‘My lyrics aren’t about my expression so much as they’re about the expression of something universal, through images and moments I may have experienced, but which are not me or mine,’ says indie-rock pioneer Hersh. She follows up spoken word-music shows in London and Glasgow with a gig in Athens.

Kristin Hersh emerged in the mid-80s as a co-founder and band leader of Throwing Muses, an innovative rock act that quickly proved to be pivotal, internationally, in independent music.

Throwing Muses became the first of a number of US acts to be signed by the emblematic British label 4AD, home over the years to a rich guild of artful acts, both atmospheric and abrasive, and usually dark-sounding. The label’s roster of past and present acts reads like an accumulation of standout cases in contemporary music. Some of the now-defunct acts were widely unknown during their time. But highlighting this label’s ability and instinct for spotting genuine talent, many of its acts went on to consolidate their reputations, to varying degrees, once they had called it a day.

The label’s signings have included the Pixies, Cocteau Twins, Birthday Party, Breeders, Dead Can Dance and Bauhaus, as well as worthy lesser-knowns such as Lisa Germano and Kendra Smith.

As for Throwing Muses, it is said that the act decided to split because of financial woes despite the good word that was being spread around about them in independent music circles. Hersh, a songwriter of eerie and intense work, both acoustic and harder-hitting, has continued as a solo performer. Her debut solo album, 1994’s "Hips and Makers", a project loaded with troubling acoustic beauty, proved a commercial success. Several worthy solo albums have since followed. Currently in Europe for two shows featuring spoken word, music and projections in London and Glasgow, the California-based musician will also perform a solo concert date in Athens tomorrow night.

Kristin Hersh (solo set), tomorrow, Kyttaro Club, 48 Ipeirou Street, Athens, tel 210 8224134. Doors open 9.30p.m. Nearest metro station "Victoria".

  Jane Birkin’s more recent music has branched out beyond the material of former husband and cultural icon Serge Gainsbourg. She will perform old and newer material tomorrow at the Athens Concert Hall.

Her own musical career has been largely based on the songs written for her or about her by the late French pop icon Serge Gainsbourg, as Jane Birkin highlighted during her first performance in Greece several years ago.

Performing on a hot summer evening at the open-air Lycabettus Theater in Athens, the barefooted, scantily dressed, still slim, and still sexy Birkin recalled memories of Gainsbourg, her former partner of 12 years, time and time again between songs. The show's entire set featured Gainsbourg numbers rearranged and delivered in a sensual and mystical "Arabesque" style, "which he would have liked", Birkin told her Athenian audience. The show was based on "Arabesque", an album of Gainsbourg songs she had just released.

The London-born singer and actress who went on to develop closer ties - both personal and artistic - in France than in her homeland, returns to the Greek capital for a second performance, tomorrow night at the Athens Concert Hall.

As expected, the late Gainsbourg - who passed away in 1991 as a heavy-drinking cultural icon in France and a revered cult figure in various other parts of the world at the age of 62 - will figure again in Birkin's set. But this time, his former spouse will present a repertory that includes work penned by other contemporary artists of various periods such as Bryan Ferry, Manu Chao, Neil Young, Tom Waits, The Smiths, Franz Ferdinand and Goran Bregovic.

Tonight's set list will be largely based on material from two recent and well-received albums by Birkin, 2004's "Rendez-Vous" and 2006's "Fictions". "Rendez-Vous" had featured a collection of duets with a variety of guests, including Beth Gibbons, the singer of the groundbreaking 90s Bristol act Portishead, and the stylish crooner Bryan Ferry. "Fictions", which continued in this vein, includes contributions from assorted acts such as Gibbons, Neil Hannon of Divine Comedy, Kate Bush and a selection of new French chanson songwriters, including Dominique A.

"Fictions" also features a few well-chosen covers, including songs by Tom Waits and Neil Young. Johnny Marr, guitarist and songwriter of the iconic pop-rock act The Smiths, played guitar and harmonica on several of the album's tracks.

All this artistic diversity in Birkin's more recent ventures may help carry both her own mind, and the minds of fans, away from her pivotal association with Gainsbourg. But as she would be the first to admit, Gainsbourg remains at the core, as indicated by Birkin's collaborations with younger acts such as Dominique A, whom the late figure probably influenced.

Birkin and Gainsbourg, 18 years her senior, met when she took a role in the 1969 film "Slogan" at a time when both were on their way out of relationships - Birkin with John Barry, composer of the James Bond series scores, and Gainsbourg with Brigitte Bardot.

"Everybody told me he was a mad, bad Russian, but after a dinner together I discovered he was very charming. He was still in love with Brigitte Bardot and I was still in love with John, but little by little we healed each other's wounds" Birkin told British music magazine Uncut in a recent interview, recalling her late partner who hailed from a Russian-Jewish family that relocated to France.

The newly linked pair quickly struck notoriety and success with the infamous Gainsbourg-penned duet "Je T'Aime, Moi Non Plus", a major hit in 1969 that launched a long-lasting collaboration between the two. Concertgoers can expect to hear more about it from Birkin tonight.

