Release Athens Festival 2022 - Pet Shop Boys & Thievery Corporation

My third Release Festival 2022 date, was one that had been announced three years before. In late 2019 we had been promised the Pet Shop Boys for the summer of 2020. That of course was postponed for the summer of 2021. That one too was also postponed, this time for this summer when it finally took place. What's important to note is that the organizers didn't refund those who had already bought their tickets, but kept their money for when the rescheduled dates would take place. Sensing that something like this was going to happen I did not buy a ticket until the very last moment ie this June. And as I have already mentioned in my last post, I combined this as a double ticket with the London Grammar date. This would be my 4th Pet Shop Boys gig, having already seen them in Birmingham in 1991 when the "Performance" video was filmed, in Athens and in Water Square again in 2013 (but this time at the Ejekt Festival, not Release) and finally in 2017 during the Brussels Summer Festival. This would also be my second Thievery Corporation gig whom I had seen at Release Festival 2018.
We arrived in time for the third act in the bill which was Konstantinos Vita. He used to be one half of Stereo Nova who I had seen in 2018 at Nostos Summer Festival. He played some of his own songs but he also treated us to some Stereo Nova tunes and all this while the sun was still shining. 

 

Meanwhile we had already started meeting some of my fellow Pet Shop Boys fans from social media (and we kept meeting more during the course of the night).
During the break between Konstantinos Vita and Thievery Corporation we took more time to explore the festival grounds, meet several of our friends who were also there and stock on food and alcohol. Yes, we once again got the free stuff (like Coca Cola Zero and that special Johnnie Walker cocktail) but we also made sure we got chips and beer. As on the previous date with London Grammar we also had our own alcohol which we managed to smuggle in (Metaxa brandy - maybe not a wise choice for a hot summer day) and we mixed that with the cokes on offer. We were literally our own bartenders! 

Meanwhile, Thievery Corporation came up on stage and having now had the chance to explore their music since the last time they were there in 2018 I was able now to enjoy my favourite songs such as "Voyage Libre". 

 

During their set I made my last foray to the bar (we were somehow close to the stage, but close to the bars as well at the same time) to get more beer. And since three separate beers were selling for the same price as the special four beer set, I got the latter. At the height of the Thievery Corporation set I managed to divide the 4th beer among three people. 

 

After that, it was time to get even closer to the stage because of what we had come for: The Pet Shop Boys! Incredibly, while we were so closely packed together, I managed to phone a fellow Pethead, and by asking her to raise her hand up in the air and wave it, I managed to locate her, get over to where she was, have a conversation and then return to my place and find my friends. Unbelievable!

As their set started the Ukrainian flag was displayed in the matrix. Because it was a festival we got the shortened version of the setlist, meaning, among other things, that we only got one song from Hotspot and that was “Dreamland” the first single. Well, they had to play that since the tour is called “Dreamworld – The Greatest Hits Tour”. But, then again, it was the second part of the tour’s name that made it so enjoyable: “Greatest Hits”. And that’s what we got. However, I do like several tracks off that last album, my favourite two being the melancholic “Burning The Heather” and “I Don’t Wanna Go Out” which became my personal anthem during the lockdown.

 

 

 

All in all, it was simply brilliant! And amazing! Pet Shop Boys do know what we want and keep giving us more and more...

Finally, upon leaving the venue, after a very long time, I succumbed to temptation and bought some of the "dirty" food that was being sold outside. 

SETLIST:
01. Suburbia
02. Can You Forgive Her?
03. Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)
04. Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
05. Rent
06. I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More
07. So Hard
08. Left To My Own Devices
09. Domino Dancing
10. Love Comes Quickly
11. Losing My Mind
12. Always On My Mind
13. Dreamland
14. Heart
15. It's Alright
16. Vocal
17. Go West
18. It's A Sin
Encore:
19. West End Girls
20. Being Boring

Release Festival 2018 - Day 2 - Thievery Corporation & UB40 Featuring Ali, Astro And Mickey

For the second consecutive day I headed to Water Square for Release Festival. I went straight after work with the intention of catching UB40 which was the main reason that I was attending Day 2. My goal was to reach the venue by 9pm, when UB40 were set to appear. And I made it! I got in just as UB40 were launching into "Here I Am (Come And Take Me)". 

Now before I talk any further about the gig I have to explain what I mean by "UB40". There are actually 2 bands going by the name of UB40 at the moment. One of them is called just "UB40" and features Robin Campbell, one of the original members. However, original lead singer Ali Campbell (Robin's brother) has been replaced by Duncan Campbell (his other brother). Confused? You will be! The other band goes by the name of "UB40 Featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey" and it's this one that features original singer Ali Campbell (hence the name). As you can understand there has been a falling-out between the two brothers in the original band. 

All in all I can say that I'm glad that it was this, the latter version of UB40 I got to see live, because it features the original voices I have associated with UB40 all these years, Ali & Astro.

I planned this to be a more relaxing day compared to the first one, so I sat further back from, but in full view of the stage.

And the hits not only kept on coming, but we were also treated to songs from this band's new album "A Real Labour Of Love" which proved to be quite successful!

Next up, were the headliners of Day 2, Thievery Corporation. They are popular among the Greek concert going crowd since they have already played live in Greece a few times.

They are known for mixing together different styles of music and that's exactly what they did singing in different languages and using several singers. In fact, while listening to their latest album I discovered that they have sampled "Enola Gay" by OMD on one of its tracks ("Voyage Libre").

By this time however, the tiredness of the last couple of days was beginning to creep in (which I suspect was augmented a bit by the thoughts of the gigs coming up within the next couple of months) so I had to sit down for a few songs, but at least I was always in view of the screen.

As I was leaving the festival, I was thinking that I would be coming back to this general area, but at a different venue for my next gig, which was going to be a free one...

SETLISTS:
UB40 FEATURING ALI, ASTRO & MICKEY
01. Here I Am (Come And take Me)
02. Wear You To The Ball
03. Homely Girl
04. Version Girl
05. One In Ten
06. Cherry Oh Baby
07. Just Another Girl
08. Rat In Mi Kitchen
09. She Loves Me Now
10. Silhouette
11. Kingston Town
12. Many Rivers to Cross
Encore:
13. Food For Thought
14. How Could I Leave
15. (I Can't Help) Falling In Love
16. Red Red Wine

THIEVERY CORPORATION
01. Marching The Hate Machines (Into the Sun)
02. True Sons Of Zion
03. Voyage Libre
04. Letter To The Editor
05. Culture Of Fear
06. Illumination
07. Until The Morning
08. Take My Soul
09. Ghetto Matrix
10. Le Monde
11. Amerimacka
12. History
13. The Heart's A Lonely Hunter
14. Fight To Survive
15. Warning Shots
Encore:
16. Road Block
17. Sweet Tides
18. Lebanese Blonde
19. Waiting Too Long
20. The Richest Man In Babylon