Another day, another concert date at Hyde Park. Once again, it was Bruce Springsteen! This was my 15th Bruce concert. The weather was a little bit different this time though. After two days of sunshine and heat it was time for the proverbial English rain. I had already taken my poncho with me but it didn't really start to rain until I had reached Hyde Park. But I wasn't going to go in immediately. First I met a Facebook Bruce friend and we decided to go over to the nearby Pret-A-Manger to have a snack. Apart from Bruce we had a lot in common since our mothers had been born on the exact same date! While we were talking about all of this, the rain had not only started, but it had become really strong. At some point, it relented a bit so I went into the park. With no merchandise to buy this time I headed straight in search of a good spot. This time I did something different. I got a place at the barrier between the golden circle and the general admission area, but I chose one that was close to the sound console. It didn't block my view but I guessed that no one inside the golden circle would want to stand there because it would block their view. I was proven right: Third time lucky! Not only that, but inside I also met another Facebook friend who is not only a Bruce fan but also an Arsenal fan like me!
The first artist to appear was Brittney Spencer. I had not heard of her before but the music she was playing was not country rock. It seemed that the organizers did go for a bit of variety this time. And she did a very nice cover of "Yesterday".
Then it was time for one more familiar act. The Chicks who had already played before Bruce two days before. The set was almost identical, but the songs were now familiar, plus the weather was much cooler now, making the whole experience once again more enjoyable.
And finally, Bruce! Again! And this time he showed us that his critics who complain that he doesn't change his set on this tour were simply wrong! Sure he kept the basic structure of the set as I have already described it on my previous post about Thursday night's appearance the same, but he changed several of the songs focusing the set a lot on "Born In The USA". This time he started with "My Love Will Not Let You Down" and went on to play "Death To My Hometown". Its intro broke back memories of his 2012 appearance in Hyde Park. Songs from "Wrecking Ball" are always welcome for me because it is one of my favourite albums and reminds me of 2012 and 2013 when I saw him six times during that two year period. "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" was a pleasant surprise for I had wanted to hear this live for years and never got the chance. "Kitty's Back" and "Mary's Place" were there in their usual slots on this tour (although this time we were not singing "let it rain" so enthusiastically as on Thursday), but there was another surprise as well: "The E Street Shuffle"! After all, his second album (as well as his first) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year! And then came the encore with the usual bits with him opening his shirt and showing us his torso (I'm sure the women in the audience enjoyed this) and his usual chat with Stevie about breaking the curfew although with no explicit language this time.
When it was finished and we exited Hyde Park, I managed to find the unofficial t-shirt I was after with only the Hyde Park dates, somewhere on Park Lane. I was not surprised to see that even some of the bike taxis outside the park were playing Bruce music.
Satisfied I continued walking towards my hotel. It was over, but it was not over. There was one more date in Monza, in Italy. And this time I would be with my best friend...
SETLISTS: JAMES BAY 01. Best Fake Smile 02. Just For Tonight 03. If You Ever Want To Be In Love 04. Wanderlust 05. Goodbye Never Felt So Bad 06. All My Broken Pieces 07. Get Out While You Can 08. Let It Go 09. Endless Summer Nights 10. Hold Back The River
THE CHICKS 01. Sin Wagon 02. Gaslighter 03. Julianna Calm Down 04. Landslide 05. The Long Way Around 06. Wide Open Spaces 07. Cowboy Take Me Away 08. Travelin' Soldier 09. White Trash Wedding 10. Daddy Lessons/Long Time Gone (Medley) 11. March March 12. Not Ready To Make Nice 13. Goodbye Earl
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 01. My Love Will Not Let You Down 02. Death To My Hometown 03. No Surrender 04. Ghosts 05. Prove It All Night 06. Darkness On The Edge Of Town 07. The Promised Land 08. Out In The Street 09. Darlington County 10. Working On The Highway 11. Kitty's Back 12. Nightshift 13. Mary's Place 14. The E Street Shuffle 15. Last Man Standing 16. Backstreets 17. Because The Night 18. She's The One 19. Wrecking Ball 20. The Rising 21. Badlands Encore: 22. Born To Run 23. Bobby Jean 24. Glory Days 25. Dancing In The Dark 26. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out 27. Twist And Shout / La Bamba Encore 2: 28. I'll See You In My Dreams
I try to avoid Rockwave Festival if I can help it. The reason is of course Terra Vibe. The worst location for concerts in Greece. To the artists appearing it may seem beautiful, but for us who have to find a way to get there and most of all, a way to get out of there, it's horrible. But this year's proposition was really interesting. Now, Robbie Williams alone wouldn't have tempted me. It was the inclusion of Mika that made me take the plunge. And the appearance of Leon Of Athens just put the icing on the cake. We very rarely get to experience such a combination of pop acts live in this country.
It was with Leon Of Athens on my mind, that I took the first bus out to Terra Vibe to see him, the festival opening act. On paper, it looked as if it would work. However, the bus was late in departing and there was plenty of traffic on the way there. However, it left us close to the entrance for a change and I was able to get in quickly, run and catch at least what I believe was 50% of his set. I've seen him in so many different places in the past, so a festival appearance would be a different experience. And it was different, as far as the songs were concerned, although that was probably due to my being late. Plenty of new songs, so although there was no "Baby Asteroid" this time (at least not for me, I think he played it before I got there), I got to hear these new songs and my impression was that most of them were more upbeat and more danceable.
