Cool Music Central: Live: Wire @ Temple (Athens, May 23rd, 2019)

Sunday, May 26, 2019

Live: Wire @ Temple (Athens, May 23rd, 2019)

The long overdue return of Wire to Athens took place at Temple Club last Thursday. Eight years after their last gig here, the archetypal art-punk band was back with a remarkable set showcasing their rich history and still casting an eye to the future.

Not currently having a new album to promote (their latest release was 2017's "Silver/Lead") turned out a to be an opportunity for the band to create a live set that revisited and reconstructed tracks from all their various periods.

Like a faulty time machine which skips back and forth in time, Wire took us on trip that went as far back as their seminal debut album, 1977's "Pink Flag", to remind us of the classic "Three Girl Rhumba" (the track that Elastica "borrowed" for their '90s hit "Connection") and the proto-hardcore of "12XU" (closing track of the album and of this show), they revisited "Two People in a Room" from "154", their third LP which turns 40 this year and closed their first (and most revered) period, they included a few highlights from their '80s return when they experimented with a more electronic pop sound ("Ahead", "Over Theirs", "Drill") and of course played us several tracks from recent years with "Short Elevated Period" from "Silver/Lead" being a prime example why Colin Newman, Graham Lewis, Robert Grey and "new" boy Matthew Simms (who, of course, is part of the band for almost a decade now) remain a force to be reckoned with.

Wire, live @ Temple (Athens, May 23rd, 2019)

Wire included at least one new track in their set, which we suppose is a first taste for things to come in the near future, and you can sample it below ("Primed And Ready"), along with first and second period classics "Three Girl Rhumba" and "Over Theirs". Wire's history continues to unfold and every chapter holds new and exciting surprises!