‘I never give advice because people will always go their own way. I don’t judge people, and I don’t offer advice. People have to work it out for themselves, really,’ the 61-year-old English singer, songwriter and actress, whose early pop stardom in the 60s was overshadowed by drug abuse throughout most of the following decade, told a news conference in Athens yesterday.

She took questions and offered answers with apparent pleasure and ease, regardless of the subject, be it her music, acting, or notorious personal life. But when asked for a bit of general advice, ahead of two shows in Greece this week as part of her aptly titled “Songs of Innocence and Experience” tour, the weathered, once-torn and now revived artist Marianne Faithfull courteously refused.

“I never give advice because people will always go their own way. I don’t judge people, and I don’t offer advice. People have to work it out for themselves, really,” responded the 61-year-old English singer, songwriter and actress, whose early pop stardom in the 60s was overshadowed by drug abuse for most of the following decade before she started rebuilding both her life and career, now widely regarded as successful.

The comeback was interrupted late in 2006 when Faithfull was diagnosed as being in the early stages of breast cancer. But she courageously returned to performing six months later, in March of last year.

A consistent series of critically acclaimed albums over the past decade or so – including 2002’s “Kissin’ Time”, which included songs written by contemporary greats such as Beck and Billy Corgan, and “Before the Poison”, an album released three years later with the bulk of its material penned by PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, helped reinstate Faithfull as a relevant and creative force in music today. In short, the past decade has proven to be a major departure from Faithfull’s erratic post-60s past, which produced few examples of notable work, the highlights being 1979’s “Broken English” and 1987’s “Strange Weather.”

Asked to comment on which stage of her life she considered the most interesting, Faithfull opted for the present without hesitation.

“I’d say now, I kind of miss being young. But the stage I’m now experiencing is the most productive and creative I’ve had. I’ve become very good at what I do. I shouldn’t be saying that myself, but I have,” declared Faithfull. “When I was young, I was like a pretty doll, and I just got thrown away. If I had to lose my youth and beauty to get to this stage of artistic integrity, then it’s been worth it,” she continued.

For the umpteenth time in her career, Faithfull, at yesterday’s news conference, had to face the seemingly inevitable question regarding her past association with the Rolling Stones, particularly the supergroup’s frontman Mick Jagger, an ex-boyfriend throughout the late 60s.

“Come on, I’ve had to talk about this for the last 46 years,” responded Faithfull, with politeness still intact. “I like Jagger and respect him a lot but that was a long, long time ago. I learnt a lot from Mick, Keith Richards and even Charlie Watts. He got me interested in jazz. I mostly get to see Keith these days. We’re all working artists.”

Faithfull is currently finishing off a new album, “Easy Come, Easy Go”. Produced by Hal Willner, who produced her “Strange Weather” album, the latest release, recorded in New York City, is expected this May.

“It’s been quite an adventure, what you call a real studio album. It’s turned out well. This is an album of other people’s songs, jazz, folk, blues. It’s very eclectic,” said Faithfull. “I’m not really promoting anything new on this tour, so I’m really enjoying performing, not that I mind promoting new albums.”

Backed by a trio for this tour, Faithfull said its repertory was career-spanning. Faithfull spoke enthusiastically about her respected parallel activity as a film actress, which began in the mid-60s for a decade before re-emerging in the early 90s. Most recently she starred in last year’s “Irina Palm” where she played the role of Maggie, a 60-year-old widow who becomes a sex worker to pay for the medical treatment of her ill grandson. The performance earned Faithfull a Best Actress nomination from the European Film Academy.

“To mix acting and what I call my real job, which is music, is complicated. But I love acting, if I have in front of me a good script, a good cast and crew. But I can’t go from film to film. It’s too late. If I hadn’t been discovered [in music], my life would have been very different,” said Faithfull. “My God, actors work so hard. They really have to go all over the world to promote these films; they get well paid, of course... But it’s all so celebrity-centered. I’m not movie-star material.”

Marianne Faithfull > Thursday, Pallas Theater, Athens. Friday, Vellideio Congress Centre, Thessaloniki.

 http://grhomeboy.wordpress.com/2008/02/25/pink-floyd-live-in-nicosia-cyprus/

  Music fans will be able to enjoy Nana Mouskouri’s last concert in Athens, Greece. Eternally popular vocalist Nana Mouskouri will round off her career on July 23 at the Herod Atticus Theater, in Athens, Greece.

For detailed info please visit > http://www.greekfestival.gr

Nana's Official Website > http://www.nanamouskouri.net/

  Her "Κylie X 2008" tour, starts in Paris, France on May 6 and with stops over Athens, Prague, Munich, Berlin, Vienna, London, a show "new, enjoyable and innovative" according to her website.

Tickets for the Athens concert are priced at 50 to 100 euro. For further details call Athens 210 3608366 or visit www.ticketpro.gr

Related Links > http://www.terravibe.gr/eng/

Kylie's Official Website > http://www.kylie.com/home

READ MORE ABOUT KYLIE'S ATHENS CONCERT > http://homeboy.gr [in English] and http://magazine.homeboy.gr [in Greek]

Jane Birkin > 19 March > Athens Concert Hall > Remember her hit "Je t’aime…moi non plus" with late Serge Gainsbourg?

