The second time I saw Marsheaux

It had already been more than a year since the OMD gig in Athens when I discovered Marsheaux and the time had finally come to see them for a second time. The gig was a free one, part of an exhibition at Technopolis called Athens Digital Week. And this time they were not the support band so I hoped they would play for a bit more time. They did, but only just. (You have to remember they had only released two albums at that time).
I arrived at Technopolis, just as the gig was starting. The synths were playing and I could see the shadows of Marianthi and Sophie as they were preparing to come on stage. 

I really enjoyed that particular gig and I took quite a few videos which were some of the first I ever posted on YouTube. Unfortunately, I managed to ruin a couple of them in the process by singing along (mainly "The Promise"). Being a YouTube newbie, I did not realize that I would be heard over the music. 

Over the years, I have taken many videos at concerts where people were singing along and I have often wondered why it was my voice only that could be heard on these early videos. And then it dawned on me: I was probably the only person that knew the full lyrics by heart. At that time I was a member of a Marsheaux fan forum on the internet and for a while I was the only Greek in there. 

I also took a few photos as well which you will notice that they are quite dark. It was indeed very dark there. There were no stage lights and in fact the only light was coming from the projection screen at the back of the stage. And as I was sitting at the very first row I didn't think it was proper to use a flash. Apart from stage lights there were other things missing on that night: changing rooms. As a result of that, Marsheaux, whose stage outfits are usually quite spectacular, performed wearing their everyday clothes.

The main reason however that this particular gig was special for me was that I met Marsheaux (as well as Nick and George from UNDO Records and Fotonovela) after it had finished and took a couple of photos with them.
I would have to wait three more years to see them again, playing support to Thirty Seconds To Mars.

The best of Jethro Tull performed by Ian Anderson

Six years after seeing Jethro Tull live I had the chance of seeing Ian Anderson again, this time as a solo artist, accompanied by session musicians, but mostly playing the band's songs, as the event's title "The Best Of Jethro Tull Performed By Ian Anderson" informed us. I had been to another gig the night before, but I was adamant I was also going to go to this one. You see, when I saw him with Jethro Tull at Terra Vibe I went because I had wanted for years to see "that band featuring the only frontman in rock whose trademark instrument was the flute". But, more importantly, on that day 6 years ago, a certain period of my personal life was ending. In the autumn of this year however, a new period was just beginning. So, I thought, what better way was there to welcome this new era in the same way I had said goodbye to that old one: With Ian Anderson and the music of Jethro Tull!

As I entered Technopolis, the first thing that caught my attention was the restaurant high up in the air that has become a semi-permanent feature there in the last few years.

I then went in search of my seat. Yes, there were also seats this time around, so I chose a seating ticket and I've read elsewhere that the artist himself requested them. It is also possible that it was he who requested that photographs and videos were not allowed. I remember back in Terra Vibe how relieved he was when the photographers had finished taking photos and had moved away from the front of the stage. 

This is the reason why there is a lot to be desired concerning the quality of the videos featured here and that's why I decided to make a video of my audio recording of "Think As A Brick" superimposed with a photo of Ian in his classic posture. 

That rule was not strictly enforced but instead politely requested by the event personnel. There was only one incident of a person being removed from the venue but that was not because he was taking photographs (he was), but due to the fact that he was not just rude, but downright insulting to the people working there that night. Aside from that, the average age of the people in the audience was relatively high to put it mildly, but that is something that is probably expected of Jethro Tull fans.

The structure of the setlist was quite similar to the one in Terra Vibe ("Nothing Is Easy" at the beginning, "Thick As A Brick" relatively early in it, "Aqualung" and "Locomotive Breath" at the end. 

All this featuring stories (with strong English undertones) ranging from the 70's all the way back to the era of Henry VIII. In fact they even played a song fron that era. There were even some new songs played. I particurarly enjoyed "Banker Bets, Banker Wins" from "Thick As A Brick II" but I wasn't too keen on "Fruits On Frankenfield" (as far as music was concerned, because its lyrical content was particurarly interesting and valid in the world we currently live in)

As the concert was ending with "Aqualung" I decided to ignore the "no photos and videos" rule. 

By then nobody really minded. Especially during the encore with "Locomotive Breath" when that rule was completely forgotten, people were off their seats taking photos and videos and even some headbanging took place! And Ian didn't seem to mind.

The show was over before 11 with some Benny Hill music coming out of the speakers.

