Devon Graves, Live @ The Drugstore, Athens, Greece, 8/12/2012

Devon Graves, Live @ The Drugstore, Athens, Greece, 8/12/2012

The first time that I heard Devon Graves (AKA Buddy Lackey) in a record was a little more than 15 years ago. The record was “A Social Grace” by Psychotic Waltz, a real masterpiece of music. The band was not active at the moment so, it would be a wild dream to think that in 15 years from then I’d have seen Devon not one, but three times live, with Deadsoul Tribe, Psychotic Waltz and as a solo artist.

The 8^th of December is really a sad day for music. Two great musicians were shot to death on that day, John Lennon and Dimebag Darell. The whole day in Athens was cloudy and gloomy with lots of rain as well, which combined with the traffic made it from hard to impossible for many people to attend tonight’s gig.

I arrived at the bar were the gig was about to take place a little earlier, to grab a beer and chat with friends and Devon. The bar was really small but the 60-70 people who attended the gig were very comfortable inside. At about 1,5 hour after the doors opened Devon went “on stage”, which wasn’t actually a stage, more like a small opening near the bar, but spacious enough. I had already asked him if he was going to play songs from his great album with the band “The Shadow Theory” but I got a negative answer. I also got the same negative answer when I asked him if he was planning to come for a gig with them. Oh well, we can’t have everything.

The place was packed and Devon started with some classic Deadsoul Tribe tunes. The sound was really good (I think that Devon was working on the sound a little earlier). One or two covers came along, aw well as some songs from the album “The Strange Mind Of Buddy Lackey”. A small speech from Devon followed and the first break of the show. Devon is well informed about the way the music industry works nowadays as well as the fact that the companies do not support musicians the way they used to so, he is planning to start his personal website, from which he will be distributing his music in the form of free downloads. He is also planning to record a new album with Psychotic Waltz. And that’s more than enough for now; I wouldn’t want to get into any more details about what he shared with us for the future.

After the break he came back with a couple of more Deadsoul Tribe songs for us and… the first Psychotic Waltz tunes! Such hymns as “Drift” and “Hanging On A String” played with only an acoustic guitar and Devon’s voice are magic beyond words. I can’t really describe the sentiment, but I’m sure that everyone could feel it at that moment. A fantastic cover of Rainbow’s song with DIO came along, another real blast of the night. “Catch The Rainbow” might be a classic and catchy ballad, but Devon gave his best to play it like it should be played, by putting all your soul to it. Two more hymns from Psychotic Waltz, “I Remember” and “My Grave”, three more covers, and that was the end of a very special show, that only few people enjoyed. However, some things are better to be left for the “few” and not the “many”. I couldn’t leave unmentioned though, the “hot sweet stuff”as Devon called it, known to us as “rakomelo” a combination of raki and honey, which Devon seemed to enjoy, a lot!

After the end of the show, we started yelling one of the most known to the fans of Devon Graves motto, which combined our desire for one more songs, as well as the old name of Devon Graves, Buddy Lackey. Devon just smiled and played a couple of more songs for us. One of them was a cover to “Tribute”, with lyrics inspired from Psychotic Waltz.

Devon Graves setlist:

Toy Rockets

Time

Windsong

Some Sane Advice

Space Oddity (David Bowie cover)

Lady Of Rain

Goodbye City Life

Regret

Some Day

-Break-

Into The Spiral Cathedral

Just Like A Timepiece

Cry For Tomorrow/Spiders And Flies

Black Smoke And Mirrors

UTWOMS

Empty

Drift

Hanging On A String

-Break-

Fear

Catch The Rainbow (Rainbow cover)

I Remember

My Grave

Imagine (John Lennon cover)

Hotel California (Eagles cover)

Tribute (AKA “The Greatest Song In The World”, Tenacious D cover)

Also on Burst.gr - http://www.burst.gr/live/reports/item/2381-devon-graves-live-the-drugstore-athens-greece-8-12-2012

High Voltage Festival 2012 Day II Live @ Kyttaro, Athens, Greece, 24-11-2012

High Voltage Festival 2012 Day II Live @ Kyttaro, Athens, Greece, 24-11-2012

Getting ready for the second day of the High Voltage festival, that mostly included bands with a hard rock vibe. Well guess what? I was once more the first fan to show up, despite that fact that I only arrived at the gig nearly half an hour before the doors open. I guess that something went terribly wrong here. Either the gig wasn’t promoted enough, or the fans simply don’t care. Or maybe both. Still, it was a sad image.

The doors opened on time and the first band, Heart Attack, came on stage. They took the place of Junkyard 69 who probably cancelled. They were all dressed in a similar ‘hospital’ manner, which shows that they’re following a certain direction in their dress code for concerts, which is good. The band played songs from their first EP along with some covers. They also filmed one of their songs for an upcoming video so; some more female dancers came on stage dressed as nurses. I especially noticed the excellent playing of their keyboardist Lila Moka as well as their guitar player Teo Ross, who also has a solo record.