The Kiss > 18 May > Terra Vibe > Athens

Blue Oyster Cult > 5 June > Vrachon "Melina Merkouri" Theater > Vyronas, Athens

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds > 7 June > Lycabettus Theater > Athens

Mark Knopfler > 15 June > Lycabettus Theater > Athens

Def Leppard and Whitesnake > 1 July > Karaiskaki Stadium > P. Faliro, Athens

Lenny Kravitz > 1 August > Lycabettus Theater > Athens

Iron Maiden > 2 August > Terra Vibe > Athens

+ more to come a.s.a.p. ! be here in beautiful Greece!

Marianne Faithfull will perform live at the Athens' Pallas Theater on 13 March and at the Thessaloniki's Vellidio Congress Centre on 14 March.

Her new album is expected to be released this Spring.

  Marianne Faithfull in a picture with the Rolling Stone's Mick Jagger, during her early music days back in the '60's.

The Longsands successfully released two singles in 2007, completed a UK tour, played a sell out gig at The Sage Gateshead for the launch of their second single, recorded a track for Newcastle United, and now they are looking for fresh new ways to show case their phenomenal sound to new audiences across the world.

Ian Barnes, guitarist and songwriter for The Longsands, said: "Everybody wants to be signed and recognised as an artist straight away but these days talent alone is not enough in the UK. You need to prove that you can sell out the best venues, make a stamp on the national press and radio and be almost a finished article ready for the labels to sell quickly and make their money. More so now than ever the UK music scene is monopolised by 'flash in the pan' bands who will be forgotten tomorrow. We have sold out big tour venues, sold thousands of CDs, and more importantly have songs that we believe can stand the test of time, but like every other artist we need one special platform that will separate us from the rest. We firmly believe that we have an opportunity in Greece to play to a totally different industry and hopefully turn a few heads in the UK as well."

The Longsands have already had radio play on the continent and have been in contact with representatives from Sony BMG Greece who are scheduled to catch the band in Athens on the last night of the tour.

For further information on The Longsands visit www.longsands.co.uk

Source > The NewsPostLeader, UK

5th of March is the date when pre-sale of tickets starts for the most funky summer concert in Athens, Greece. It's unbelievable yet true. On Friday 1st August Athens will dance to the rythms of "Are you gonna go My Way", "American Woman", "Let Love Rule", "Mr. Cab Driver", "I Belong To You", "Fly Away", "It Is Time For A Love Revolution" and Lenny Kravitz's manifest will flood Lycabettus Open-Air Theater and the Athenian sky!

Ticket pre-sales at 50 euro starts on 5 March. Points of sale > Τicket House, 42 Panepistimiou Street, Athens, tel 210 3608366, Τicket House, 102 Mitropoleos Street, Thessaloniki, tel 2310 264880. Online sales > www.ticketpro.gr

«My orchestra is the place where I keep the most personal elements of my work,» said famed English composer Michael Nyman of his Michael Nyman Band in an press interview ahead of a career-spanning performance in Athens next week.

Nyman initially established a reputation through early scores for the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, such as «Drowning By Numbers» and «The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover.» Repetitive themes played by exquisite wind instruments and violins created a totally unique atmosphere, which prompted many critics and listeners to herald Nyman as an important musical talent.

His course to date has not betrayed them. The multifaceted, tireless Nyman has continued producing scores and operas; diversified for unanticipated projects with artists such as Damon Albarn of the British pop-rock group Blur; performed shows throughout the world; written commissioned work for the Venice Biennale; and exhibited photography - his other major passion.

In 1993, Nyman became something of a pop star with the extraordinary popularity of his music to Jane Campion's film «The Piano.» The soundtrack sold over 4 million copies worldwide, an enormous figure for film music standards.

Nyman, on the piano, will be accompanied by a strings quartet, a brass trio, and bass for his upcoming Athens show. The composer first performed with his Michael Nyman Band back in 1976.

«My orchestra is my real voice in the sense that it perfectly represents my musical world to listeners,» said Nyman. «The interesting thing about what we've created with the orchestra is that we have a repertory that's self-sufficient, independent. Being a composer, you have a sense of individuality, but you often want to collaborate with other people. You may have your own universe, but to deliver your work best, you need to climb out of your shell and work with others. As I mature, I realize that I need to place myself in a process of exchange. And I'm glad that I have this band. It offers life, passion and energy to my music. As for the repertory at the Athens show, it will consist mainly of soundtrack work. We're trying to find a balance between audience preferences and the way the composer wants to present his work.»

Nyman is widely regarded as a «minimalist composer.» Strangely enough, it is a label he coined back in 1968, prior to his days as a composer, while working as a music critic on an article about the British composer Cornelius Cardew.

Nyman, responding to a question on whether he felt that he still belonged to the minimalist field, noted: «The easy way out would be to answer 'yes' and move on to the next question. It depends on how one defines minimalism. The interesting thing is that when I described certain composers as minimalists, while working as a music critic, I felt unhappy - probably because artists feel this way when you put tags on them and put them into a box. There is no doubt that those people I described composed in such a way in order to look at music from a new perspective. This was music of a certain direction. My compositions, too, emerged from this perspective. Of course, one changes as one goes along by adding material to his or her music and vocabulary. Even as a minimalist, you can have a more complex musical experience by combining things headed in a certain direction. What once could be described as minimal has outgrown the definition. When, for example, you compose a two-hour opera, can you call it 'minimal'?»