A friend of mine who was at the concert with me, told me that seeing Jethro Tull, or at least Ian Anderson was something that was on her bucket list. For me it was an experience that had already been fulfilled once, but did not mind dipping into it a second time as an added bonus...

SETLIST:
01. Living In The Past
02. Nothing Is Easy
03. Thick As A Brick
04. Pastime With Good Company
05. Sweet Dream
06. Mother Goose
07. Bouree
08. Banker Bets, Banker Wins
09. Songs From The Wood
10. Fruits Of Frankenfield
11. Dharma For One
12. Farm On The Freeway
13. My God
14. Aqualung
ENCORE
15. Locomotive Breath

Beth Hart @ Technopolis on default day

Let's turn back the clock about 15 years. I used to make a lot of compilations using my CD recorder (like I did with my tape recorder before that). Having just visited the States I had already compiled one CD called "The New York Collection". Now I was compiling "The LA Collection". I had already picked several songs from my collection that had some connection to Los Angeles and Southern California in general. But there was space on the CD for one more song. So I searched the internet with the keywords LA + Song and it brought up Beth Hart's "LA Song". When I listened to it while paying attention to the lyrics I knew that it was the perfect closing track for my CD.

15 years later Beth Hart was coming to Athens. And she was not playing on just any day, but on that particular day that Greece was going to default on its payment to the IMF. Having come to the conclusion that I could not keep worrying about something the outcome of which I could not control, I chose to enjoy that "last day" with something which would make me feel good, lift my spirits and make my life worthwhile: music. Faced with a choice between Christine Lagarde or Beth Hart, I chose the latter.
It already was an overcast day when I arrived at Technopolis and it soon started raining while we were waiting for Beth to come on stage. It was also raining at Technopolis last year but unlike En Lefko Festival where it rained between Hooverphonic and Simple Minds (and then again after Simple Minds) this time it was raining during the gig and we had nowhere to go. Thankfully, the couple standing next to me gave me an extra umbrella and I managed to get through Beth's set without getting (too) wet.

Needless to say, Beth compensated us for all our troubles. And even though she didn't play "LA Song" (which was apparently scheduled to be the last song in the setlist according to the photo posted on her Facebook page two days later) I did not care one little bit. In fact I choose "Better Than Home" as my personal compensation for not playing "LA Song" which is also a ballad, but other songs in the setlist prove that she "rocks" as well (Especially the cover of "Whole Lotta Love".

The rain had already stopped by the time the gig was over and I went home feeling good and not caring one little bit about politics or economics on a day which for most Greek people was full of stress and worry for precisely those things. Because I, in the end, will always choose music.
We did manage to highlight Greece's problem in a gig abroad two weeks later. And the results exceeded even our wildest expectations. But that's coming up on my next post.
To paraphrase Beth: "Man, I gotta get out of this country..."

SETLIST:
01. Tell Her You Belong to Me
02. Can't Let Go (Randy Weeks cover)
03. Prisoner of Love
04. Bang Bang Boom Boom
05. One Eyed Chicken
06. I'll Take Care of You (Bobby “Blue” Bland cover)
07. Something's Got a Hold on Me (Etta James cover)
08. Delicious Surprise
09. Might As Well Smile
10. Leave the Light On
11. Better Than Home
12. Hiding Under Water
13. Trouble
14. Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin cover)
Encore:
15. The Mood That I'm In
16. Sister Heroine
17. I'd Rather Go Blind (Etta James cover)
Encore 2:
18. As Long as I Have a Song
19. Spirit of God

One (festival) for the road

On June 21st I was flying to Rome to see The Rolling Stones. En Lefko Festival was announced in Athens for that very same weekend, the 20th and the 21st featuring among others The Simple Minds, who I would like to see (again). I was lucky because they were chosen as headliners on Friday which meant that I could go see them and catch my flight the next day. I was even luckier because the other band that I wanted to see, Hooverphonic were billed to play just before them.

So, I arrived at Technopolis, just as Hooverphonic were beginning their set, and after some problems with my ticket (which looked more like a receipt) I got in.

(Apparently, the scanner could not read the barcode, but that's to be expected when they print the tickets on cash till paper where the ink gradually fades away - duh!)

Hooverphonic first came to my attention around 2002-2003 with "Sometimes" and continued later on with the "More Sweet Music / No More Sweet Music" package. For most Greeks they are famous for "Mad About You" though.

They played songs from the whole of their career, and they did play "Sometimes". The last song in an acoustic version.

