Sometimes you just get lucky. Ladytron was supposed to be the opening act for the Balkan leg of Depeche Mode's tour (modestly called "Tour of the Universe") except for the show in Athens. Luckily for Ladytron fans, the band came to play its own shows here (good news for me as I had no intention of enduring DM just to see the support), while DM's fans got the short end of the stick: they had to endure a 2 hour traffic jam to the get to the venue (about 40 km outside the city) only to find out at the last minute that the show was canceled! And then, of course, there was the 2 hour traffic jam to get back home.
No such problems with the Ladytron gig. Fantastikoi Hxoi (meaning Fantastic Sounds), the support one-man show, is on time, coaxing intriguing electro beats from a laptop, and soon enough, Ladytron take to the stage. The show starts with the excellent "Black cat", one of the best tracks on "Velocifero", followed by their cover of "Runaway". Problems with the mike and the venue's notoriously bad sound system combine to sabotage what could have been the perfect opening salvo. The mike issue is sorted soon enough, but the crappy loudspeakers remain - a problem that we'll have to live with for the foreseeable future of this venue. The band do their best to make us forget about the sound problems and they partly succeed with old favorites like "Seventeen", "Discotraxx" or "High Rise" and new ones, like their latest single "Tomorrow". With such an impressive back-catalog there are always going to be tracks that you'd wish they played (where's "Playgirl" or "Sugar" or ... - insert your favorite here), but in the end of the hour long set we have to make do with just one more song for an encore - another old favorite - "Destroy Everything You Touch". All in all, an enjoyable evening with one of the best electropop bands of this decade. And, thankfully, without having to drive for 2 hours to get back home after the show!
No such problems with the Ladytron gig. Fantastikoi Hxoi (meaning Fantastic Sounds), the support one-man show, is on time, coaxing intriguing electro beats from a laptop, and soon enough, Ladytron take to the stage. The show starts with the excellent "Black cat", one of the best tracks on "Velocifero", followed by their cover of "Runaway". Problems with the mike and the venue's notoriously bad sound system combine to sabotage what could have been the perfect opening salvo. The mike issue is sorted soon enough, but the crappy loudspeakers remain - a problem that we'll have to live with for the foreseeable future of this venue. The band do their best to make us forget about the sound problems and they partly succeed with old favorites like "Seventeen", "Discotraxx" or "High Rise" and new ones, like their latest single "Tomorrow". With such an impressive back-catalog there are always going to be tracks that you'd wish they played (where's "Playgirl" or "Sugar" or ... - insert your favorite here), but in the end of the hour long set we have to make do with just one more song for an encore - another old favorite - "Destroy Everything You Touch". All in all, an enjoyable evening with one of the best electropop bands of this decade. And, thankfully, without having to drive for 2 hours to get back home after the show!
"Black cat" & "Destroy everything you touch" - The start and finish of a noisy, yet enjoyable evening with Ladytron (live@Fuzz Club, Athens, May 14, 2009)
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