Not long ago, Nyman established his own music label, MNRecords, an initiative which he says helps feed his creativity, because he is free to work on his own terms. «If I were at a major label, I'd be releasing one or two projects a year. I'd put out 10 projects in a decade, but I am now able to put out 10 in a year, if I wish to. The most significant thing I get from MNRecords is that I compose, record and present my work immediately. Nothing gets left in drawers - it doesn't age,» noted Nyman. «I'm currently preparing two operas and four soundtracks. And my next release will be a birthday present that is two years late for Mozart's 250th birthday anniversary. It's a concept album, a post-modern minimalist approach to his work, titled 'Mozart 252.' It would have been difficult to do this project had I belonged to a major label's roster. Also, just a few days ago, I met with a Russian geneticist and an English filmmaker and we discussed a project that combines the results of recent genetic research with the decline of Minoan civilization. We may have something ready within the next 18 months.»

Amid all this activity, Nyman performed his first political, anti-war project last year, a commissioned work for the BBC orchestra and choir. It is based on a poem by Jamal Juma, an exiled Iraqi living in Denmark, in which the poet expresses concern about his younger brother who is held hostage by US forces in Iraq and is considered missing.

Is this his way of contributing to the protests against the Iraq war? «In recent times, we've had pop musicians talk about politics. There's Bono at the one end, and Live Aid at the other. But all that's just the icing on the cake. There needs to be a deep connection between artistic work and political issues. Think of the political cabaret of Berlin in the 20s. .. In our times artists are not positioned with a political conscience. The political protest song of the 60s and 70s does not exist, and I don't see a 'Guernica' anywhere. My [anti-war] project, too, was not made so I could change something. It was heard by the audience and a few thousand listeners on the radio. I don't know what kind of an impact this could have had. The project's objective was probably nothing more than a way to help me express myself and take a stance on all the horrible things happening around us.»

Michael Nyman Band, March 4, Athens, Badminton Theater, http://www.badmintontheater.gr

It has been one of the most subdued winter seasons in terms of imported concert activity, a stark contrast to last summer’s loaded agenda of shows – perhaps too many, considering the domestic market’s size and spending potential. A considerable number of those summer events did not fare well financially, which has probably proven detrimental to the wintertime business aspirations of local concert organizers. Some announcements, however, have trickled through for the coming weeks and months. But, come summertime, it remains to be seen whether the concert agenda will be anywhere near as densely packed as it was last year.

Imminent events include performances by indie-rock icon Kristin Hersh, formerly of the Throwing Muses, Michael Nyman, best known for his emblematic soundtrack work, and the veteran act Marianne Faithfull.

Bookings for spring and beyond – concertgoers should remain apprehensive of date changes or even cancellations here – include the whimsical indie-folk duo CocoRosie, preparing for a quick return to Athens after a strong show last summer, the long-running indie-rock act Dinosaur Jr, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, as well as Mark Knopfler, the former frontman of Dire Straits, who has put out a number of worthy solo albums since the demise of his chart-topping rock group of the late 70s and 80s.

Promoters have also announced dates for three giants of the hard-rock field, the domestic market’s most reliable and consistent crowd-puller for entrepreneurs seeking a safer investment. The hard-rock parade is scheduled to begin on May 18 when Kiss, a sensation of the 70s that is still going, has been booked to perform at Terra Vibe on the outskirts of northern Athens. Then, moving well into the summer, the Karaiskaki soccer stadium in Neo Faliron, southern Athens, which is also developing into an arena-rock venue, will host a double-header with Def Leppard and Whitesnake on July 1. Iron Maiden have been booked for a show at Terra Vibe about a month later, on August 2.

Hersh, who fronted the Throwing Muses, a pivotal American indie-rock act of the 80s and early 90s and has since put out a number of interesting solo albums, performs at the Kyttaro club in Athens on March 27. It rates as a definite highlight, irrespective of the sluggish concert activity here this winter. Though her former band’s work did draw a considerable following, Hersh’s debut solo effort, 1994’s “Hips and Makers”, an eerie all-acoustic effort, sold more copies than any other Throwing Muses releases, mostly because of major airplay for the song “Your Ghost” a duet featuring Hersh and REM’s Michael Stipe.

Nyman, who has provided the soundtracks to films by Peter Greenaway, including 1988’s “Drowning By Numbers”, 1989’s “The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover”, and 1991’s “Prospero’s Books” as well as Jane Campion’s “The Piano” a year later, performs at the Athens' Badminton Theater on March 4.

Faithfull returns to Athens after a number of shows over the past decade for a night at the Pallas Theater on March 13.

CocoRosie, a prime act on the booming indie-folk circuit, have been slated for the Gagarin club on May 16.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, regular visitors here for over two decades, are expected in Athens at the open-air Lycabettus Theater on June 7, for the final night of a European tour that begins in Lisbon this April. The act, which is now set to release a new album, “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” also plays Thessaloniki’s Lazariston Monastery venue a night earlier.

