Release Athens Festival 2026 - Pet Shop Boys

 

It is a rare occasion for a band who has just played in Greece to be invited again on their next tour. What is even rarer is for such a band to be invited back on the same tour. And that's what happened with the Pet Shop Boys this year. Having played Athens on the Dreamworld Greatest Hits Tour four years ago they were invited to play again this year on the same tour. Which raised a most important question: Is it worth going to see the exact same show I watched 4 years ago? Thankfully, that wasn't an issue, for more than one reason as we'll see later.

Until a few weeks before the gig no support acts had been announced. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when it was announced that one of them was going to be Saint Etienne. I had seen them a few times in the past the first time as far back as 1999. However, they had announced that this was going to be their farewell tour so it was a good chance to see them for one last time. They were going to be the first support act so it was a rare occasion when I arrived at the festival area before fhe gates had opened. There, at the queue I met several of my friends. You see i had made several pethead friends over the years, most of whom are still here on this earth, while some are missing as the song goes.

As a result I was there at the front when Saint Etienne took the stage. Since they were the opening act, their set was quite short, but they still managed to fit in several of my favourite tunes.

After their set was over, i embarked on my usual exploration of the area, ending up, as usual at Jackaroo for a snack.

By that time Gramatik were on stage. i didn't know them and the promoters had advertised them as "an act with stunning visuals". I didn't see any of those aforementioned visuals, probably because it was still daytime and their music didn't seem to interest me in my own humble  opinion. I prefer London Grammar. So I just waited for the main act.

I had already seen their Dreamworld Blu-Ray to remind me of my own experience of the tour four years ago. Our main complaint from that gig was that we got the shortened "Festival Setlist" of the tour instead of the full one. I mean, how can you fully experience the "Dreamworld" tour without hearing "Dreamland"? Because that was one of the songs that I think was cut from the festival setlist four years ago. Would we hear it this time? One could only hope...

Before they came on stage, the Ukranian flag appeared on the big screen just as it had four years ago. And then the music started with "Suburbia" again just as it had four years ago. As the show progressed I realized that this time it was different. First of all, we got the songs from the latest album "Nonetheless", like "Dancing Star" and "A New Bohemia" tracks that weren't even on the Dreamworld Blu-Ray. And we also got "Dreamland". And of course we got "Go West" which wasn't featured on the Blu-Ray for legal reasons. And just before the end Neil confirmed it, that just as we had asked, we got the full setlist this time, not the festival one. How did he know?

So, was it worth it? (As another one of their songs goes). Yes, it was worth buying the ticket. For the full setlist, the new songs and the farewell to Saint Etienne. After all how often are you able to attend a gig from a tour called "The Greatest Hits Tour' because every song played has been a hit?

SETLISTS:

SAINT ETIENNE

01. Nothing Can Stop Us

02. Who Do You Think You Are

03. Pale Movie

04. Like A Motorway

05. Spring

06. Glad

07. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

08. Shower Scene

09. Sylvie

10. Tonight

11. He's On The Phone

12. 7 Ways To Love

PET SHOP BOYS

01. Suburbia

02. Can You Forgive Her?

03. Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)

04. Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)

05. Rent

06. I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More

07. So Hard

08. Left To My Own Devices

09. Single-Bilingual

10. Se A Vida E (That's The Way Life Is)

11. Domino Dancing

12. Dancing Star

13. New York City Boy

14. The Pop Kids

15. A New Bohemia

16. Jealousy

17. Love Comes Quickly

18. Paninaro

19. Always On My Mind

20. Dreamland

21. Heart

22. What Have I Done To Deserve This?

23. It's Alright

24. Vocal

25. Go West

26. It's A Sin

27. West End Girls

28. Being Boring

Release Athens Festival 2026 - Imiskoumbria

I had first seen Imiskoumbria, a Greek hip-hop group, 10 years ago when they were celebrating their 20th anniversary. Now, they were not only celebrating their 30th anniversary, but also the title of their first album which translates as "30 Years Of Hits". What's more they hadn't played live for 10 years, since that performance I went to. This year's concert was quickly sold out before I had a chance to buy a ticket, so they soon announced a second one. I got a ticket for the latter, but a friend of mine a few days ago offered me one of hers for the first one.

 

A couple of guest singers, who had collaborated with them over the years, appeared on stage with them (Foivos Delivorias & Evridiki), but the most important moment came when the members of Going Through (another Greek hip hop group of that era) came up on stage to pay their respect, without performing, though.

 

Food was once again provided by Jackaroo, which had created an exclusive sandwich for the festival called "The Headliner".

Finally, the funniest moment of the night was when we realized that standing behind us were the same two gitls that were standing behind us at the Supergrass concert last year and had photobombed one of our selfies.

As it stands now, I will also go to the second concert in a few days with my own ticket this timr. If they are only going to play live once every ten years, why not experience it twice? 

SETLIST;
01. Ta Imiz Einai Edo
02. Imiskoubria (Isagogi)
03. Le Ham
04. Katalavate I Na Kano Kai Kaka
05. Noris
06. Dimosio Forevah
07. O Kyris Tou Spitiou
08. ...Me Ti Mama Sou
09. O Erastis
10. Tsonta
11. Horevontas Me To Lipos
12. Greek Lover
13. Brazil - Imiz 1-0
14. Je Suis Bossu
15. To Sex
16. O Diavolos Katevike Sto Xolargo
17. To Doro Tou Kaisara
18. Katadotes
19. O Ypoklopeas
20. Pos Na Sou To Po
21. To Skliro Mp3 Tou Diskou
22. To Ipotheto
23. La Klikaria
24. Oi Laikes
25. METH Sto Volan
26. O Monahos
27. Voukoliko
28. An Isoun Allos
29. I Magiki Tsatsara
30. Pame Oloi Mazi Se Mia Paralia
31. Sti Discotheque

J2US

This month, I had the chance to watch a live TV show at the studio where it was being broadcast. The show in question was "Just The Two Of Us" or J2US as it is known over here. The original format of the show was conceived in the UK by the BBC. Sadly, I have never watched the original, it began after I had moved back to Greece from the UK and I don't know what kind of music was featured in it. You see this show, is about music. From what I have understood, celebrities are paired with vocal coaches who are usually singers themselves and they are given songs to perform. They are then judged by a committee comprised of four showbiz celebrities.

 

I do not listen to that particular kind of Greek music that is featured in the show (although on that particular night two golden oldies were featured which were among my favourites)  but I had received invitations from work and I thought that it would be an interesting and unique experience. A coach picked us up from a specific location to take us to the studio which is located in one of the venues used for the 2004 Olympic Games (I had watched table tennis matches there back in the day), and returned us to where we were picked up from after the end of the show.