Saint Etienne presents ''Foxbase Athens''

Saint Etienne were back in Athens in little more than a year and a half after their last visit. Back then they presented us with the soundtrack to a movie which got some people bored and maybe that was the reason why this time Gagarin 205 Live Music Space was not full when they played their "Foxbase Alpha" album, which is 25 years old this year, in its entirety.

Support was provided by Etten, the former singer of Film and current singer of Mechanimal.

When Saint Etienne came on stage they launched into a compete performance of "Foxbase Alpha". (And I managed to catch one of the pieces of candy Sarah threw into the audience). 

After the full album performance though there was more time left for hits this time. I was very happy to see that they played "You're In A Bad Way" again.

Hearing this song live brings back memories of an incident at their 1999 Athens gig when somebody in the crowd shouted "Sarah! You're In A Bad Way!" to which Sarah promptly replied "Thank You!". Needless to say, the song wasn't played then.

Finally "Hobart Paving" provided the perfect ending to a perfect gig... 

No wait! That was not the end! The final song was "He's On The Phone" with everybody dancing. Yes!...

SETLIST:
Foxbase Alpha:
01. This Is Radio Etienne
02. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
03. Wilson
04. Carnt Sleep
05. Girl VII
06. Spring
07. She's the One
08. Stoned to Say the Least
09. Nothing Can Stop Us
10. Etienne Gonna Die
11. London Belongs to Me
12. Like the Swallow
13. Dilworth's Theme
===
14. Join Our Club
15. Who Do You Think You Are
16. Filthy
17. Sylvie
18. You're in a Bad Way
19. Tonight
Encore:
20. Hobart Paving
21. He's on the Phone
  

Saint Etienne presents ''How We Used To Live''

As we first noticed upon leaving Fuzz Club last Christmas after the Nouvelle Vague gig, Saint Etienne were due to appear in February. And we were not going to miss it.
What I realized though, before going to that particular gig, was that it was not ging to be an ordinary gig at all. Saint Etienne, on their current tour, were not just going to play the songs we know and love, but instead, they were mainly going to play live the soundtrack to the 70 minute "How We Used To Live" film composed by band member Pete Wiggs.  And although the organizers are to be congratulated on grabbong this chance to bring Saint Etienne to Athens, they did not explain  this detail to the Greek audience. The result was that many people got tired and bored during the first part of the gig which featured the band playing the soundtrack live over a complete screening of the film. I, myself, am not going to complain. I loved the fact that I got the chance to see something different, something that we do not often get the chance to see in Greece and I will not hesitate to admit that I was looking forward to seeing this film, depicting life in the UK until the beginning of the 80's, even more than I wanted to listen to the soundtrack. But I must admit, this was not what most people who came to that gig wanted to see.

Even so, at some point the "arty part" was over and it was time for the "party part" as lead singer Sarah put it. We were promised only 8 songs and we actually got 10 with the encore. And, having seen Saint Etienne again in Athens back in 1999, I was glad these 10 songs included some of my favourites that they hadn't played then like "You're In A Bad Way" and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart".

If only they had included "Pale Movie"... Oh, and like the Blues Pills singer on the last gig I went, she knew that we had recently had a general election but also that there was a change of government.
In short, a wonderful experience for me, but like everyone else in the audience I wish that the second part was a bit longer...

SETLIST:
Arty Part:
01. How We Used To Live soundtrack
Party Part:
02. Mario's Cafe
03. I've Got Your Music
04. Like A Motorway
05. Tonight
06. You're In A Bad Way
07. Nothing Can Stop Us
08. DJ
09. He's On The Phone
Encore:
10. Hobart Paving
11. Only Love Can Break Your Heart