Cave’s show in Athens will coincide with a gig at the Fuzz Club in Athens by Dinosaur Jr, a band that helped bring back the sound of raw-sounding rock guitar when it appeared to be fading – at least in mainstream music – in the 80s.

Knopfler, the former Dire Straits frontman, has been booked for a night at the Lycabettus Theater on June 15. Last time he performed here was in the mid-80s, with Dire Straits when they had become international chart-toppers with the hit-laden “Brothers In Arms” album. These days, Knopfler has settled for less polish to his sound, with country-blues material dominating his song book. Knopfler recently released a new solo album, “Kill to Get Crimson” following 2006’s “All the Road Running” a collaboration with Emmylou Harris.

at the Nicosia's International Airport > at the "Green Line" >

Nicosia is the last divided European Capital

more to follow soon, watch out this blog!

UPDATE >>> 10 March 2008

According to http://www.pinkfloydz.com/roger2008/main.htm here are some further news regarding the live appearance in Nicosia, Cyprus >

Cyprus - It's thought this show was so close to being confirmed it wasn't funny. However, Roger's Manager has advised us directly that this show will not now go ahead. There's still may be a flicker of hope that the promoters will be able to find a major sponser, but at the time of writing, this show is officially dead in the water.

Cyprus Latest We know that many Greek & Turkish Roger Waters fans are desperate to get information about Roger's possible appearance in Cyprus on 9 May, so we sent our bloodhounds sniffing and here's what they have come up with. First, Roger will NOT be performing at the Pantheon Art Cinema in Nicosia (as reported by CY Live). It appears this theatre only holds 600 people! We do know that Roger's tour manager (Andrew Zweck) was in Cyprus at the end of January scouting for possible locations. It seems that Roger is very keen to play in the last divided city in Europe, and Nicosia's ancient walls (in the buffer zone) was the obvious spot, but sadly that location has too many security problems that could not not be overcome. We know that Andrew Zweck then checked out the GSP stadium [ http://www.gsp.org.cy/GSP%20English.html ] in Nicosia (capacity about 22,000) and that he has approved that. However, the promoters are still seeking sponsors, and the future of this show depends on suitable sponsors being found. So at the time of writing, the best we can offer is that the show is planned, but will only go ahead if suitable sponsors are found. As soon as we get more news, you know where to find it.

Roger In Cyprus A date we can't officially confirm, but we can tell you that CY Live [ http://www.cylive.co.uk/info.php?id=3 ] have Roger listed as playing the Pantheon Art Cinema in Nicosia - Cyprus on 9 May. More news when we get it.

Dazed & Confused - Pink Floyd In Cyprus Seems the media in Greece & Turkey are getting themselves somewhat confused! There's been a flurry of stories over the last few weeks about the possibility of Pink Floyd playing there, but on closer examination it seems it's actually Roger Waters that these stories are referring to. (Ok, we know a lot of you think Roger Waters IS Pink Floyd, but cut us some slack here please!) Now the Cyprus Mail have come out with the following screaming headline 'Pink Floyd to play the Nicosia wall?' The story goes on to say that the concert will take place at the Nicosia buffer zone on May 9. Before you email us, we know nothing at all about Roger performing in Greece or Turkey, but you can be assured if we do find out anything, it will appear here in a flash.

http://www.pinkfloydz.com/roger2008/main.htm

It seems, that our sources have been misleading us and we apologise for it. We strongly suggest that you also monitor the news, by visiting the above mentioned link.

Pink Floyd to play the Nicosia wall?

Teenagers are already taking out their black logo t-shirts, while adults of all ages swoon with delight as word goes round that the creative genius of Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, and his band are likely to be arriving in Cyprus this May for a concert like no other.

When rumours started circulating a few days back that they would be giving a concert on the island, no one really believed that these musical legends could possibly have reason to visit. The Pantheon Art Cinema in Nicosia then announced screenings of the cult classic, Pink Floyd: The Wall, and the rumours became rife.

Although no definite confirmation can be made, it is now looking more than likely that the group will be arriving to give a concert in the Nicosia buffer zone on May 9. As one of the most successful rock bands of all time, the London boys achieved worldwide success in the 1970s with the progressive psychedelic rock of The Dark Side of the Moon, followed by the albums Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall.

The organisers of the upcoming event are trying to make sure that details are finalised before they make any official statements. They do, however, confirm that negotiations are currently underway, and that the band should hopefully be playing on the Green Line in a show similar to the one given in Berlin in 1990, less than a year after the destruction of the Berlin Wall. Played to a live audience of 250,000 and a television audience of 500 million in 52 countries across the globe, the show took on historic proportions.

Concerts in Cyprus can sometimes be very risky business and the organisers are keen to make sure that everything is done right before tickets go on sale. When you’re dealing with such a big name as Pink Floyd, the promoters can be sure that thousands will show up, but they also have to be certain that the band is happy with the choice of venue and whole concept of the show.

If such a performance does take place, the one thing we can be sure of is that the ongoing division of the island will most certainly be in the limelight as foreign media will be covering the special event.

