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

A gig that changed my life - Marsheaux & OMD in Athens, 2007

It was 10 years ago today, when Marsheaux went on stage (June 1 2007 to be precise), at the Lycabettus Theatre in Athens. And within a few minutes my life was changed forever...

I had started my walk from Syntagma Square in the city centre all the way up to the top of Lycabettus hill. (There is a cable car there somewhere, but that day I didn't find it).

I arrived at the Lycabettus Theatre very early and the doors were still closed. As I was waiting outside I could hear the soundcheck. It was "Empire State Human",  originally by Human League with female vocals. "Who is singing Empire State Human now?" I thought. "In fact, Who remembers "Empire State Human" in the year 2007?" I wondered. "Marsheaux? Is that possible? We'll see"

I got inside when the doors opened and I went and sat at the back. I was not in a very good mood anyway. At some point Marsheaux came up on stage. They started with some downtempo songs of their own. (In fact it was "Hanging On" as I can now see from the video I dug out from my hard drive)

And suddenly, when the next song started, I heard a synth riff that reminded me of something. What did it remind me of? "The Promise" by When In Rome. And Marsheaux have covered that? Now? So did that mean that there were other people in Greece who remembered it? That helped my mood to start picking up, but still I could not imagine what would happen next. I heard another synth riff that reminded me of something. What? "Pure" by The Lightning Seeds! At that point I could not hold myself any longer, I got up from my seat, ran down the theatre stairs and went and stood at the first row to enjoy the rest of the concert from there.

And of course I heard "Empire State Human" and "Pop Corn" (an instrumental you must all have heard somewhere) and I started to notice their own tracks that I liked such as "I Dream Of A Disco". So, I finally found out what kind of music Marsheaux played: synth-pop. By that time I had forgotten that the reason I had gone to the Lycabettus Theatre that day was to see OMD. IInstead I discovered Marsheaux! (More on Marsheaux on that day and some of their later gigs on this post : Marsheaux Live In Athens 2007-2014).
"Thank you and have fun with OMD next" is what they told us as they came off stage. I was already at the front of the stage and I wasn't about to relinquish my position there. I noticed behind me a 44 year old guy with a 22 year old girlfriend who was telling her all about the music from the era of OMD. It already looked like it was going to be an emotional time and indeed it was as OMD came on stage. "We are old" said Andy McCluskey at some point. "We are old, too!" shouted the woman next to me. And some people were crying as they were singing along with the band.

In fact, as you will notice, most of the videos are unwatchable. Not only because of my 2007 digital camera being constantly shaken, but mainly because of audience participation. Yes, in several parts of the videos, instead of Andy's (or Paul's) vocals you will hear the words sung by the audience. "Out of tune" is too kind a phrase to describe them, but still, it shows you how enjoyable the whole experience was. (It's fun to see Andy do "the dance" on "Maid Of Orleans" though.)
As Andy said on the night, this was supposed to be the "Architecture & Morality" tour, but since it had taken them such a long time to come to Greece, they opted for a "Greatest Hits" set. And indeed all the hits were there. The title track from "Architecture & Morality" may have been playing while they came on stage, but then they launched straight into "Messages" and this was followed by "Joan Of Arc", "Maid Of Orleans", "(Forever) Live And Die", "If You Leave", "Electricity", "Sailing On The Seven Seas", even "Walking On The Milky Way". And of course "Enola Gay".

As I was slowly walking down Lycabettus Hill after the gig, I knew that I would remember this as one of the best gigs I have ever attended. And certainly one of the most emotional...