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
In my mind, I have a list of my favourite movies. When I see a movie that enters the top 10 this is great news. It means that this movie has affected me in some important way. But the number one movie in this list has remained constant for decades. It's "Until The End Of The World" by Wim Wenders.
It all happened quite by accident. It was on late at night, on a summer's night on a Greek TV channel. I sat down to watch it because I thought "Ah, that's the movie where that U2 song is featured". I had a few doubts at first because it was a Wim Wenders movie and I considered him to be a "difficult" director. Three hours later, as the credits were rolling I was sitting, dumbfounded, on my couch thinking "What the **** has just happened?" I couldn't believe what I had just seen and experienced. I knew right there and then that this was the best movie I had ever seen.
But the question is "why?" Why was this the best movie ever, at least for me? Well, I guess that it has to do with all the travelling done in the movie. Indeed, I love road movies, but this is a road movie whose characters are moving all around the world, a world which comes close to destruction, but in the end, while our heroes have gathered at one of its most remote corners, (SPOILER ALERT!), it is saved. That the two main characters fall in love during this journey, probably has something to do with it as well. Not to mention that it was set at the turn of the millennium which was then still a few years ahead in the future (This is after all a 1991 movie).
Another reason is the soundtrack. As you probably know well by know, music plays an important role - probably the most important - in my life. And although my decision to watch this movie the first time was because it contained a U2 song, which in fact is its title track ("Until The End Of The World" originally from "Achtung Baby"), it was other songs featured in the movie that made me fall in love with it. My favourites are : "Silent Kisses, Winter Tears" performed by Julee Cruise (but then again, this song was produced by David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, a fact which says quite a lot), Nick Cave's "(I'll Love You) Till The End Of The World" (his "thank you girl" line at the beginning of the chorus is just sublime), "Death's Door" by Depeche Mode (all DM songs - at least during that era - sung by Martin Gore tended to be more downtempo and atmospheric and thus, appropriate for a movie), and finally the best one: "Calling All Angels". I love k.d. lang's voice, even though she's just a guest providing additional vocals on a song performed by Jane Siberry. Their combined vocals in the chorus is, in my opinion. the highlight of this soundtrack. There is also "Days", a Kinks cover by Elvis Costello, but no version of this song ever is going to surpass the one sung by Kirsty McCall in 1989.
The connection of Wim Wenders with U2 continued with his next movie "Faraway, So Close" which featured "Stay (Faraway, So Close)" from the "Zooropa" album as its title track. That movie was actually the sequel to his earlier "Wings Of Desire". Because of this fact, I also watched these last two movies and Wim Wenders, whom at first I had thought of as "difficult", became one of my favourite directors. On top of that, I fell in love with Solveig Dommartin who stars in all these three movies I have discussed here and I was deeply saddened, years later, when I learned that she was no longer with us.
"Until The End Of The World" may be my favourite movie of all time, but this isn't a view that is shared by many others. The movie didn't get good reviews and it seems its production was chaotic, mainly due to the fact that it was shot all over the world using different, mainly local, crews. But I love it, and the atmosphere it creates and I find myself watching it again every once in a while. In fact, the reason I'm writing this blog post now, is because a couple of months ago I watched the 4 hour director's cut for the first time from a special 3DVD box set. Meanwhile Wim Wenders had once again collaborated with U2 on "The Million Dollar Hotel" and it wasn't until years later that I finally watched what is considered by critics to be Wim Wenders's finest film, "Paris Texas".
And since I have mentioned my favourite movie list, here is how it currently stands:
01. Until The End Of The World - Wim Wenders (1991) 02. Dark City - Alex Proyas (1998) 03. Pulp Fiction - Quentin Tarantino (1994) 04. Donnie Darko - Richard Kelly (2001) 05. Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson (2012) 06. Loving Vincent - Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman (2017) 07. Bohemian Rhapsody - Bryan Singer (2018) 08. Le Havre - Aki Kaourismaki (2011) 09. The Corporation - Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott (2003) 10. Casablanca - Michael Curtiz (1942) 11. Before The Rain - Milcho Manchevski (1994) 12. Forrest Gump - Robert Zemeckis (1994) 13. Ghostbusters - Ivan Reitman (1984) 14. The Shining - Stanley Kubrick (1980) 15. Planet Terror - Robert Rodriguez (2007) 16. The Wall - Alan Parker (1982) 17. High Fidelity - Stephen Frears (2000) 18. Three Colours Red - Krzysztof Kieslowski (1994) 19. Mulholland Drive - David Lynch (2001) 20. Summer Lovers - Randal Kleiser (1982)
Us Bruce Springsteen fans were quite excited when the "Blinded By The Light" movie was released a few years ago. It told the story of a British Asian teenager who was a Springsteen fan in the 80's. I've seen the movie at the cinema, bought the DVD and the soundtrack CD which featured some rare live tracks and a "new" song "I'll Stand By You" which was originally intended for the first Harry Potter movie. Not to mention a couple of other 80's songs by A-Ha and the Pet Shop Boys. So why am I writing this now? Well, it's because I've also read the book. It's called "Greetings From Bury Park" and it goes much further than the storyline of the movie.
