Mikro live in Athens December 2024

Just as I thought that I was done with live concerts for 2024, and especially open air ones, a nice freebie presented itself to me on last year's Boxing Day. The municipality of Athens had organized "Christmas In Athens", a series of free concerts for Christmas in Syntagma Square, the city's central point. One of the bands taking part was Mikro who have recently made a comeback. As part of this comeback I had seen them at Release Athens Festival in 2023 for a (very) short set. This, however, was going to be a full set and what's more, it was going to be free!

 

 

 

 

 

Just as I got out of the metro and reached the stage (I made sure I was in the first row), the concert started. And along with the concert, the rain started as well. But neither that, nor Nick's accidental fall from the stage kept us from having fun as Mikro took us back to what was then the future. Nice to see they still play the Electro Medley they used to play all those years ago... And they even threw in a Moby cover for good measure!

Release Athens Festival 2023 - OMD, Mikro, Tash Sultana & Royksopp

I'm back! My first concert since last September's Belle And Sebastian and my first outdoor one since, well, Release Athens Festival 2022 (with Liam Gallagher & Iggy Pop).

Yes, I know, Royksopp were the headliners, but I really went for OMD. It was the second time I saw them and the first one since that legendary gig with Marsheaux at the Lycabettus Theatre 16 years ago. Finally Mikro were added to the bill who hadn't played live for, I think 8 years.

So, what we did was go just as the doors were opening in order to catch Mikro. A very short set, but it was nice to see them after all these years.

 

Then, it was time for OMD. They started the set with "Isotype" from their latest album and then went all the way back to "Electricity". Their set was quite long despite their being 3rd on the bill so that meant that we got to hear all our favourites. "(Forever) Live And Die", "Joan Of Arc", "Maid Of Orleans" (during which Andy still does "The Dance"), "Locomotion", "Souvenir", and even "Sailing On The Seven Seas". The crowd really enjoyed "If You Leave" from the Pretty In Pink movie, having grown up perhaps with Molly Ringwald (who was shown on the projection screen) and the rest of The Brat Pack thus making Andy ask them if there were any American tourists in the audience. But my highlight had to be the one song I hadn't heard at their previous gig in 2007, simply because it didn't exist back then: "History Of Modern (Part I)". The only notable absence for me was "Don't Go". This was their only new song from their latest best of compilation, but it is an exceptional song. They finished of course with none other than "Enola Gay".

 

 

Let me just mention here that this wasn't simply Release Athens Festival. It was combined with Summer Nostos Festival to create what was called "Release Athens Festival X SNF Nostos". Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center is next to Water Square and the two sites are connected by a footbridge. So after OMD finished their set we headed over there to catch one of the acts performing at the other site.

We were in for a great surprise: Tash Sultana was the headliner on the other side and she's an amazing performer.

 

We stayed there for a few of her songs and then headed back where M83 were performing their last two songs.

 

Then it was time for Royksopp, the headliners. As much as I like their dance sound which gave us the feeling of a summer open air club, there were a disappointment, simply because theirs was not a gig, but a DJ set. They usually bring a singer on their gigs abroad, but here everything was pre-recorded and they only brought a group of dancers whose routines left much to be desired.

It could have been so much better... We would be back though in two days for Siouxsie!

SETLISTS:
MIKRO
01. Se Trohia
02. Netrino
03. Apogionomai
04. Gefyra
05. I Seira Sou
06. Ayti I Poli

OMD
01. Isotype
02. Electricity
03. Messages
04. History Of Modern (Part I)
05. (Forever) Live And Die
06. If You Leave
07. Souvenir
08. Joan Of Arc
09. Maid Of Orleans
10. Talking Loud And Clear
11. Atomic Ranch
12. Locomotion
13. Sailing On The Seven Seas
14. Enola Gay

ROYKSOPP
01. Impossible
02. Suite For A Robotic Girl
03. Here She Comes Again
04. Monument
05. Feel It
06. Breathe
07. You Don't Have A Clue
08. Running To The Sea
09. What Else Is There?
10. Sordid Affair
11. Do It Again
12. Like An Old Dog

Mikro live in Athens October 2010

We had a wonderful night out on a Thursday night, courtesy of Mikro, back in 2010 at Jasmin Rock Club which, by the end of the night, had turned into Jasmin "Electro" Club.  Although not a lot of people had come at first, Jasmin was gradually filled to capacity (amazing considering it was a weeknight) and Mikro came on the stage at around 10 to midnight and played for almost two and a half hours. They played some songs that were new at the time from Upload/Download (depends on which version you have) and several older favourites. On top of that, there were three amazing covers, Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode with Nik on vocals, plus I Feel Love by Donna Summer and Sexy Boy by Air with Ria. And there was also an amazing electro medley. 

 

Nik's inexhaustible energy moved the crowd who were dancing non-stop during the second part of the night. At some point we got confused when we thought that he was texting through his mobile while he was singing. What he was in fact doing was programming his vocoder. They finished their set with "My Friends" the end of which was mashed up with samples from Prodigy, Killers, Fatboy Slim and Underworld among others...

I had been aware of Mikro for a long time, and had in fact seen them live in 2007 at Fly Beeyond Festival where they appeared purely by chance at the last minute, since another band had withdrawn from the line-up. I had already discovered Marsheaux, an electro-pop duo, who come, as do Mikro, from Salonica and were also part of the roster of independent record company UNDO Records. Mikro and Marsheaux had appeared together in November of the previous year (2009) at London's La Scala club as part of an electro-pop night, with other British electro bands. 

Fly Beeyond Festival 2007

In the last of my "10 years ago" series for 2007, I want to take a look back at what was promised as Greece's first pop music festival on July 17, 18 and 19 but didn't turn out as good as it looked on paper.