Now, it was June, the beginning of summer and my last gig was surprisingly at an indoor venue. This one was outdoors, but, after the Hooverphonic set was over, it started raining.

We took shelter away from the stage and started worrying if this was going to affect the Simple Minds set which we were all waiting for, but thankfully it stopped just before they came onstage. (And yes, the first thing Jim Kerr said to us when he appeared was "show me your hands". Typical.)

I had seen them before, again in Athens back in 2006. This time there was more of their early stuff ("Love Song", "I Travel"), stuff that they had disowned when they became famous ("Don't listen to our early albums" Jim Kerr apparently said to Chrissie Hynde, his wife at the time). Suprisingly enough it was these "early" albums that they were promoting a few years ago on their 5x5 tour.

But the problem was that there was also quite a few of their later stuff when just as they became famous they decided to go "epic" ("See The Lights", "She's A River").

But of course there was also stuff from when they were famous AND making great pop songs ("Don't You Forget About Me", "Alive & Kicking", "Sanctify Yourself").

And they saved the best for last: my favourite, "New Gold Dream", a song that should have been a single but it wasn't and was my favourite song in late 1982 / early 1983.

So that was the last song of the second and last encore. We were now ready to go home (and in my case to the airport). But then it started raining again. Hard.

We took cover for quite a while, even visited the dance stage which was indoors.

Finally it stopped. Thankfully, because the next day was going to be a long one...

Simple Minds setlist:

        01. Waterfront
        02. Broken Glass Park
        03. Love Song
        04. Hypnotised
        05. Imagination
        06. I Travel
        07. Blindfolded
        08. Dancing Barefoot
              (Patti Smith Group cover)
        09. Dolphins
        10. She's a River
        11. Someone Somewhere in Summertime
        12. See the Lights
        13. Don't You (Forget About Me)
        Encore:
        14. Big Music
        15. Alive and Kicking
        Encore 2:
        16. Sanctify Yourself
        17. New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)

Marsheaux Live In Athens 2007-2014

Before we begin, let's go back in time a little bit. As far back as 1988 in fact. Around Christmas. When MTV Europe had first started broadcasting - terrestrially - in Greece. One of the first music videos I watched when I tuned in was "The Promise" by When In Rome.

I really liked the song, but in Britain, where I was studying, it did not exactly set the charts alight. I managed to find it as a 7 inch single in the bargain bin of a record shop for 50p.

A few months later, in the summer of 1989, I noticed another great music video on Sky One which was also being transmitted in Greece: "Pure" by The Lightning Seeds. When I went back to Britain in the autumn I bought the 7 inch single as well. Again, from the bargain bin.

The years went by and we finally reached 2007. These two songs were still among my favourites and I thought I was the only person in Greece who remembered them. During that winter however I saw this commercial on TV:

Apparently somebody had covered my beloved "Pure". But who could it (they, actually) be?

I had already heard of Marsheaux since 2003. It was the time when Kylie Minogue had released "Slow" and as I read on Nitro magazine, Marsheaux was a Greek band comprised of two girls, Marianthi and Sophie (that's where their name came from (Mar[ianthi] + S[h]o[phie] = Marsheaux - geddit?) who were also known abroad, enough known so that they were commissioned to remix that particular track. Judging from that article, I could not understand what kind of music they were playing, but since they were doing remixes, I assumed that they played dance music (what we would now call EDM).  During that time their first album (E-Bay Queen) was released, but I didn't happen to listen or read anything more.

I heard about them again in 2006, when the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Athens. The Greek Public Television broadcaster (ERT) commissioned various new Greek artists to cover older Greek Eurovision entries. Thiese covers were collected in an album called "Eurorevisions". On this album, Marsheaux covered our 1996 entry "Emeis Forame To Heimona Anixiatika" (tranlslates as "We Wear Spring Clothes During The Winter") originally performed by Marianna Efstratiou. I heard the song, I saw them performing it on TV, but I did not think it was representative of their style. And then I forgot about them again.

Until the BIG DAY came, Friday the 1st of June 2007. That was the day when  OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark) were performing in Athens. You know OMD, those who had a big synth-pop hit in the 80's with Enola Gay. And if you don't know Enola Gay, you may know Electricity (In fact I happen to know some hardcore rock fans who claim they don't like synth-pop, but give it all on the dancefloor whe this song is played at parties). So, Marsheux were supporting OMD that day. Many years before that an OMD concert in Athens was cancelled, so I was determined I was not going to miss them this time. 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 opene 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.

