In 2020 I only went to one concert. In 2021 I went to only one as well, at least so far. And it was at the same venue, Gazarte Roof Stage. Since I felt safe in it last year, I thought I'd do it again. The truth is that I thought it was a bit more crowded this year, but there weren't any problems later so, I guess it was OK. And this time it was an international artist: Kadebostany from Switzerland. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to get into their music... The support act was Vassilina with whom I was familiar since she had released a digital album on UNDO Records (home of Marsheaux) and now has a physical release on Inner Ear Records. She played mostly stuff from the latest album and it was good to finally hear her live.
After her set, and after we had listened to more music from the Gazarte speakers including David Bowie's "Starman", Kadebostany came on stage.
They got the crowd excited even though one of the restrictions being imposed was that we all had to remain seated, people could not stand up and dance. At least we were allowed to clap.
Nevertheless, the gig was highly entertaining and it proved to be a refreshing night out since it was my first gig after September of last year. And on top of that, it was also successful, since not only was it sold out, but the band were also due to appear on the following day at the same venue.
Incredibly enough, there were concerts in 2020! For a moment we even thought there was going to be one from an international artist when it was announced that Jethro Tull would perform at Technopolis (one of the concert areas in Athens which followed all the health protocols outlined by the government). I might have already seen them twice, and the last time was also at Technopolis (the first one was at Terra Vibe) but I would have gladly gone a third time if it had actually taken place. However, by the time the concert date was approaching, the recorded cases had risen and consequently it was cancelled. Leon of Athens with Catherine Duska had also performed at Technopolis this summer and I intended to attend that as well but somehow I missed it. But I got a second chance at Gazarte Roof Stage. During the summer the stage is completely open so it fulfilled the health protocols for concerts (No indoor gigs were allowed). And one of the reasons that I chose to see Leon Of Athens was that I had actually seen him by himself three times already in the past and two of them were at Gazarte (The first one was at the main stage and the second one was at the roof stage but it was closed as it took place during the winter). So, I now wanted to see him perform with Katerine Duska. Katerine Duska was of course Greece's participant in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest performing a song written by Leon Of Athens.
I arrived at Gazarte early, before the doors had even opened. I had to wear a mask up upon entering (because I was actually indoors now), but I could take it off when I reached the roof (where I would actually be outdoors with an amazing view of Athens).
I was therefore able to find the ideal place to sit, a stool facing the stage with a bench in front of it where I could place my drink. The gig was advertised as "show only" meaning there were no complimentary drinks but you could buy something from the bar. The waitress however, was wearing her mask below the nose so I didn't order anything.
Caterine and Leon appeared on stage, starting with the song that they have released together "Anemos" which is sung in Greek. I was wondering whether that was signifying a career change for Leon Of Athens as he was usually singing in English in the past. That didn't seem to be the case as they did a few Greek cover versions (Leon Of Athens used to do a couple of these in the past by himself, like the Stereo Nova tune for example), but all of Leon's hits from the past were there, Katerine sung "Better Love" (her Eurovision entry) and they both did some cover versions on English as well (the highlight of which was Katerine's rendition of "Killing Me Softly"). The show ended as it had started, with "Anemos".
The only gig of 2020 turned out to be a great and enjoyable night for me, but it must have also been a success for the artists, as it was due to be repeated at the same place the following month.
Unfortunately, by that time cases had once again risen (a situation which led to the current lockdown) and all subsequent planned gigs were cancelled. Let's hope that the situation will finally improve in 2021...
This is what Boogie Man told the audience on Thursday, the 9th of March at Gazarte Roof Stage. And we didn't need to drink to appreciate The Big Nose Attack. I know I've already seen them many times but it sounded like a good idea to see them once again at this particular venue which gives you a magnificent view of Athens.
Another reason for going to this gig was that I wanted to get my hands on one of those pizza shaped USB sticks the band have released that features their complete discography for only 10 euros (a snip!).
As you can see they're awesome, and I must admit I do get confused sometimes...
Anyway, I went there straight after work so I missed the first 10 minutes. Because of this, as I was approaching Gazarte I could hear the sound of The Big Nose Attack coming from inside!
Once inside, however, it was once again magnificent. They played songs from all their 3 albums and the obligatory "Foxy Lady"
I had to leave during the very last song because of a strike on the metro, so I had to walk to catch another line that was operating normally.
All in all, I had a great time, and for once more my first gig of the year was by The Big Nose Attack.
And so we're finally at the end of 2015 and our last gig was - almost - a repeat of an earlier one of this same year. I say "almost" because although it was the same artist and the same venue the situation was a bit different.
Leon Of Athens was back at Gazarte where we last saw him in back in April, but this time it was in a different hall of the venue. This time it was at the roof hall surrounded by glass giving us a very good view of Christmas Athens, including the Acropolis.
And this time we were all close to the stage making it a more intimate experience. The setlist was based on the last gig, but there were also a couple of new songs. As far as I am concerned I was happy that he kept the Bruce Springsteen and Queen covers, (my favourite artist and band respectively), so once again we enjoyed covers of "I'm On Fire" and "Under Pressure" plus his own well-loved songs like "Global", "Lifeline", my personal favourite "Dreamers" and his latest single "Baby Asteroid"
It wasn't exactly Christmas eve, but Leon gave us our Christmas gig of 2015 and we are already making our plans for more music to come in 2016
After Still Corners and Future Islands, Leon Of Athens was another one of my girlfriend's gig suggestions. Thankfully, this time, she DID come along! :LOL:
Leon Of Athens is a Greek musician (hence the "Of Athens" bit) who is now based in the UK. (Before that he was called just "Leon"). Last April's gig at Gazarte was organized in order to celebrate one year since the release of his latest album "Global" copies of which were available to buy on CD and vinyl at the exit after the end of the gig (Almost exactly one year before that, he had appeared at the same venue).
The gig was opened by Arete Kosmidou, winner of one of the talent shows on Greek TV.
Then it was time for Leon Of Athens. The setlist consisted of several songs from "Global" (a fact that caused me to make a mental note to buy the album afterwards).
The surprises though were in the cover versions. How did Leon Of Athens know that my favourite artist is Bruce Springsteen and my favourite band is Queen? He must have known somehow because he played "I'M On Fire" from the former and "Under Pressure" from the latter!
Another surprise (well, technically not a surprise since it had been announced beforehand) was the guest appearance of Pavlos Pavlides.
Finally, one of the highlights of the night was the cover of "Friday I'm In Love". Leon apparently forgot some of the lyrics, but that was not a problem because we remembered the rest (well, some of them) and turned it into a great singalong.
And with that, we said goodbye to Leon Of Athens, we wish him success in his future projects and hope that we won't have to wait a whole year to see him again!