It tells us all about his life, not just as a teenager as we see him in the movie, but as an adult as well, who gets married and becomes a father. But the most important thing is that it shows us how Bruce Springsteen appeals to everyone, no matter what colour, religion or nationality. And it shows us how his music can help people through hard times, even if they're not the "typical" American fan. Having lived in Britain myself, during most of the period that the main events in the book take place, and having socialized with members of the British Asian community while I was there, many of the things and events described in the book are familiar to me. If you're Bruce fans you have probably already seen the movie, but I strongly urge you to read the book as well.
What is Dance Craze? Well, let me start by saying that I'm referring to a film. A 1981 film about the 2 Tone bands and the ska revival at the beginning of the 80's.
I got interested in that scene when I read about Madness and The Specials back in the day. I hadn't heard any of their music but I saw the albums and their reviews in a Greek music magazine so I bought "One Step Beyond" the debut album by Madness. According to the article I had read "ska is reggae played very fast". It also stated that "there's reggae, there's ska and in between there's rock steady whose tempo is somewhere in between reggae and ska". The article erroneously stated that "ska had evolved from reggae" when in fact the truth is that it happened the other way round. The bands that played that music according to the article were "Madness, The Specials, The Selecters (sic) and the Ruts" (As we all know that band's proper name is "The Selecter"). So after "One Step Beyond" I bought the first Specials album, their "Too Much Too Young" single and the first Selecter album. I didn't however buy anything from The Ruts because they weren't mentioned again as part of that scene. Instead I bought albums by The Beat and The Bad Manners.
And suddenly, at some point, all these bands appeared together in a live album called "Dance Craze". This was apparently the soundtrack of a movie showing all these bands playing live. Of course the movie was never shown in Greece, but the album was released featuring a poster with all 6 bands (Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, The Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers).
I never managed to find the film after I had moved to Britain and when I once again looked for it recently I learnt that it had never been released on DVD. I managed however to find a VHS copy. So the next thing I had to do was buy a VCR!
I managed to find a second hand stereo one and once I had connected everything I managed to finally see the movie 40 years later! Well, better late than never!
I have followed the 2 Tone scene over the years buying more albums from these bands and I even managed to see two of them live: Madness in 2007 and The Specials in 2010. I have just been informed though that Dance Craze is now being released on DVD and on a deluxe edition triple CD. I have already ordered both and I will finally manage to see a restored stereo version.
With Bruce Springsteen starting his new tour in the US in Tampa,FL (a city where I have lived and worked in), a tour which will later come to Europe, I decided to listen to "Letter To You" again. As it happened, it was snowing on that day which seemed to fit in with the album cover. This was after all the album he was going to promote with a tour before the lockdowns changed all these plans. In the meantime, he also released a covers album ("Only The Strong Survive") and it was apparent from the Tampa setlist that he was going to promote both of them, but he would focus more on "Letter To You".
This time I decided to listen to my vinyl copy for the first time instead of the CD. I used to buy Bruce's albums on both vinyl and CD, but I don't do anymore because this could prove to be a costly habit. However, I decided to buy this one when I found out that it was going to be a three-side album, with the fourth side being etched. And I secured a grey coloured vinyl as well.
I was surprised once again by how good an album it was. That's why I decided to write this belated review. I used to review all new Bruce albums in this blog, but somehow I stopped after "High Hopes".
First of all, it seems to be bookended by two songs about loss ("One Minute You're Here" and "I'll See You In My Dreams"). Having experienced personal loss in the past year, these two songs meant much more to me this time around. The title track, "House Of A Thousand Guitars" and "Song For Orphans" (the latter being one of three early songs that he re-recorded for this album) were my favourites when I first listened to it. This time round, apart from the opening and closing tracks I also appreciated "Burnin' Train" more. And let's not forget the drum intro of "Ghosts" which makes you think that he's about into "We Take Care Of Our Own" at any minute.
