Release Athens Festival X SNF Nostos 2026 - Jean Michel Jarre

I had already seen Jean Michel Jarre live 16 years ago at an indoor venue very near this year's which was an outdoor one. What I had neglected to do back then though, was to inform a very close friend of mine that I was going there. I thought he would be "too electronic" for her. You see, she is one of those rock fans who accuse me of listening to too much of "that electronic stuff". As it turned out though, she really liked him and wished she had come with me. We had to wait 16 years to rectify the situation.

Playing support was Sebastian Tellier and artist who I had first heard of through one of the first blogs I started following on Blogger, That Girl Needs Therapy. He then went on to represent France in the Eurovision Song Contest.

When his set was over, I rushed out for a brief snack (no Jackaroo at the SNFCC I'm afraid) and headed back up for the main event.

We had to wait quite a while for Jean Michel Jarre to come on stage. It seemed that he was quite late. It was worth the wait though.

Now, one of the reasons I wanted to see Jean Michel Jarre again, was that contrary to the indoor concert of 2010 this was going to be an outdoor one and I felt that this was going to be a spectacular show. Of course I didn't expect the displays he was doing at Houston and Lyon back in the 80's, but I did at least expect the lazer harp of the 2010 concert. It was nowhere to be seen however, instead there were the usual lazer displays almost everyone does these days. This didn't mean I was disappointed though, because it turned out to be a completely different show. As someone from the audience commented, comparec to the first show, this was more like a DJ set. Indeed he was playing dancier, remixed versions of some of his songs. And between tracks, his explanatory comments on the music were also translated in Greek on the screens.

He left the stage, came back for an encore, then left again leaving everybody happy.

SETLIST:

01. The Opening

02. Magnetic Fields 1

03. Sex In The Machine

04. Oxymore

05. Oxygène 2

06. Arpegiator

07. Équinoxe 7

08. The Architect

09. Zoolookologie

10. Zero Gravity (Above & Beyond Remix)

11. Industrial Révolution 2

12. Herbalizer

13. Oxygène 19

14. Exit

15. Équinoxe 4

16. Brutalism

17. Oxygène 4 (Astral Projection Remix)

18. Epica

19. Stardust

Encore:

20. Fourth Rendez-Vous

21. Magnetic Fields 2

Fatboy Slim live in Athens July 2023

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

He played at The Stavros Niarchor Foundation Cultural Center home of the Summer Nostos Festival. And what's more it was free (as the Summer Nostos Festival usually is). The support DJ set was by Hank K and what made it memorable for me was that he finished it by playing "Fired Up" by the Funky Green Dogs, one of my favourite dance tracks from more than 25 years before.

 

 

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!