Next up was Jonathan Jeremiah. However, before that, I started wandering around Terra Vibe Park in order to get to the other stage, where no artists were appearing that night, however there was an exhibition there dedicated to the Rock In Athens 85 festival. were also shown on the main stage between artists appearances.
Having seen the exhibition I then went back to the VIP area (I usually get a VIP ticket when I go to Terra Vibe even if it means paying double the price, because as I had found out back in 2006, if you get stuck in the wrong area you may end up not being able to see anything at all), got one of the portable seats that were for the first time available for VIP ticket holders and then sat down to watch Jonathan Jeremiah. Hadn't heard of him before, but he seemed nice and most importantly, his set wasn't boring, something which can usually happen with artists one doesn't know and who are at the bottom of the bill of a festival date.
Then, finally it was time for Mika. He was third on the bill, not second, something which made me worry that his set would be cut short, but I needn't have worried. For most people Mika is "the guy who sang Relax, Take It Easy" (some of them also know "Grace Kelly"). I admit that I used to be just like them, until my ex showed me that there was more to him than that. (My favourite song of his is "Talk About You" from his 2015 album "No Place In Heaven", unfortunately not played at Terra Vibe). It's true that most of the songs he plays live are from his first album, but then again these are his biggest hits. And to his credit, his latest "My Name Is Michael Holbrook" is actually quite good. In short, even though his set, was shorter than it could have been and even though he was third on the bill, he managed to win the audience over and for the first time that day at Terra Vibe we felt as if we were at a big party!
Second on the bill, before Robbie Williams was James Bay. Well, not only is he more rock than pop, but the funniest thing was that I was going to see him again a few days later, not in Athens but in London, not supporting Robbie Williams but Bruce Springsteen at the BST Hyde Park festival! He wasn't bad and I'm certainly not the kind of person who detests it when there's a variety of music genres at festivals, but the marketing of music has lately become so homogenized and by that I mean that there are people who listen only to rock, others that listen only to pop maybe because that's what the industry and promoters think is what should happen.
And finally, it was time for Robbie. Everybody said that he
fulfilled his promise to us at his last concert at the exact same place.
However, dear organizers his exact words were: "Let's meet again in 18
months, shall we?" He said 18 months, not 8 years! What I what to point out by saying this is that Greek promoters will rarely invite artists on subsequent tours (unless they're called Scorpions or Depeche Mode). They think that if people have already seen them, they won't want to see them again. When Robbie Williams was speaking about "18 months" in 2015 he was referring to his next tour. But as far as Greek promoters are concerned this was probably considered to be "too short a period"...
Anyway, Robbie was here and it's true that this was a different Robbie from the one we had seen 8 years ago. He had probably suffered from the effects of COVID, he was older (but then again, aren't we all?) and of course his set was different. Not shorter, but different. There were in fact fewer songs, but not because the set was cut short, but because he talked a lot between songs. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT! About how he became famous with Take That, how he left Take That, how he became once again famous and successful again on his own this time, how he rejoined Take That, but most importantly how difficult a time he had had through the pandemic and how he is finally happy having found love with his wife and having a family. I didn't mind. It was like having a conversation with a friend whom you haven't seen in... well... eight years, even if the conversation was one-sided. And, if you ask me which of the two concerts of his I have attended was better, I would definitely say the first one, eight years ago. Better songs, more songs, but most importantly, because as we all know it's "never as good as the first time" because that first time, no matter what we are talking about, a concert or a kiss, is the one by which all subsequent ones will be compared to (and found wanting as Stephen King has said). I've said all this because I've heard another opinion about his appearance which came from my ex and that was that he was a total and absolute mess. Although I don't agree with it, I can understand that some people might not have enjoyed someone who certainly looked that he had aged and probably suffered during the last 8 years and instead of singing preferred to engage in conversation with his audience. However, what I don't understand is another, a third opinion that was going around on social media and other Greek websites that he had insulted Greek people with one of his jokes. My answer to this is that if, after all these years, you still don't "get" British humour, you had better attend only concerts from Greek artists from now on.
OK, so what about the music? Well, once again, the highlight for me was the same as the one from 8 years ago: "Come Undone". It probably has to do with the lyric "Because I'm scum, and I'm your son, I come undone". Also, this time we didn't have Queen covers like in 2015, but oh boy, what a cover we did get : "Don't Look Back In Anger" by Oasis! He finished with "Angels" and then went on to perform an acapella medley of his best songs including one which he didn't perform that night: "Me And My Monkey" which apparently is only popular in Greece!
When it was finally over and "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" was playing from the speakers, I was thinking that I had enjoyed every minute of it and I went home thinking that this was the best concert I had attended in Greece this year. With hindsight, I'd say it was one of the two best on Greek soil in 2023 (and that's because abroad, there was Bruce...)
SETLISTS: JAMES BAY 01. Best Fake Smile 02. Just For Tonight 03. If You Ever Want To Be in Love 04. Wanderlust 05. Us 06. Let It Go 07. Goodbye Never Felt So Bad 08. All My Broken Pieces 09. When We Were On Fire 10. Get Out While You Can 11. Pink Lemonade 12. Craving 13. Hold Back The River
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