"Ghosts" and "Burnin' Train" look like they're going to be regulars on the setlists of this tour. Of course, that could change by the time the tour arrives in Europe at which moment I hope I will be able to see him and The E Street Band once again...
My first experience of pop stars singing Christmas songs came in December 1984. It was then that Queen, Wham! and Band Aid all released Christmas singles. ("Thank God It's Christmas", "Last Christmas" and "Do They Know It's Christmas" respectively). In the UK charts Band Aid went to number 1, Wham! were stuck at number 2 (because of Band Aid) and Queen, well, with that abundance of popular Christmas singles that year stalled at number 21. There had been of course Christmas pop hits before that and I got acquainted with most of those that were popular in the UK by acquiring "NOW The Christmas Album" (part of the "NOW That's What I Call Music" series). But then, in 1987, something happened: "A Very Special Christmas" was released with all proceeds going to the Special Olympics. That's the album which brought to my attention - albeit in new versions - the classic Christmas pop songs, several of which had been featured in what was considered the ultimate Christmas pop album: "A Christmas Gift For You", aka "Phil Spector's Christmas Album".
That's where I got "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (sung in the "rock" way, with emphasis on the first word, the same way that Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band sing it). Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band were in it as well, with "Merry Christmas Baby", which I already had as a B-Side of "War" the first single from the "Live 1975-85" box set. Other members of The E Street Band can be found on the album, namely Clarence Clemons and Roy Bittan playing on other songs. Artists from the Phil Spector Christmas album also make appearances such as Darlene Love who sings backing vocals on U2's cover of the song she herself had performed on the Phil Spector Christmas Album ("Christmas (Baby Please Come Home"). Bon Jovi were also in there with "Back Door Santa", however 5 years later that song was replaced with another from the same band, "I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas". I haven't figured why this happened. Were perhaps the lyrics of "Back Door Santa" considered too seedy for a family Christmas album? Run DMC are also there with what was probably the first hip hop Christmas song, an original called "Christmas In Hollis". But one of the highlights of the album is "Silent Night" with haunting vocals by Stevie Nicks. What makes this version more amazing is something that you would have to refer to the liner notes to discover: The backing vocals by Robbie Nevil. You might of course had easily recognized his voice, since he had a hit earlier that year with "C'Est La Vie".
Since then there have been many more albums in that series (six more at first and then some 25th anniversary and special editions, plus a DVD). And from those sequels, I will single out "Oi To The World", an original by No Doubt, true to their ska/punk roots.
This was my first indoor concert in almost 3 years! I figured that since I was OK wearing a mask at outdoor gigs and since I had also been on a summer holiday a few days before, wearing a mask while on the ship and whenever I was indoors at a public place, I figured I could finally go to such a concert. It was, after all Belle And Sebastian. I had seen them back in the summer of 2015 in Ancona, at what was for me back then, a legendary concert and one of my top 5 live gigs ever, so I would have liked to see them again. In the last few years they had released an album that combined 3 EP's (How To Solve Our Human Problems), a soundtrack album ("Days Of The Bagnold Summer"), a live album during the lockdown ("What To Look For In Summer") and this year a brand new album ("A Bit Of Previous"). I had listened to all of these during the summer (I even watched the movie - The Days Of The Bagnold Summer) and so I was well prepared.
I set off for the venue immediately after work wearing my mask (which I wear during working hours anyway) and I arrived in time to catch a free place at the front and to the left of the stage). Support was provided by Amalia & The Architects, a Greek band and a welcome surprise (They even played a cover of "Blister In The Sun").
Then it was time for Stuart and his mates. It wasn't like 2015 and I didn't expect it to be like 2015 with the "special circumstances" under which we went to that gig, but it was, after all, Belle And Sebastian. It's all a matter of taste. In fact, a friend of mine who had seen them the first time they had come to Greece almost 20 years ago refused to come because they don't play the songs he wants to hear anymore. As far as I'm concerned I don't care which ones they play. "The Boy With The Arab Strap" is a sure thing and although there was no "The State I Am In" this time, or even anything from "Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance" which, in my opinion, is the best of their later albums, there were however many others to keep me happy (including "Dear Catastrophe Waitress").
One final thing I should mention, is that this was one more concert of those that we were promised for the summer of 2020 when everything was cancelled. It wasn't rescheduled for 2021 and wasn't initially announced for the summer of 2022 so I thought we had missed our chance. It was announced much later in the year (during the summer I think), so it turned out alright after all. And thankfully, we didn't have to go all the way to Terra Vibe to see them, where they were supposed to play two years ago...
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