And suddenly, when the next song started, I heard a synth riff that reminded me of something. What dit 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! So it was Marsheaux who covered it and it was used on that TV spot! 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. I went to see OMD and instead I discovered Marsheaux!

The next day I logged on to the internet to learn more about them and to order their CD's.  (their first, "E-Bay Queen" and their second "Peek-A-Boo" which had come out some time before). I ordered them and waited for them to arrive so that I could rip them onto my MP3 player and listen to them during my summer holidays. Of course, thanks to the Greek Postal Service, they arrived after I had come back from my holidays, but there you go.

Just a bit after new year's day 2008, I learned that they started their own (now defunct) internet forum. Through it I found that there were Marsheaux fans all over the world. From Scotland, England, Sweden, Germany, France, even USA - there was a fan from Tampa, Florida, where I used to work in the year 2000!) . And I think I was the only Greek in there! From that forum I also learned that there was still a synth pop scene and about new bands like Parralox, Little Boots and La Roux. And in order for you to get an idea of how well known Marsheaux are outside Greece I will tell you this: When some friends of mine had gone to  Barcelona for a Bruce Springsteen concert in 2008, they sat in a fast-food restaurant to eat and suddenly Marsheaux started blasting through the speakers! And Recently, I found out that there are also fans in Peru.

Around that time when the forum was started, they announced the release of a vinyl-only 7" single "Ghost" (the cover of which glows in the dark!

My second Marsheaux gig was a free one during an event called "Athens Digital Week" on October 18 2008. A little while after that they supported  Roisin Murphy when she played in Athens (but I was abroad)

In 2009 they released their 3rd album, "Lumineux Noir", which contained no cover versions. A very smart move, because otherwise they might have been accused that their success was based on their covers, meaning songs that people are already familiar with. I'll admit it myself that my interest was sparked with their "Pure" and "Promise" covers, but I became a fan when I heard their own songs like "I Dream Of A Disco", "Computer Love", and "Summer" among others. Therefore "Lumineux Noir" stands on its own merit and with no outside help. And according to many fans (myself included), it's their best album ever.

In November 2009 they played an important gig at London club La Scala with Mikro. That was surely a major feat for two Greek Bands. They have since played London again at Ballyhoo club as part of The Electricity Club's TEC002 with Fotonovela (Nick and George, their producers and additional live musicians)

And now we come to my third Marsheaux gig. On July 6 2011 in Athens, they supported 30 Seconds To Mars, and it was Jared Leto himself who asked for them to play.

I don't have a complete file of their gigs, but I suspect that this is the biggest audience they ever played in Greece (They have however performed on big festivals abroad, like Exit in Serbia). It was the first time I heard songs from their 3rd album live (I also heard "Can You Stop Me" which would end up on their 4th) and I was probably the only person who bought a Front-Of-Stage ticket to see the support band from up close (I also saw 30 Seconds To Mars from the FOS section, but from further back).

Since then they have released a 4th album ("Inhale", also out on vinyl in different colours from Canadian label Storming The Base), a rarities album ("E-Bay Queen Is Dead") and a best of compilation ("Odyssey" from Les Disques Du Crepuscule label).

And this brings us to my 4th Marsheaux gig, last February at the Death Disco club in Athens. Apparently this was their first own gig in Greece where they did not share the bill with other bands)

 

 

Setlist:
01. Sorrow (Intro)
02. Self Control (Intro)
03. Exit
04. To The End
05. Hanging On
06. Summer
07. Can You Stop Me?
08. Dream Of A Disco
09. Come On Now
10. Radial Emotion
11. Empire State Human
12. Computer Love
13. Secret Place
14. Alone
15. Tonight
16. Breakthrough
17. Popcorn
18. Inhale
Encore:
19. So Far
20. Promise
21. Dream Of A Disco
Encore 2:
22. Inhale

But it seems they were keen on spoiling us this year, because two weeks after that I went to my 5th gig at the Saristra In Athens festival!

Finally, apart from their live gigs, another important Marsheaux experience are their dj sets where you can literally dance your asses off. I have been to three so far: At Gazaki Club in 2011...

...at Sodade 2 club in 2012...

 

...and at the same club earlier this year one month before their gigs

And, as a bonus this year, this was preceded by a Fotonovela dj set at Horostasion club in January!

More about Marsheaux:
http://www.facebook.com/marsheaux
http://www.myspace.com/marsheaux
http://marsheaux.wordpress.com
http://www.undorecords.com/Marsheaux.html
"It's not 80's, it's synth-pop"