The Western Ramblers (Part 3)

After so many times supporting other bands, The Western Ramblers finally played their own gig on the 1st of February at After Dark!

Down & Out - El Show Final

"Down & Out is a Southern Rock/blues band formed in 2003 in Athens Greece. All three members of the band just love good old rock n'roll, blues and hillbilly music and they just can't hide it!"
This is how Down & Out describe themselves. And they have been featured in this blog before in Greek posts several times, most importantly when they supported the Sonics when they played in Athens. They consist of:

BOOGIEMAN: TeleCOWster guitar, vocals, harmonica (yes, that's correct, I didn't make it up)

LITTLE TONNIE: Gretsch drums, piano and organ

VIRGIL: '62 Fender P-bass, backin' vocals

Now they have finally decided to call it a day with a final gig at After Dark a few days after The Western Ramblers and Penny Dreadful played there and documented on this blog's previous post. Meanwhile Boogieman and little Tonnie are continuing as a duo under the name The Big Nose Attack, which have also been featured on this blog in the past.

It was an incredible last stand featuring songs from their first album "Tres Weirdos", from their second still unreleased one (now we wonder, will it ever see the light of day? Keep checking http://www.myspace.com/downnoutband for updates) and also their (and our) favourite cover version, Prince's Kiss!

We really hope it's not really the end for them and we expect to meet them further on up the road...

The Western Ramblers (Part 1 - With Penny Dreadful)

As I had promised when I announced that I was switching my blog's language to English, it will often feature local bands (By local, meaning Athens, Greece where I am currently residing). So it is then, that today's post features a local band, namely The Western Ramblers. And before we go any further, let me mention that their lead singer is a friend of mine, so yes, I am biased in their favour!
About 2 months ago, on the Sunday, the 30th of December I went to see them at the After Dark club. They play "American Roots Music" by their admission and that's what we enjoyed that night, including a few Springsteen tracks. (So far it seems inevitable to post something in this blog without mentioning Bruce Springsteen who will hopefully feature heavily during the summer)

They started out as a 2-piece with banjo and guitars, but by now they have evolved into a full band with the relatively recent addition of a bassist and a drummer

However, they were not the only band to appear that night. Their live set was followed by Penny Dreadful, billed as "Alternative Country" (they even played a rock cover of Kraftwerk's "The Model")

After the new year, I saw The Western Ramblers 2 more times. But I will cover these in another post...