still managed to fit in several of my favourite tunes.

After their set was over, i embarked on my usual exploration of the area, ending up, as usual at Jackaroo for a snack.

By that time Gramatik were on stage. i didn't know them and the promoters had advertised them as "an act with stunning visuals". I didn't see any of those aforementioned visuals, probably because it was still daytime and their music didn't seem to interest me in my own humble opinion. I prefer London Grammar. So I just waited for the main act.

I had already seen their Dreamworld Blu-Ray to remind me of my own experience of the tour four years ago. Our main complaint from that gig was that we got the shortened "Festival Setlist" of the tour instead of the full one. I mean, how can you fully experience the "Dreamworld" tour without hearing "Dreamland"? Because that was one of the songs that I think was cut from the festival setlist four years ago. Would we hear it this time? One could only hope...

Before they came on stage, the Ukranian flag appeared on the big screen just as it had four years ago. And then the music started with "Suburbia" again just as it had four years ago. As the show progressed I realized that this time it was different. First of all, we got the songs from the latest album "Nonetheless", like "Dancing Star" and "A New Bohemia" tracks that weren't even on the Dreamworld Blu-Ray. And we also got "Dreamland". And of course we got "Go West" which wasn't featured on the Blu-Ray for legal reasons. And just before the end Neil confirmed it, that just as we had asked, we got the full setlist this time, not the festival one. How did he know?

So, was it worth it? (As another one of their songs goes). Yes, it was worth buying the ticket. For the full setlist, the new songs and the farewell to Saint Etienne. After all how often are you able to attend a gig from a tour called "The Greatest Hits Tour' because every song played has been a hit?