The next band was Wild Machine, a veteran band of the Greek scene and one of the first ever Greek bands that I saw live. They are a total glam-dynamite on stage, combining all the good elements of hard rock with a totally 80s sleaze outfit and resulting in a rock overload. Despite some lineup changes and a big delay before the release of their new record, which is finally out now, the band seemed to have more energy than ever. They’re a definite ‘must’ for everyone who enjoys a good gig.

The next band was Nostos, a southern rock band, who also took the place of another band called Soundtruck who had probably cancelled. They resembled a classic  Southern American band and guess what? Most of their setlist was Lynyrd Skynyrd covers, although I believe that they also played a couple of their own songs. Their overall performance was very good although I believe that they played ‘Freebird’ slightly different.

Soon after Nostos, it was time for Danger Angel to take the stage. The band needs no introduction among the fans of the Greek scene, they’re one of those bands who quickly made a name for themselves and for a good reason. They were definitely one of the best bands of the whole High Voltage festival and that’s because they’ve been working on every last detail, from recordings to on stage performance which is obvious. Like I’ve said before, Kyttaro has a very good sound in most occasions, but I believe that it could be a little bit better during Danger Angel. Sadly I missed some of their set as well as the performance of George Gakis who played after them because something urgent came up.

The only bad thing that I have to say for those days is the the fans didn’t support it. Going to a gig and seeing bands attending concerts of other bands alongside their families and some friends, is a sad sight. Also, it’s one of the reasons that many bands form their own ‘cliques’ and support only their friends, etc. And that goes for every band and every fan. If we don’t rise up from this situation, the Greek scene will always be the outcast of the global scene.

First Day: http://dawnofbattle.blogspot.gr/2012/11/high-voltage-festival-2012-day-i-live.html

Also on Burst.gr - http://burst.gr/live/reports/item/2307-high-voltage-festival-2012-day-ii-live--kyttaro-athens-greece-24-11-2012

Links: https://www.facebook.com/wildmachinegr/posts/396602193748690

High Voltage Festival 2012 Day I Live @ Kyttaro, Athens, Greece, 23-11-2012

High Voltage Festival 2012 Day I Live @ Kyttaro, Athens, Greece, 23-11-2012

Another busy week was coming to an end and this time, with a High Voltage blast! I’m talking about the High Voltage festival of course. 11 bands in 2 days with 10 euros per day! Every one who claims to support the Greek metal scene should have been there. Sadly, not may people thought likewise…

I arrived at the gig nearly half an hour before the doors open only to discover that I was the first fan to show up. Talk about starting on the wrong foot. There was another gig in town of course by WASP, which is always a soldout gig, but I expected a few more people to show up for this one. The doors opened and the first band called Strangeyes was on stage. The first thing I noticed was that the sound had some problems which is weird, because the sound in Kyttaro rarely has any problems whatsoever. The band was overally good, especially their frontman. They played some of their own stuff alond some covers (Opeth and Annihilator of I remember correctly).

The second band was Never-Trust. I can’t say that metalcore is really my style but the band had tons of energy. Of course some problems started to emerge once again. The pedal of the drummer started to fall apart so they had to play their songs in a less blasty manner. They delivered their groove very good though. The next band called Ivory Tower was probably the first band to play without any serious problems. They were also very good and thankfully, some more people started gathering up.

The next band was Sorrowful Angels, a well known band to the Greek scene. They definitely showed that they ‘owned’ the stage from the first moment, despite that they had a new member, guitar player Stelios. Their style is mostly goth metal, with a lot of melancholic melodies blended inside. I could say that they’re our very own “Paradise Lost”.

The next two bands were a surprise (good for some, bad for some others). The first band was Trendy Hooliguns, a band well known for their sarcasm on stage, both lyrically as well as when interacting with the crowd. They were very good but unfortunately, not many people stayed around to see them. It’s one of the bad things that always happens when Greek bands play, many friends and family of each band comes around to see one band, without caring for others. The last band was The Fallen Within, a band which uses a ton of elements. I could describe their style as modern metalcore, but it has a lot of electronic and prog stuff also. They’re definitely not my style but they were very good on stage and it seems that they’ve been working on their songs, as well as their on stage performance a lot.

That ends the first day of the High Voltage festival. Be sure to check the report for the second day as well.

Second Day: http://dawnofbattle.blogspot.gr/2012/11/highvoltage-festival-2012-day-ii-live.html

Also on Burst.gr - http://burst.gr/live/reports/item/2306-high-voltage-festival-2012-day-1-live--kyttaro-athens-greece-23-11-2012

Links: https://www.facebook.com/Sorrowful.Angels.page/posts/440961985962874