The Monochrome Set live in Athens September 2019

I remembered The Monochrome Set from the early 80's. Back then they had come, together with another band (The Passage) from the same label (Cherry Red) in Athens for a gig. I was too young to go then, but a few years later I bought theirs and The Passage's records of that period ("Eligible Bachelors" and "Degenerates" respectively) in Monastiraki, the flea market area of Athens. Unfortunately The Passage are no longer with us, but The Monochrome Set are still active so this was an ideal chance to see them. The circumstances reminded me of what had happened the year before when I returned to Athens from my holidays in Santorini to immediately go to a Chemical Brothers gig. This time I returned from my holidays in Antiparos to see The Monochrome Set.

Ticket for gigs at An Club are usually not sold online beforehand, so I arrived very early in order to ensure I got in. (As it turned out later, I needn't have bothered because not many people had shown up). In fact I arrived so early that An Club was still closed and I had time to grab a souvlaki from nearby Exarchia Square. As I was returning from the square with my souvlaki in hand I noticed, Bid (real name Ganesh Seshadri), having a drink outside the club! I finished my souvlaki, got my ticket and went inside, in time to catch the support act, Cosmonuts, a Greek prog band. There were a nice surprise, so nice in fact, that I bought their EP "Holidays In Andromeda" at their merchandise stand, after their set, sold to me by the lead singer himself!

After that it was time for The Monochrome Set. Second in the set, was "The Jet Set Junta" my favourite song from "Eligible Bachelors". The band played on but it was not the singer, it was the keyboard player who stole the show, looking a lot like Jesus. He even went on to "bless" the audience. As I've said before, not many people showed up, but those of us who were there had a great time!

So that was the first indoor gig of the autumn of 2019. There would be another open air gig though, before we went back "inside"

SETLIST:

01. Super Plastic City

02. The Jet Set Junta

03. Alphaville

04. Oh Yes, I’m Going To Be In Your Dreams Tonight

05. I Can’t Sleep 

06. Ruling Class

07. I Feel Fine

08. Rest, Unquiet Spirit

09. Walking With The Beast

10. Maisieworld 

11. La Chanson De La Pucelle 

12. Jack

13. Summer Of The Demon

14. Mating Game

15. Mrs Robot

16. Cowboy Country

17. The Z Train

18. Love Goes Down The Drain

19. Eine Symphonie Des Grauens

20. Goodbye Joe

21. He’s Frank

Mary you are a Goddess!

Ten years ago, we were living in the "MySpace" era. For example, when I first discovered Marsheaux, I went to their MySpace page to find out more information about them. Later that summer, a friend of mine recommended that I check another band from MySpace: "Mary And The Boy". They described their music as "piano punk" and that's probably exactly what it was. And on top of that I was immediately mesmerized by the haunting sound of Mary's voice.
So, when they announced a gig at An Club in Athens, I immediately called my friend up insisting that we go to that one. And there I was once again mesmerized by Mary's stage presence. Mary And The Boy were exactly what their name described: Mary on vocals and The Boy on synths and various keyboards. On stage they were joined by a female dancer and another guy which ten years later, I can't exactly remember what it was that he was doing.
The gig took place exactly ten years ago. I decided to revisit it as I usually do with gigs on their tenth anniversary. To my surprise, while searching through my hard disks I realized that I did not have much material from that night. A few dark photos and only a couple of short clips. It's no wonder since it was dark in there that night, very dark. An appropriate environment for the band's music. And they played for many hours well into the night. And what I most remember about it was the girl who was constantly shouting to Mary "You are a goddess!".

Mary And The Boy disbanded a year later, having released two albums. In the meantime Mary secured a major role in the Academy Award nominated Greek film "Dogtooth". The Boy continued as a solo artist.

Unfortunately, this 10th anniversary is not a pleasant one. Mary left this world last year at the age of 30.
Goodnight Mary. To paraphrase somebody else "this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you". You will be a Goddess forever...

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)

Boxing Day with The Big Nose Attack

More festive fun, the day after Christmas with The Big Nose Attack. I had seen them only two months before, at the end of the summer at the same venue on their Vinyl Release Party. However, I missed their big hit "Yeah! (That Girl)" because... well because I was outside drinking beers with friends (They shouldn't have played it so early in the set). So, now, this was a chance to rectify that mistake. So, I got there early, secured a good place and I was ready!

