The Trip
When show in Greece was announced, I decided to escape from rainy Norway to go and see the Sex Pistols for the 4th time and the New York Dolls for the first time, as an apertizer for the Døgnvill festival in Tromsø Norway later in August. And also as a substitute for a the Sweden gig I sadly missed! It wasn't a bad idea going to the south!!
Me and a girlfriend flew from Oslo at friday 11th July to Greece, from +20 degree Celsius in Kongsvinger to +43 in the shadows of Athens.. it was quite a shock seeing the sun again! But it did good!
We ended up in the "Attikki" at Dorian Inn Hotel, centre of the city and right across to the border of "Chinatown"... , a place where the junkies and homeless live in the fashionable streets, a doorstep lower than Oslo City! And that's bad! But they had good food and drinks around every corner, and that makes it up again. Gyros Pitta and Amstel Rules!
The days before the festival reminds me of the trips to Finsbury Park in 96, Crystal Palace 02, and Manchester 07, when both times I was in London I ran all over Soho to search all the record stores; I found to buy collectable vinyl records for my collection at home, that made me broke for almost two months.. hehe.. (Doh!)
We had a two minute walk to the Metro, and 9 stops later we ended up 200 meters from Karaiskaki Stadium, The Fly Beeond festival!!
Couldnt be better ;) It was perfect!!
A nice stadium with a good capasity for 10,000 or more happy people jumping up and down and enjoying themselves in the sun with great music and low-price beer all day and night! Cheers!... or SKÅL!!!... ;)
Day One of the festival, July 15: Cyanna (4 out of 6), Imam Baildi (2 out of 6), The National (4 out of 6), Gogol Bordello (5 out of 6), Massive Attack (6 out of 6).
Day Two of the festival, July 16: 63 High (4 out of 6), The Courteeners (4 out of 6), New York Dolls (6 out of 6), Sex Pistols (6 out of 6).
Festival day 1, 15th July.
Got up early this day to be sure we could have a chance to pick up our tickets at the stadium without too many festival walkers, hooligans and fan in the line.
We got it right! Meeting up 3 o'clock was like landing on the moon! We were the first people there.. exept for the ticketguy :) Had a nice meal and relaxed for about 3 hours until the doors opened at 6 o'clock. Finally!
The first band had started playing when we went in; we were almost a little surprised how few people had checked in... But after buying beer and finding seats, people showed up in crowds and the stadium was almost full after a couple of hours... The bands on the festival that day were OK, but the band who really surprised, was Massive Attack!!
Against all I have ever believed about that band..., I have always thought that they were a techno shit band after listening to 'Mezzoforte' many years ago... I was wrong! A very good live act with really good songs and great show!! (They are worth listening to, and im sure I will see them again if they're coming to Norway).
Festival day 2, 16th July.
Finally!! Showed up a little later this day, waited about an hour before the gates opened. A few more people here today. We bought a couple of T-shirts and beer and found the same seats as day 1. Great view! Far better bands this day! Sat down on our seats until 20 minutes before New York Dolls entered the stage. Found a nice place in the 6th row and had a great view! A fantastic show and i was lucky to take so many good pictures. I even got a Plectrum thrown from the stage!!
Headliner: The Sex Pistols!
As soon as the New York Dolls left the stage, the crew prepared for the Sex Pistols to play and the crowd started moving closer to the stage.
'There'll always be an England' played over the PA . Paul, Glen, Steve and John entered the stage, and the crowd went wild! It all exploded when Paul started drumming and Steve joined in on Pretty Vacant!
What a POWER they have! I was standing at the first row and had a perfect view to the stage. The sound, the band and the audience was perfect!
This was my 4th Pistols show I've seen since The Filthy Lucre Tour in 1996 and they're getting better and better for every time I see them play!
The sound they have is so powerfull and every member in the group looks very healthy, young and happy! Steve could show a new tattoo on his right leg! Nice one tough! They laughed and joked and had fun all the time; it was no problem to see that they are really proud being in a band together as the Sex Pistols!
They did all a great show and the communication between the bandmembers could not be better.
In the middle of the set between two songs, a coke-can was thrown to the stage by a stupid wanker in the audience and hit Johnny on the right side of his forehead and a 1' cut could clearly be seen as the blood started flowing. He started shouting to that bastard and was very angry while he tried to whipe away the blood from his face. I was sure this was the end of the show, but he calmed down and said that they would keep on! One last chance!
(Left: John inspects the blood on his forehead)
When a safetyguard came up with sterilized paper and bandages, John said 'It's just a fucking cut!!!, I'm a big guy!!.
They continued playing with no bad feelings for the accident that just happened... blood kept flowing a couple of times but healed pretty quick after a couple of songs more.
All members seemed to enjoy themselves and the audience very much for the rest of the concert. They played all their classics plus the covers of 'Silver Machine' and 'Roadrunner' as a second encore. It was perfect, but I wish they had played 'I Wanna Be Me' and 'Substitute' too, like they did at Crystal Palace in 02.
The show ended perfect and everybody was very pleased and satisfied.. When coming out on the streets again after seeing the Pistols rock Athens, you could see happy people everywhere laughing and singing! A great, great show!! Looking forward to see ya in Tromsø!
The Sex Pistols ain't back for our money this time! They're back because they really want to! The 2007 and 2008 version of the Pistols is the best I have seen and heard, John's vocals is at its best. The way he works the microphone and how he's using his voice, it's amazing!
If they continues playing with the power and entusiasm they have now,there would be no problem for them going into the studio again for recording a new album! With Cooky's majestic drumming, Matlock's melodic basslines, Jonesy's powerful sound and guitar playing, and Rotten's undeadly lyrics and voice, they could make it once again! That would be very exiting!
Thank you the Sex Pistols for a great night at Fly Beeond Festival!
Tattoo
In 2001, I decided to have a Sex Pistols logo tattooed over my belly as a tribute to my no 1 favourite band ever! Now 20 years later since I bought my first Pistols record, and totally stunned after seeing the Pistols in action for the 4th time, I went to Athens best tattoo studio (Meduza Tattoo) the day after the festival and got a appointment for completing the tattoo at friday. I added large stars at each end of the logo that made an incredible effect! The stars tattooed on my ribs and bellyfat hurt a lot.. But it was worth it! John Lydon spilt blood in Athens too!
People ask me why im tattooing a logo from a BAND? I use to ask them back if they have ever seen a Manchester Utd tatoo before? Most of us have!
For all true and loyal fans of music or sports, have always a good reason to get a tattoo... I'm not a football interested person, so I fell into rock'n'roll instead!
The Pistols became my favourite band from the age of 13 and have meant a lot to me through my life.
People can say whatever they want, but the Sex Pistols are still the originals! Not many can say that!
Thanks ;)