Crowds can expect an extravagant show like no other. Renowned for their lavish stage shows, the rock legends will be combining their performance with video footage playing in the background. All Pink Floyd hits will be played as well as all the songs from The Dark Side of the Moon, complemented with 3D effects and laser lights.

For such a small island, Cyprus really hasn’t done badly when it comes to concerts in the past few years. Crowds went mad over Elton John tickets a few years back, Sting drew in plenty of fans a couple of summers ago, and the Bryan Adams gig last June was heaving with overly excitable crowds, while 50 Cent was another surprise concert that had young fans of hip hop and R&B delighted in July.

With fingers tightly crossed, it seems that things are about to get even better with a show not many would ever have imagined experiencing in the capital.

It may be the concert of the year. Simply Red are coming to Cyprus, for a live concert!

Saturday 7 June, at 19:oo hrs, at the  Paphian Stadium, Paphos, Cyprus.

Ticket prices > 99,10 euro at the door, 92,26 euro (pre sale), 128.14 euro for V.I.P.

For more information call > 80 000 222 and 77 777 211.

Like most groups whose lineups include former music journalists, the quality pop band Saint Etienne, in Athens for a show at the Gagarin Club this Saturday, was formed with a specific concept in mind: to fuse the sound of pop music in London back in the 60s with the club-circuit dance styles that characterized the UK in the early 90s.

Led by the group’s key songwriters Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs with Sarah Cracknell on sensual vocals, the British pop band from Surrey, England managed to achieve their artistic objective. The group’s work also helped add substance to the alternative dance-music scene and contributed a distinctive quality to the domain.

Since their 1992 debut album “Foxbase Alpha”, Saint Etienne have experimented with various aspects of contemporary music. The band’s infectious melodies, their impeccably produced material, intelligent lyrics and Cracknell’s delightful vocals combine to create a highly distinctive style.

Saint Etienne’s upcoming show in Athens this weekend will include material from various phases of the trio’s eight-album career.

Gagarin 205 Club, 205 Liosion Street, Athens, tel 210 8547600.

Related Links > http://www.gagarin205.gr

Collaborating with Brendan Perry, Lisa Gerrard made up half of the duo Dead Can Dance, the arty goth-rock act that started releasing work in the mid-80s on the distinctive British 4AD label, home to a guild of ethereal and dark-sounding acts, among them the Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and Lisa Germano. The label’s airy roster also included hard-hitting yet innovative exceptions, such as The Birthday Party, The Pixies and Throwing Muses. Gerrard’s activity with Perry, her Dead Can Dance partner, lasted for a little over a decade, slightly overlapping with a solo career whose debut release, 1995’s “This Mirror Pool,” appeared a year before Dead Can Dance’s final album of new material, “Spiritchaser.” Since the end of Dead Can Dance, a project that started in Australia in the early 80s before Gerrard and Perry decided to relocate to the UK, Gerrard has released a steady flow of work, including major film scores, such as those for “The Gladiator,” “The Insider” and Whale Rider”, some of it on the 4AD label that helped establish her fame. The former Dead Can Dance vocalist, instrumentalist, and co-songwriter performs in Athens this Friday at the Pallas Theater, just under a year since her most recent album, “The Silver Tree,” her first full-length release as a solo artist since “The Mirror Pool”, 12 years ago. Tickets for Friday’s show have virtually sold out.

“The Silver Tree” highlights why Gerrard has drawn the attention of film directors. The album’s content is loaded with ambient soundscapes topped with Gerrard’s outlandish vocals. Sung nearly as prayers or meditative mantras, Gerrard uses glimpses of various languages, including some English, to create a dreamlike sound.

Commenting on her mosaic of musical influences in her website’s biography, Gerrard cites the Greek, Turkish, and Irish melodies “oozing into the streets” of her predominantly immigrant neighborhood in Melbourne as being instrumental in her work. In a previous interview, Gerrard remarked that her hometown’s multicultural aspect made her feel, from early on, that “there is an ability to speak in a language that all can understand, that we don’t need to communicate in a language that is academically defined, that there is a language we can communicate in that is a language of the heart.”

During her early years, in the early 80s while still in her teens, Gerrard had begun experimenting with her voice, including at various outdoor locations such as busy streets and city road tunnels, where she would improvise accompanied by the roar of rush-hour traffic. Highlighting the degree of her career’s success, a little over a couple of decades on, Gerrard and Perry, on a Dead Can Dance reunion tour, performed sold-out shows at the 15,000-capacity Hollywood Bowl and 7,000-capacity Radio City Music Hall in New York. In an interview following these reunion shows, Gerrard noted that: “Brendan and I have no plans to work together again.”

Her work is deep and spiritual, but Gerrard, who like Perry, has a background performing with punk acts in the late 70s, tends to feel flabbergasted when asked to analyze. Several years ago, in an interview with Melbourne daily The Age after having won a Golden Globe for her soundtrack to “The Gladiator,” Gerrard, responding to a query from Ennio Morricone, who was intrigued by her work and wanted to know about the secrets behind her voice, said she told the famed film composer: “I can’t tell you anything. I’m not an academic. I’m not an intellectual. There is no intellectual answer to it. He wouldn’t believe me.”

