Mr. Highway Band and The Big Nose Attack together at the 6th Music Highway Festival

I first went to the Music Highway Festival two years ago to see Dustbowl play their own stuff (instead of The Johnny Cash Tribute) and Penny Dreadful who had played after The Western Ramblers back in 2013. That's when I was introduced to the music of the headliners Mr. Highway Band and got hooked ever since. I went again this year because I always wanted to see them at the same festival with The Big Nose Attack. (I had seen both bands on the same night before at The Big Nose Attack gig at Gagarin last year).
The opening band was Drunken Gramophone which was a new discovery for me. Two years ago I had been introduced to 4LT. whose members (well, at least a couple of them) I spotted in the audience this year.

Then it was the turn of The Big Nose Attack launching directly into Yeah! (That Girl) and playing songs from all three of their albums including the obligatory "Foxy Lady" and "Wild Cherry"

Finally, Mr. Highway Band came on. On the first part of their set they presented their new, third album "The Rebel Artist" for the first time in Athens (I distinctly remember "At The End Day" from the 2015 festival). This presentation featured many special guests the most impressive of which had to be singer Georgia Poutous. 

Then it was on to the second part featuring songs from their previous albums including "Story Of My Life" and "Revolution". The highlight of the night had to be the moment when the singer picked up a girl to dance with him on stage so that her boyfriend could come up and propose to her!

It was over by 1:30 am but I had time to stock up on CD's and badges from the merchandise stand...

The Big Nose Attack 69 Release Party

Finally, after last week's teaser, the day came. The day when The Big Nose Attack took over Gagarin. On their own. Well, not completely on their own, but with a little help from their friends, 7-Odds and Mr. Highway Band. But they were headlining. And all this after last summer's appearance at Rockwave Festival supporting The Black Keys and their triumphant return from a European and Greek tour, including a broken-down VW van. For me, it was also a chance to see Mr. Highway Band again who I discovered last year and a time to discover 7-Odds.

I checked in at Gagarin a few minutes after the doors opened. I did not want to miss any of the bands but I also wanted to get my hands on some Big Nose merchandise. My first BNA t-shirt, but most importantly, a copy of the new album, 69, on orange vinyl.

Mission accomplished, I was inside and on the first row waiting for 7-Odds. Now, the band name looked familiar to me. I thought I might have seen them live before, but it probably seems that they were one of the early support acts in one of the gigs I had attended and I missed them. Nevertheless they were very good, their sound did fit more with The Big Nose Attack (than Mr. Highway Band who came next) and they can probably be classified as my "new discovery" from this gig, the same way I discovered Mr. Highway Band last year. Oh, and they also played the Theremin onstage. (This blog has a history of Theremin mentions).

My last year's "discovery", Mr. Highway Band were next. I discovered them at their own festival last year, bought both their albums and I also saw them accidentally once on my way home from another gig. True, their sound is a lot different from The Big Nose Attack but it was great to see two of my favourite bands on the same night. So, it was a familiar set for me, including both of my favourite songs of theirs, "Revolution" from the first album and "Story Of My Life" from the second.

Under the sounds of the Wu-Tang Clan the stars of the night came on stage. Boogieman and Little Tonnie aka The Big Nose Attack were on, starting with "A Bite To Eat"

This was followed with songs from all three albums including the "hit" from the second one "Yeah! (That Girl)" and my favourite from the new one "Not The One" which I think could match That Girl's success as, in my opinion, it's catchy enough to do that!

Other highlights included a tribute to their childhood hero David Hasselhoff (Not!) where they played a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" and an I-Don't-Know-How-Many-Minutes-Version of "Wild Cherry" with Little Tonnie giving it his all!

There was not one, but two encores. One the first one, a theremin appeared! This was on "Don't Look Back" played by their producer Panos Tsekouras.

And on the second one Boogie Man got his little red electric mandolin (or is it a ukelele?) for the final song "Drunk Whore Blues".

They left the stage under the sounds of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground". Once again, Merlin's Music Box was there which means that the whole show is now on YouTube. As for the band, their bet seems to have paid off. The ground floor of Gagarin was quite full. Next time, they'll fill the upper floor as well.

