As you probably know by now, I rarely go to see DJ's play live unless they are one of my favourites. So, after Tiesto in 2009 (and let's not forget Little Boots 10 years later - but that was after her live gig) it was now time for Fatboy Slim. (We could also mention here The Chemical Brothers in 2018 which was a dance music "live" gig). I wanted to see one of his sets especially after listening to his "Live On Brighton Beach" albums and watching the "Big Beach Boutique" DVD
As I was getting my beer, Fatboy Slim (aka Norman Cook) was up on stage and he started by playing "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen! What followed was two hours filled with favourite dance tracks from the past (some of which were his own) and more with a spectacular projection and light show.
The photos and videos I have posted here will give you just a taste of this amazing experience!
Two days after my first Release Athens Festival 2023 date it was time for the second. The main attraction was Siouxsie, but I was interested in several of the other bands appearing that night.
First up were In Trance 95. I had caught a glimpse of them when they had supported Alan Wilder's Recoil back in 2010. On top of that, I keep bumping into their singer Alex at various gigs all these years (The first one I remember was Still Corners back in 2013) so I thought that this time I had to see them properly.
Next up were Ladytron. I had deeply regretted not going to see them when they played a gig in Athens many years ago. I wasn't going to miss this chance and I wasn't disappointed. As you have probably guessed by now, I love female fronted synth-pop bands!
As Ladytron were finishing their set, it was time to rush to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the SNF Nostos part of the festival where Interpol were appearing. I have managed to see other guitar bands that were popular in the 10's (like The Editors) so I wanted to catch them as well.
I had originally planned to stay there until the end of their set, because I had already seen Echo & The Bunnymen twice (the first time at Hyde Park in 2009 and the second at Terra Vibe in 2014). But my friend had never seen them before, so we rushed back to Water Square arriving just as their set was beginning. One thing is for sure, they never disappoint.
And finally, it was time for Siouxsie! No longer with The Banshees, she also played Creatures songs and some of her solo ones. And yes, she played all my favourites from the 80's (Israel, Dear Prudence, Happy House, Cities In Dust) and the one from the 90's (Kiss Them For Me). Plus I got the chance of hearing The Passenger in Water Square one more time. (The previous time it was by Iggy Pop)
She did complain about the organizers asking her to come on stage later than originally planned, but what had happened was this: Several people had complained that Interpol were clashing with Echo & The Bunnymen and so they shuffled the set times a little bit although that wasn't part of the deal. The original arrangement was that the headliners at Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center (Interpol) would not clash with the headliner at Water Square (Siouxsie). Generally the organizers of Release Festival seem to listen to their customers complaints unlike some others who once bought a field at the edge of nowhere and were constantly forcing us to go there back when they were the only ones bringing in the big names...
SETLISTS: IN TRANCE 95 01. Shapes In A New Geometry 02. Wave (Are We Alone) 03. No Exceptions 04. 21st C.E.T. 05. Brazilia 06. Desire To Desire 07. The Move
LADYTRON 01. Ghosts 02. City of Angels 03. Deadzone 04. True Mathematics 05. The Animals 06. International Dateline 07. The Island 08. Paper Highways 09. Fighting in Built Up Areas 10. Faces 11. Discotraxx 12. Playgirl 13. Seventeen 14. Ace of Hz 15. Destroy Everything You Touch
INTERPOL 01. Toni 02. Obstacle 1 03. If You Really Love Nothing 04. Narc 05. Length of Love 06. Fables 07. Evil 08. Pioneer to the Falls 09. C'mere 10. Rest My Chemistry 11. Not Even Jail 12. Lights 13. Roland 14. No I in Threesome 15. The New 16. PDA 17. Leif Erikson 18. Slow Hands
ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN 01. Going Up 02. All that jazz / Show of Strength 03. Rescue 04. Flowers 05. Bring On the Dancing Horses 06. All My Colours (Zimbo) 07. Seven Seas 08. Nothing Lasts Forever / Walk on the Wild Side 09. Over the Wall 10. Bedbugs and Ballyhoo 11. Never Stop 12. The Killing Moon 13. Lips Like Sugar 14. The Cutter
SIOUXSIE 01. Night Shift 02. Arabian Knights 03. Here Comes That Day 04. Kiss Them for Me 05. Dear Prudence 06. Face to Face 07. Loveless 08. Land's End 09. Cities in Dust 10. But Not Them 11. Sin in My Heart 12. Christine 13. Happy House 14. Into a Swan Encore: 15. Israel 16. The Passenger Encore 2: 17. Spellbound
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
Summer Nostos Festival is an annual week-long festival organized by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation at its wonderful Cultural Centre which also houses the Greek National Opera and the Greek National Library. There's so much more going on apart from concerts such as dance performances, art exhibitions, theatre, sports events and activities for families and children.
Last year I attended because I wanted to see Stereo Nova, Greece's most famous “techno” band from the 90's. This year I went in order to see the legendary and fabulous Neneh Cherry.
Not only is the festival free, but the center provides its own mini buses taking you to and from the nearest metro stations. We had arrived much earlier, so we had a chance to have a glimpse at Balthazar, the band playing before Neneh Cherry at another area of the festival grounds.
After that we walked straight on to the stage where Neneh Cherry would be appearing. She was right on time and one of the first songs she performed was “Manchild”. She continued both with songs from her latest albums and old favourites. My only complaint lies with “7 Seconds” and it is that the male voice was pre-recorded. She couldn't bring Youssou'N'Dour along with her of course, but I'm sure she could have added a decent backing singer to her band who would be up to the task. Her own performance was nevertheless wonderful.
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