Release Athens Festival 2023 - Primal Scream, The Prodigy

 

On what would turn out to be a five day marathon of concerts and trips, I went to my last Release Athens Festival date for 2023. I chose it for just one reason: Primal Scream. The Prodigy were however a welcome addition. 

There were not many acts on that date. I arrived early, just as the doors were opening and the first act was not a live gig, but a DJ set from George Michalopoulos. That was a funny coincidence seeing as my last night out the previous week had also been a DJ set (from Fatboy Slim).

 

 

The first live act came next and this was Lip Forensics, an electronic music band from Greece. I had heard of them, but I had never heard them (or listened to them to be more precise). Their show became much livelier with the addition of female vocals courtesy of Kit Kido.

 

Then it was time for what for me was the main act: Primal Scream. Several people were maybe expecting a set full of dance tracks and loops remembering them in the very early 90's. And indeed that was probably the reason they were chosen to play the festival on this specific night among DJ sets and electronic and dance acts. But let's not forget that before (and after) that phase, Primal Scream were first and foremost an indie band. The set started with a gospel choir giving us the intro to "Movin' On Up". And yes, they played a very special version of "Loaded" but we got so much more, such as "Rocks", "Country Girl" and my personal favourite from their latest era, "2013" with its saxophone solo.

 

Finally, it was party time with The Prodigy. I remembered they had played on the 4th Rockwave Festival, back in 1999, but I had chosen to go on the previous day featuring Garbage and Patti Smith. Now many people would say they wouldn't want to see The Prodigy without Keith Flint, however when I discovered Prodigy back in 1991, Keith Flint, although he was an original member, did not yet sing. And he did not sing until 1996 and "Firestarter". Anyway, it was indeed a party and although it was live, it felt more like a DJ set with each song playing only for three minutes , usually followed without a pause by the next one. That's why it ended quite soon. But we did see a graphic representation of Keith on the screen.

I was out of Water Square and on my way home quite quickly, because on the very next day I was going to attend a concert of a very different kind: Guns N' Roses at the Olympic Stadium...

SETLISTS:
PRIMAL SCREAM
01. Movin' On Up
02. 2013
03. Can't Go Back
04. Big Jet Plane
05. It's Alright, It's OK
06. Suicide Bomb
07. Come Together
08. Jailbird
09. Loaded
10. Country Girl
11. Rocks

THE PRODIGY
01. Breathe
02. Omen
03. Light Up The Sky
04. Climbatize
05. Everybody In The Place
06. Voodoo People
07. Omen (Reprise)
08. Firestarter
09. Roadblox
10. No Good (Start The Dance)
11. Their Law
12. Get Your Fight On
13. Poison
14. Smack My Bitch Up
Encore:
15. Take Me To The Hospital
16. Invaders Must Die
17. We Live Forever
18. Out Of Space