It's great to see efforts like this small fest taking place in smaller cities here in Greece. The whole - allow me to say - "downtuned" scene is continuously increasing, offering us excellent pieces of really good music. And it's time for people to start appreciate and support their local scene. Actually I'm quite jealous when gigs like this one, happen in cities besides Athens and Thessaloniki, since in my hometown a move like this is an unfulfilled dream... Anyway let's leave whining aside and talk about the gig...
Stoner Festival II took place last Saturday in Larissa's Stage Club. Three Greek bands shared the stage for a groovy night which had it all... Before everything else I have to say that the sound (in all three bands' performances) was at least mediocre (quite shitty actually) but it didn't discourage me of enjoying the night. Club's sound engineer was probably a fan of instrumental music so he decided that vocals were something unnecessary to be heard... What can you say... Anyway I hope Stage's crew gonna do something about the club's sound since they're arranging a lot of gigs (like Radio Moscow, Moon Duo or even Orange Goblin just to name few).
At about 21:30 Lizardia from Volos got up on stage and started their set with "It Falls On Deaf Ears". Band's energy was at its peak from the first seconds of their set. Even if the sound didn't help them, specially Bluff, their performance didn't lack of passion and soul. Their bassist, Gary (my most beloved Lizardia member! My apologies to the rest but his coolness is majestic!) had also some problems in the first few minutes which fortunately were solved. Lizardia played also four new songs which I really liked them (as much as I could since from the time you didn't know a track the sound didn't help you to enjoy it), especially the second one which I don't recall its title at the moment. They sounded a little different from their previous ones but they stood great and I applaud the new additions/changes. Of course when "Where Only Lizards Quietly Weave" started, my enthusiasm was raised up to the sky. Great track and well played live too.... They finished their set with their "hit" "Fine Dead Lady" where we showed them our love (particularly Maria...) and thanked them with the best way possible for their fine live. Overall they were a tight band with Jeje and Gary working as they should be while Bluff filled the stage with his performance. Special kudos to Pijo who even if he was quite sick, gave his best!
After a while Dope Flood were ready to start their set. As I've written before these youngsters are one of the scene's biggest hopes. Their EP was at least promising and when I caught them live supporting Planet Of Zeus I was really impressed by their performance. But this time I was a little disappointed. Of course as I wrote above, sound fucked them up a lot. At times I wasn't able to distinguish the tracks, especially the new ones (the same applies for Lizardia too). Definitely they were energetic and soulful but at some points it seemed to me that they lost the tightness they had as a band (probably this derives from the fact that they don't practice together as much as before due to their studies in different cities). Nevertheless they give their best and we all enjoyed their EP's tunes, as well as their new groovy - as always tunes - and of course the Kyuss' cover. I can't wait to see them supporting Truckfighters where I believe they'll give a better show comparing to this one. Cheers to their drummer for his amazing performance! Keep hammering drumkits and drinking beers mate!
Few minutes before mindnight, The Bliss took up the stage. The trio from Piraeus played tracks from their debut "Gabbatha" as well as a new track (if I recall correctly). Sound problems were still present and quite obvious too, so their Isis-meet-Tool post-metal lost a lot of its "value" right from the start. Personally they didn't manage to grab my attention. Their stage performance was good, playing the tracks as they should be played but at the same time they were quite cold and distant. I don't know why but they lacked a lot in passion (something that both Lizardia and Dope Flood had in large quantities). To be honest I'm not a big fan of them (their kind of music to be more precise) and their album left me quite indifferent. But I was ready to give them a chance to change my mind, something they didn't succeeded in. Anyway I don't consider my self the best judge here (I really liked their new track though). But no matter what, the guys who are fond of them I think they were satisfied and this is what really matters after all.
Overall it was a great night despite the problems in sound. My thanks to Lizardia for their kind words and feedback for Downtuned during the live. I totally enjoyed the live, the bands gave their best selves and I must mention the great company we had not only during the live but also before and afterwards. So for once more my cheers, kudos and thanks to: Lyk, Pijo, Jeje, Bluff, Gary, Jiopa, Mud, Maria, Saki and Zoi. Thank you for the great time we had! See you soon!
Written by Thanos
Photos by Zedalone
No comments:
Post a Comment