Whenever The Dream Syndicate hit the road, it's a certain bet that sooner or later they will find themselves playing on a stage in Athens, a city where Steve Wynn's music has always found a supportive and enthusiastic audience ever since his band first played here in the mid-80s.
A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then, but what remains constant after all these years is the unique rock chemistry that Wynn and the rebooted Dream Syndicate can produce live on stage. It helps, of course, to have in your repertoire the songs that make up one of the greatest underground rock record of the '80s, the superb "The Days Of Wine And Roses" and several more classic tracks ("The Medicine Show", "Boston", "The Side I'll Never Show" to mention but a few) that are guaranteed to rock you to your bones every time you hear them.
Add next to all the classics, the fine new material that The Dream Syndicate has produced in the two records they have made in the last couple of years (2017's "How Did I Find Myself Here" and the recent "These Times") and it's easy to understand why the two hours that the band played in the last show of its current European tour went by in a flash, leaving us thrilled and feeling privileged to find ourselves once again here with this great rock 'n' roll band, putting some more miles on. May this journey go on forever!
The night opened by Dustbowl who provided some fine tunes to warm us up for the main event and presented us their new record, "The Story of Mr. Dandy Gasoline", which also features a collaboration with Chris Cacavas, the man behind the keys of The Dream Syndicate.
Dustbowl, live @ Fuzz Club (Athens, Oct. 26th, 2019)
The Dream Syndicate, live @ Fuzz Club (Athens, Oct. 26th, 2019)
The Dream Syndicate - Black Light (live @ Fuzz Club, October 26th 2019)
Last week was certainly one to remember! Between Sunday, October 29th and Saturday, November 4th we had the pleasure of attending not one or two, but three excellent gigs at the Fuzz Club, in Athens. Take a look below at some of our best photos from these shows, as well as video highlights:
Thurston Moore Group (October 29th, 2017)
This was Thurston Moore's second solo visit in Athens with his current, all-star group, featuring James Sedwards, Debbie Googe and Steve Shelley (check out here the first one). This time the performance was part of the new Fraternity of Sound festival, featuring also in the same day experimental electronic sounds by ex-Coil member Drew McDowall, Zonal (a collaboration between Justin Broadrick and Kevin Martin, a.k.a The Bug) and Ben Frost.
Thurston Moore and his group played mostly songs from his latest solo work, the excellent "Rock n Roll Consciousness", including the non-album single "Cease Fire" which kicked-off the set and "Speak to the Wild", the lead track off his previous album "The Best Day". For the encore of the nearly 80-minute performance, the band revisited "Ono Soul" from "Psychic Hearts", transforming it into an extended, adventurous guitar jam.
Check out below Thurston Moore Group in "Smoke of Dreams" from their performance at Fraternity of Sound festival:
Thurston Moore Group - Smoke of Dreams, live @ Fuzz Club (Oct. 29th, 2017)
Austra / Ela Minus (November 3rd, 2017)
Coming to this weekend's happenings, on Friday we enjoyed Austra's first ever club gig in Athens in a set that covered all three of their albums so far. The electropop outfit led by Katie Stelmanis had previously paid us a visit as part of the line-up of 2015's Plissken Festival, but this time, at their own gig and in a more fitting environment for their sound, they were able to give a truly remarkable performance, where Katie's outstanding voice shined in all its glory!
Austra's show opened by the upbeat synthpop of Ela Minus,the stage name of Gabriela Jimeno from Colombia, who brought us bright sounds for dark times, as it was written on the side of her brightly lit synthesizer.
Ela Minus
Listen to Austra in "Freepower", one of the tracks from their latest album "Future Politics", as performed on Friday night at Fuzz Club:
Austra - Freepower, live @ Fuzz Club (Nov. 3rd, 2017)
The Dream Syndicate / Dustbowl (November 4th, 2017)
Last, and certainly not least, on Saturday night we had the pleasure of witnessing another mind-blowing performance by The Dream Syndicate, Steve Wynn's legendary '80s Paisley Underground outfit whose reunion a few years back for a few concerts celebrating the 30th anniversary of their seminal debut LP "The Days of Wine and Roses" (see also here) has led to a brand new studio album this year, the excellent "How Did I Find Myself Here?", their first in 29 years!
The Dream Syndicate were as electrifying now, on the stage of Fuzz Club in 2017, as they have ever been in each one of their now legendary '80s shows in Athens, starting with their 1986 performance at Pedion Areos park, as their long-time fans (including myself) who were there then and now can testify.
The band, including also Dennis Duck, Mark Walton, Jason Victor and guest-starring Chris Cacavas on keyboards, expertly combined the new material with the time-proven classics from their previous four records showing beyond any doubt that true rock 'n' roll exists out of time.
The nearly two and a half hour set included nothing but highlights, starting with "Hallowing" off their debut LP and finishing with an astounding rendition of "John Coltrane Stereo Blues" from "Medicine Show" after two encores. Other honorable mentions that come to mind include "The Days of Wine and Roses", "Tell Me When It's Over", "Armed With An Empty Gun", "Burn", "Boston" which incorporated a snippet of Tom Petty's "Refugee", "The Side I'll Never Show" and from the new ones "Out of My Head" and "80 West". Another vintage performance indeed!
The opening act for The Dream Syndicate show was Dustbowl who contributed to the good rock 'n' role vibes of the night.
Dustbowl
Here's "Out of My Head" and "Boston" from The Dream Syndicate show at Fuzz Club:
The Dream Syndicate - Out of My Head, live @ Fuzz Club (Nov. 4th, 2017)
The Dream Syndicate - Boston / Refugee, live @ Fuzz Club (Nov. 4th, 2017)