SETLISTS:

7-Odds
01. Bad Thoughts
02. People Wanna See
03. Sex Wax
04. Parking Lots
05. Fine Disaster
06. 21 Minutes
07. Dusty Roads.
08. Alley Walk
09. Right Ahead
10. Run To Your Mama

Mr. Highway Band
01. In The Fire Of Time
02. At The End Of The Day
03. No One Can Bring Me Down
04. I' m Gonna Give You Love
05. Story Of My Life
06. Overdose
07. Cities Walk On Fire
08. The River And The Town
09. Revolution

The Big Nose Attack
01. A Bite To Eat
02. All By Myself
03. Under Your Spell
04. Yeah! (That Girl)
05. Grunting And Panting
06. Monday Morning Spaghetti
07. 50 Shades Of Shame
08. Let The Love Shine
09. Not The One
10. Adam And Eve
11. Left Alone
12. Foxy Lady
13. Special Sauce Called Love
14. Drunk And Gibberish
15. Wild Cherry
Encore:
16. Don't Look Back
17. Down With Me
Encore 2:
18. Drunk Whore Blues

FULL SHOW by MERLIN'S MUSIC BOX:
7-Odds
Mr. Highway Band
The Big Nose Attack

Live in Athens, April 2015

April 18, 2015

April 24, 2015

After the Leon Of Athens gig @ Gazarte (details on my next post), I stumbled upon Mr. Highway Band playing next door @ 45 Moires and seized the opportunity to get in and buy their first CD, which I didn't get a few weeks before at the 4th Music Highway Festival

Dustbowl (and more) @ the 4th Music Highway Festival

Having already seen Dustbowl on their Johnny Cash Tribute Show I wanted to see them again, playing their own songs this time. The 4th Music Highway Festival last March was a perfect opportunity for that. Little did I know that I would discover 2 other bands as well, 4LT and the hosts Mr. Highway Band. (Penny Dreadful I already knew from their gig with The Western Ramblers. That was not the only connection with that band. One of the guitarists from Dustbowl and the drummer from Mr. Highway have also played with them in the past).

First off, starting as I was getting into the venue were 4LT. The first thing I did though was go to the merchandise stand to pick up the Penny Dreadful album which I've wanted for a long time. Then I was able to sit back and enjoy 4LT. A bit on the hard rock side, but they sounded good to me. So much so that I started thinking of going back to the stand in order to get their EP.

Next up were Penny Dreadful, the band whose sound is much closer to Dustbowl who I had come to see. It was nice to be able to watch them play probably a fuller set than the last time and give them my full attention.

 

Then it was time for Dustbowl themselves starting off with their latest single "Suicide Avenue". 

They played their own songs (what I really wanted to hear on the night), including some from their forthcoming album "The Great Fandango". Plus some great Rolling Stones and Clash covers.

While waiting for the hosts, Mr. Highway Band, to appear, it was back to the merchandise stand for me. Now, I already had all the Dustbowl CD's and the Penny Dreadful one I had bought earlier. So I got the 4LT. EP and I thought I should get something from Mr. Highway Band, they were the hosts after all, right?. They had two albums for sale, prices were good, but I didn't want to spend too much money, so I got their latest one "Story Of My Life". The funny thing was that at that particular moment the stand was manned by the Penny Dreadful singer. I hope he wasn't disappointed to see me buying almost everything except his own band's CD!

Finally, it was time for the hosts, Mr. Highway Band. They played a full 2-hour set. And although it was already late and people started leaving (I was tired myself and with an injured knee), I stayed until the end. I particurarly noted how catchy the title track from their latest album was and I liked them so much I regretted not buying their first album as well. Within a month though, I stumbled upon them playing at a bar, on my way home after another gig and I bought it then!

Well into the morning hours (it was the night we changed to daylight savings time), I left Kyttaro Club carrying several new CD's and thinking that I will probably be attending this particular festival next year...

As an added bonus, the guy who filmed the Blues Pills gig was also there that night and once again he filmed the whole show. So, sit back and enjoy!