It was with Leon Of Athens on my mind, that I took the first bus out to Terra Vibe to see him, the festival opening act. On paper, it looked as if it would work. However, the bus was late in departing and there was plenty of traffic on the way there. However, it left us close to the entrance for a change and I was able to get in quickly, run and catch at least what I believe was 50% of his set. I've seen him in so many different places in the past, so a festival appearance would be a different experience. And it was different, as far as the songs were concerned, although that was probably due to my being late. Plenty of new songs, so although there was no "Baby Asteroid" this time (at least not for me, I think he played it before I got there), I got to hear these new songs and my impression was that most of them were more upbeat and more danceable.
Next up was Jonathan Jeremiah. However, before that, I started wandering around Terra Vibe Park in order to get to the other stage, where no artists were appearing that night, however there was an exhibition there dedicated to the Rock In Athens 85 festival. were also shown on the main stage between artists appearances.
Having seen the exhibition I then went back to the VIP area (I usually get a VIP ticket when I go to Terra Vibe even if it means paying double the price, because as I had found out back in 2006, if you get stuck in the wrong area you may end up not being able to see anything at all), got one of the portable seats that were for the first time available for VIP ticket holders and then sat down to watch Jonathan Jeremiah. Hadn't heard of him before, but he seemed nice and most importantly, his set wasn't boring, something which can usually happen with artists one doesn't know and who are at the bottom of the bill of a festival date.
Then, finally it was time for Mika. He was third on the bill, not second, something which made me worry that his set would be cut short, but I needn't have worried. For most people Mika is "the guy who sang Relax, Take It Easy" (some of them also know "Grace Kelly"). I admit that I used to be just like them, until my ex showed me that there was more to him than that. (My favourite song of his is "Talk About You" from his 2015 album "No Place In Heaven", unfortunately not played at Terra Vibe). It's true that most of the songs he plays live are from his first album, but then again these are his biggest hits. And to his credit, his latest "My Name Is Michael Holbrook" is actually quite good. In short, even though his set, was shorter than it could have been and even though he was third on the bill, he managed to win the audience over and for the first time that day at Terra Vibe we felt as if we were at a big party!
Second on the bill, before Robbie Williams was James Bay. Well, not only is he more rock than pop, but the funniest thing was that I was going to see him again a few days later, not in Athens but in London, not supporting Robbie Williams but Bruce Springsteen at the BST Hyde Park festival! He wasn't bad and I'm certainly not the kind of person who detests it when there's a variety of music genres at festivals, but the marketing of music has lately become so homogenized and by that I mean that there are people who listen only to rock, others that listen only to pop maybe because that's what the industry and promoters think is what should happen.
And finally, it was time for Robbie. Everybody said that he fulfilled his promise to us at his last concert at the exact same place. However, dear organizers his exact words were: "Let's meet again in 18 months, shall we?" He said 18 months, not 8 years! What I what to point out by saying this is that Greek promoters will rarely invite artists on subsequent tours (unless they're called Scorpions or Depeche Mode). They think that if people have already seen them, they won't want to see them again. When Robbie Williams was speaking about "18 months" in 2015 he was referring to his next tour. But as far as Greek promoters are concerned this was probably considered to be "too short a period"...
Anyway, Robbie was here and it's true that this was a different Robbie from the one we had seen 8 years ago. He had probably suffered from the effects of COVID, he was older (but then again, aren't we all?) and of course his set was different. Not shorter, but different. There were in fact fewer songs, but not because the set was cut short, but because he talked a lot between songs. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT! About how he became famous with Take That, how he left Take That, how he became once again famous and successful again on his own this time, how he rejoined Take That, but most importantly how difficult a time he had had through the pandemic and how he is finally happy having found love with his wife and having a family. I didn't mind. It was like having a conversation with a friend whom you haven't seen in... well... eight years, even if the conversation was one-sided. And, if you ask me which of the two concerts of his I have attended was better, I would definitely say the first one, eight years ago. Better songs, more songs, but most importantly, because as we all know it's "never as good as the first time" because that first time, no matter what we are talking about, a concert or a kiss, is the one by which all subsequent ones will be compared to (and found wanting as Stephen King has said). I've said all this because I've heard another opinion about his appearance which came from my ex and that was that he was a total and absolute mess. Although I don't agree with it, I can understand that some people might not have enjoyed someone who certainly looked that he had aged and probably suffered during the last 8 years and instead of singing preferred to engage in conversation with his audience. However, what I don't understand is another, a third opinion that was going around on social media and other Greek websites that he had insulted Greek people with one of his jokes. My answer to this is that if, after all these years, you still don't "get" British humour, you had better attend only concerts from Greek artists from now on.
OK, so what about the music? Well, once again, the highlight for me was the same as the one from 8 years ago: "Come Undone". It probably has to do with the lyric "Because I'm scum, and I'm your son, I come undone". Also, this time we didn't have Queen covers like in 2015, but oh boy, what a cover we did get : "Don't Look Back In Anger" by Oasis! He finished with "Angels" and then went on to perform an acapella medley of his best songs including one which he didn't perform that night: "Me And My Monkey" which apparently is only popular in Greece!
When it was finally over and "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" was playing from the speakers, I was thinking that I had enjoyed every minute of it and I went home thinking that this was the best concert I had attended in Greece this year. With hindsight, I'd say it was one of the two best on Greek soil in 2023 (and that's because abroad, there was Bruce...)
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JAMES BAY
01. Best Fake Smile
02. Just For Tonight
03. If You Ever Want To Be in Love
04. Wanderlust
05. Us
06. Let It Go
07. Goodbye Never Felt So Bad
08. All My Broken Pieces
09. When We Were On Fire
10. Get Out While You Can
11. Pink Lemonade
12. Craving
13. Hold Back The River
ROBBIE WILLIAMS
01. Hey Wow Yeah Yeah
02. Let Me Entertain You
03. Land Of 1000 Dances
04. Monsoon
05. Strong
06. Come Undone
07. Could It Be Magic
08. Don't Look Back In Anger
09. The Flood
10. Love My Life
11. Eternity
12. Candy
13. Feel
14. Kids
15. Rock DJ
Encore:
16. No Regrets
17. She's The One
18. Angels
19. Acapella Medley : Feel/Let Me Entertain You/Come Undone/Angels/Me And My Monkey
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