Her own film scores in recent years, Gerrard believes, proved to be an influence on “Silver Tree,” her latest solo album. “It is through the marriage of music and picture that I have discovered the powerful suggestive nature of the work... that it is not necessary to spell out every detail, instead simply point the listener to that which is subtly suggested there, allowing the listener freedom to continue on their own inner journey,” said Gerrard.

In an interview with German magazine Sonic Seducer, Gerrard, asked to describe what music is to her, noted: “work that opens the pathway of the heart. It makes me feel and keeps me sensitive. It has helped me to maintain my faith in humanity. It brings me joy and sorrow in a way that they can be celebrated. It is an absolute that cannot innately be corrupted; it is a vessel of inner learning and a blessing from God.”

In the same interview, commenting on how her relatively recent motherhood had affected her and her work, Gerrard said that “apart from bringing a deeper dimension of love and discipline into my life, the children made me utilize effectively the time available to me to work, because you understand they must come first. I am a normal mother and they have no responsibility to the boundaries that I am trying to cross artistically.”

“Sanctuary: Lisa Gerrard,” a documentary on the artist’s remarkable career by English film producer and director Clive Collieron, was released late in 2006.

Early next summer a virtuoso guitarist, talented composer and songwriter as well as the former leader of a band that has left its mark on music history will hit town.

The 58-year-old Mark Knopfler, frontman of Dire Straits, a band that still has a powerful fan base and has made some impressive sales, will perform at the Lycabettus Theater on June 13 next summer, according to Didi Music Big Star Promotion.

Knopfler has been called a “dinosaur of rock” and he may in fact be the only artist in the world who deserves the title. Back in 2001, a team of British paleontologists that was carrying out excavations in Madagascar discovered a new king of small dinosaurs, with strange teeth.

The find was impressive enough in itself, but what was more striking was the name they decided to give it: They named it Masiakasaurus knopfleri, in honor of Mark Knopfler. Their explanation, simple and moving at the same time, was that when they listened to Dire Straits songs they came across more and more bones, while when they changed music they couldn’t find anything.

Dire Straits classics, like “Money for Nothing”, “Walk of Life” and “So Far Away” became multi-platinum hits and retain their beauty even today. Knopfler, of course, has enjoyed a solo career for years now.

Even if fans of his felt lukewarm about some of his previous solo albums, the latest, titled “Kill to Get Crimson” has come to put an end to many objections. It is a mature album with folk influences, a traditional orchestration and magical electric guitar.

Knopfler spent many hours in the studio to finish this album. He worked with various musicians, including accordionist Ian Lowthian and John McCusker, a skillful fiddler. The result is more than fascinating, which is one more reason to look forward to next summer.

Tickets for Knopfler’s performance next year are available online at www.ticketpro.gr

The setlist was as follows >
01. Titanic Overture
02. Invisible Boy
03. Arena Of Pleasure
04. Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)
05. Gypsy Meets The Boy
06. Dr. Rockter
07. I Am One
08. The Idol
09. Hold On To My Heart
10. The Great Misconceptions Of Me
11. Hate To Love Me
12. L.O.V.E. Machine
13. Wild Child
14. Take Me Up
15. I Wanna Be Somebody
16. Blind In Texas

Watch fan-filmed video footage of W.A.S.P. performing "The Idol" on May 3, 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark >

Principal Club Theater, 17th km Thessaloniki-Moudania Highway, Thermi, Thessaloniki, tel 2310 428088. 
On Friday > Metal by veterans WASP. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at Ticket House, 20 Ethnikis Amynis Street, Thessaloniki, tel 2310 253630.

Gagarin 205 Venue, 205 Liosion Street, Athens, tel 210 8547600. 
On  Saturday > Metal by veterans WASP. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at Ticket House, 42 Panepistimiou Street, Athens, tel 210 3608366.

Celebrating its 30th year in the business this winter, the Half Note Jazz Club, nowadays a bigger, more extravagant and pricier venue compared to its humbler earlier versions at several locations around Athens, promises to continue its trademark policy of non-stop music for yet another year. All may lie still across the road from the venue, at the capital’s First Cemetery in the Mets district, but, since moving to the neighborhood a little over a decade ago, the jazz club has offered live music seven days a week, often beyond the jazz field.

Originally launched in 1977, when jazz music was a rare breed here, at a venue along Michalakopoulou Street, not far from downtown Athens, the Half Note relocated to Strefi Hill in Exarchia and then moved again for a considerable spell to the downtown Ambelokipi area before settling at its current Mets base in the mid-90s.

Now, just weeks into the new season, the Half Note is currently hosting Chilean vocalist Claudia Acuna and her quintet until Thursday. Acuna, who performed at the Athens club seven years ago, has proven a notable figure on the international circuit in recent years.

Though she always wanted to be a singer, the Santiago-born and -raised Acuna, who grew up singing her homeland’s traditional folk songs and pop hits, did not discover jazz music until her mid-teens. She began frequenting a key jazz club in Santiago, both as a performer and audience member, before moving to New York City in 1995 to pursue the career more seriously. She started taking on odd jobs and was a keen contributor to jam sessions, sometimes waiting until the early morning hours for her chance to sing, gradually making a name for herself on New York’s circuit.