First of all, I wanted to attend day 2 (like everybody else), not only because the newly reformed James were headlining but also because of Tori Amos whose fan I had been since 1992 and I had wanted to see her live ever since. And I knew I would probably enjoy seeing Air whose "Kelly Watch The Stars" was a song I really liked when I discovered it a few years earlier on a British TV feature on "Charlie's Angels" (Did you know that it was actually written for Kelly from that series?). Then I looked at the line up of day 3 and although I didn't care much for Pink who was headlining I thought that I would love to see Sugababes. I wasn't a fan, but I had noticed that I actually loved most of their singles. So it was going to be day 2 and 3 I thought. But because a 2 day ticket was cheaper that two one day ones and a 3 day ticket was cheaper than 3 one day ones, I thought "why not see the whole thing?". I wouldn't mind seeing Avril Lavigne who was headlining the first day.

When I arrived on the first day, Mikro were on stage who had replaced The Rasmus at the last moment. I was really happy about that, since I had already seen Marsheaux a few weeks earlier. They put on a great show and one unforgettable moment was when the teen (and probably pre-teen as well) girl fans were chanting "Avril, Avril..." the lead singer responded by saying "Later! Now it's MIKRO!!!"

Avril Lavigne did indeed appear later and did not disppoint. What I mostly enjoyed about her set was her cover of "All The Small Things" by Blink 182 at the end.

On day 2 I was there early to catch Tori Amos. I love her set, but most people ignored her. 

Then I decided to get a drink before Air came up and got stuck in a long queue for about 90 minutes. I watched the beginning of Air's set from the bar queue, but I was back in my place (with alcohol included) in time for "Kelly Watch The Stars".

Finally James came on, the highlight of the festival. We were all singing along and dancing with "Sit Down", "Tomorrow", "Laid" and "Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)". They also played one of their new songs plus a special extended version of "Gold Mother". "This is not a reunion, it's a rebirth" as Tim Booth said...

On day 3 I knew something was wrong from the beginning when Onirama's set lasted for 90 minutes. They even said goodbye and then came back. They were playing one of their own songs and then a cover. Then one of their songs and then a cover. And so on...

Sugababes were late and when they appeared only 2 of them came up on stage. And then they left after 20 minutes! Considering that the ticket for day 3 was refunded it was still an enjoyable 20 minutes, plenty of time for them to realize that the (very few) people attending knew the lyrics to their songs.

After they left it was announced that Pink would not appear because she was stuck back at the hotel with "stomach problems". Oh well... As I said the price of the day 3 ticket was refunded, I got my 20 minutes of Sugababes so I can't really complain. Rumours were going arould that Pink (and probably the 3rd Sugababe) did not appear because of the fact that only a few people bothered to attend. (There weren't many people on the first day either, but Avril, a true professional, went out and performed anyway).

What we learned from the whole experience was something that we suspected: That Greeks do not go to pop concerts. They would sell out the Olympic Stadium the following year for Madonna, but that is of course another story...

Mikro @ Jasmin Rock Club

Μια πολύ ωραία βραδιά μας χάρισαν οι Mikro τη Πέμπτη το βράδυ στο Jasmin Rock Club που μέχρι το τέλος της βραδιάς είχε μετατραπεί σε Jasmin "Electro" Club.

Παρόλο που η προσέλευση του κόσμου στην αρχή ήταν αραιή, τελικά το Jasmin γέμισε (καταπληκτικό αν σκεφτεί κανείς ότι ήταν καθημερινή) και οι Mikro εμφανίστηκαν στη σκηνή γύρω στις 12 παρά 10 και έπαιξαν για δυόμιση περίπου ώρες.
Έπαιξαν κάποια καινούργια κομμάτια από το Upload/Download (εξαρτάται ποια έκδοση έχετε) και ένα σωρό παλιότερα favourites. Επίσης, δύο εντυπωσιακές διασκευές, το Enjoy The Silence των Depeche Mode με τον Nik στα φωνητικά, το I Feel Love της Donna Summer και το Sexy Boy με την Ria. Συν ένα καταπληκτικό electro medley.

Η αστείρευτη ενέργεια του Nik ξεσήκωσε τον κόσμο που χόρευε ασταμάτητα στο δεύτερο μισό της βραδιάς (ειδικά στο "Η Σειρά Σου"). Σε κάποια στιγμή μπερδευτήκαμε όταν νομίσαμε ότι έστελνε μυνήματα από το κινητο την ώρα που τραγουδούσε. Αυτό που στην πραγματικότητα έκανε ήταν τα προγραμματίζει τη συσκευή που "εβγαζε" τα φωνητικά εφέ.

Έκλεισαν με το "My Friends" το τέλος του οποίου ανακατεύτηκε με samples από Prodigy, Killers, Fatboy Slim και Underworld μεταξύ άλλων...

Τους Mikro, αν και γνώριζα την ύπαρξή τους από παλιά, tους είδα live το 2007 στο Fly Beeyond Festival όπου εμφανίστηκαν κατά τύχη, μια και είχε αποχωρήσει ένα συγκρότημα και ενώ είχα ήδη ανακαλύψει τις Marsheaux, οι οποίες παίζουν electro-pop, προέρχονται και αυτές όπως και οι Mikro από τη Θεσσαλονίκη και είναι και αυτές στην ανεξάρτητη UNDO Records. Mikro και Marsheaux εμφανίστηκαν μαζί τον περασμένο Νοέμβριο στο club La Scala του Λονδίνου σε μια electro-pop βραδιά, μαζί με άλλα Βρετανικά electro συγκροτήματα.