Well, not early enough, I missed the first band, Drunken Gramophone, but I was lucky enough to catch the second one, Underjoyed with an incredible stage presence by lead singer Athena.

Time for The Big Nose Attack next with a stunning revelation: Boogie Man was down with tonsilitis! But that didn't stop him from appearing and his voice sounded as good as ever. Maybe the tea (or so he claims) he kept drinking on stage helped. "Don't worry, it's not contagious" he said, and at that point I noticed there was a big gap in the crowd in front of the stage at the point where Boogie Man was standing... :LOL:

I was happy to listen to them mix "Spare Some Change" with "Seven Nation Army" and yes, they moved "That Girl" towards the end of the set. But who was that girl with them on stage?

They even played songs from their forthcoming new album. This means that the "blue theme" is one its way out and I, for one, will miss that guitar...

 

However I look forward to seeing them tomorrow at this year's Rockwave Festival supporting one of their favourite bands: The Black Keys
And so, another year ended with a Big Nose Attack gig. For some strange reason my last gig of every year and the first of every year is a Big Nose Attack (or a Down & Out one). Also the first post of every year on this blog is a Big Nose Attack one. Weird...
And as you will notice from the next post coming up in a few days, the first gig of the new year also featured The Big Nose Attack...

Paint It Blue

Having just returned from my summer holidays, the weather was still hot in Athens when I went to see The Big Nose Attack once again. Usually one of their gigs is my first or last post of each year. This is the first post of 2015 (although, only because I'm lagging behind in my blog posts, but their next gig was actually my last of 2014 (but more of that later). Oh, and theirs was the first of 2014 (supporting Blue Oyster Cult). And the first of 2015 (supporting Blues Pills). OK, enough of that!

Anyway, back in 2012, I attended the CD release party for their "Paint It Blue" album, this time it was the vinyl release party for that same album, with a new cover and blue vinyl!

When I arrived, Superpuma came on stage, who jealous of the main acts big noses, donned some big ears pretending to be "The Big Ear Attack".

The highlight of their set, was a great cover version of Leadbelly's "Ain't It A Shame"

The good thing about this venue, An Club, was that we could pop out for a beer or two whenever we wanted, so after Superpuma's set, we steeped out to buy a few cheap ones from a local shop.

It seems that we had one too many though because we missed the beginning of The Big Nose Attack set, including the "hit" Yeah (That Girl). I think they should place it later in their set.

We were soon back in though, bought the vinyl, and enjoyed the rest, particurarly "Holdin' On" which also featured bouzouki.

At the end of the set, after the band had gone, a lady who during the gig appeared to be enjoying it quite a lot, jumped on stage and started playing Little Tonie's drums for quite some time.

I was disappointed to have missed "That Girl", so we finished the night with a few beers more. But I knew that I would catch The Big Nose Attack again. I didn't know it then, but a Christmas party and a support slot for Blues Pills were due in the winter...

How I learned to stop worrying and love Still Corners

 

I had never heard of Still Corners before until last October when they played a gig in Athens. And it was my girlfriend who asked me to go with her to see them. So I did something I do not usually do: I checked out some of their songs on YouTube. (I'm used to discovering my music the old-fashioned way: Buying records and stuff I hear on the radio). That's when I realized that they fall into a category which I adore: "Heavenly Female Vocals" which first bring to mind Mazzy Star. The same thing that came to my mind at the Isobel Campbell with Mark Lanegan gig. And all this coupled with a synth sound (but not completely electronic, and as a result several fans of "real" music have also fallen under their spell). However it was electronic enough for me to remind me a bit of the things I love about Marsheaux.

The gig was in a small underground venue (I mean literally underground as it was in a basement) in the center of Athens. Greek band Spectralfire were on first

 

And then it was time for Still Corners fronted by the lovely Tessa...

 

 After the gig, Tessa was tending the merchandise stand herself. I nought thir records and Tessa was kind enough to sign one of them (the special coloured vinyl one) for me!

BellRays στα Εξάρχεια...

...στο An Club με ένα μείγμα punk rock και soul. Εμφανής και άλλη μια φορά η απουσία του (πολύ) κόσμου, αλλά και ευκαιρία να εξασκηθούμε στο pogo dancing με την Lisa Kekaula να δίνει το ρυθμό!