Five years after her move to New York, Acuna put our her debut album, “The Wind From the South” on the renowned label Verve Records, which offered the new artist a contract. She has since released another two albums, 2002’s “Rhythm of Life” and 2004’s “Luna.” Her live sets include Latin jazz numbers, originals steeped in bossa nova and soul balladry, as well as covers of material by major artists such as George Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Stevie Wonder.

Fado singer Silvia Filipe, a French-born artist of Portuguese descent, takes over from Acuna on Friday for a further week. Like a fair number of her contemporaries, Filipe has added poetic and theatrical elements to the old fado style, a popular Portuguese song form that emerged early last century. Filipe released her debut album “Sea of Fado” in 2003 and followed up with last year’s “Canto Serena.” Interestingly, Filipe uses saxophone, an unorthodox choice of instrument for fados, which will be included in her backing trio for her Athens shows.

Forthcoming Half Note bookings, beyond Filipe’s October 26 to November 1 residency, include: blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin with Buddy Flett and the Bluebirds (November 2-8); the Rashied Ali Quintet (November 9-15); flamenco act David Perez – Ana Morales Y Grupo (November 16-22); and soul-jazz act Stephanie McKay (November 30 - December 6). For bookings, call 210 9213310 or 210 9232360.

Half Note Jazz Club, 17 Trivonianou Street, Mets, Athens, tel 210 9213310.

Now reformed and busy impressing new and older fans on the international touring circuit, Radio Birdman, an early punk-era act formed by Australian surfer-turned-rocker Rob Younger on vocals and American rocker-turned-surgeon Deniz Tek on guitar, return to Greece for a second successive year this week with shows scheduled for Thessaloniki’s Principal Club on Friday and the An Club in Athens the following evening.

Based in Sydney, Radio Birdman formed in 1974 and took their cue from two high-energy American acts, MC5 and the Stooges. The band’s first round of activity fell apart in 1981 not long after the act’s second album, “Living Eyes” which followed 1978’s “Radios Appear” a record whose style, which came to be known as the “Australian sound,” influenced numerous acts both domestically and beyond.

The act’s original lineup regrouped in 1996 for festival appearances in Australia and took it a step further last year with the release of a new album, “Zeno Beach.”

Reflecting the worldwide demand for the proto-punk band, the comeback tour’s itinerary, about two-and-a-half months long, includes over 40 dates. Radio Birdman’s previous show in Athens last year, which was the band’s first here, sold out.

Principal Club Theater, 17th km Thessaloniki-Moudania Highway, Thermi, Thessaloniki, tel 2310 428088.
An Club, 13-15 Solomou Street, Exarchia, Athens, tel 210 3305056.
Tickets can be purchased at all Metropolis music stores, Ticket House at 42 Panepistimiou Street, Athens and at the Vinyl Microstore, 34 Didotou Street, Athens.

Local fusion band Mode Plagal, whose convincing blend of Greek folk, from various parts of the country, with an assortment of imported styles, including rock, funk, jazz and calypso, has established it as a pivotal band here, will perform two shows in Athens this week following an extended absence from the capital’s circuit, presumably due to the individual commitments by the band’s talented members with other performers.

The two shows, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Alavastro Cafe, rate among the most interesting in Athens over the next few days.

Also later this week, the UK band Television Personalities, one of the New Wave era’s most erratic cases, as highlighted by the lengthy disappearance of frontman Dan Treacy, are scheduled to perform three shows, beginning with Thessaloniki’s Principal Club Theater on Friday. They also will do two shows in Athens over the weekend, at the Gagarin Club on Saturday and a smaller unplugged show the following night at the far smaller Tiki Bar, ex-Deluxe in Koukaki.

The upcoming agenda also includes Sue Moreno, a Dutch rockabilly and old-school rock’n’roll performer, at the Blue Fox Cafe this Friday night.

Mode Plagal, an Athens-based act, formed in 1990 from a looser collective of musicians who had worked together in various combinations. The initial lineup, a trio comprising saxophonist Thodoris Rellos, guitarist Kleon Antoniou, and drummer Takis Kanellos, began forging its Greek folk-fusion sound which led to a self-titled debut album five years later, in 1995, with guests on board including Antonis Maratos, who went on to become a permanent member on electric bass. Released on an independent Thessaloniki label, Ano Kato Records, the album generated an impressive response from critics both here and abroad. The widely read US magazine Modern Drummer’s response, “Mode Plagal is hipper than any American record I’ve heard in a long time... they make a case for fusion that might have saved the genre 20 years ago...”, helped encourage the Greek band to look for openings abroad.

Its follow-up album, “Mode Plagal II,” released three years later by Lyra, the country’s biggest, at the time, independent label, further augmented Mode Plagal’s style and charted in 96th place on the WMCE (World Music Charts Europe) for the year 2000. The chart is based on votes from a network of radio producers around Europe. Around this time, the band began venturing abroad for sporadic shows, mostly around Europe. There was also a performance in Damascus, Syria, at a jazz festival. Kanellos, in an older interview, likened the audience’s behavior to that of a soccer crowd. “Every time one of us completed a solo, there’d be a wild and abrupt response from the crowd, like a goal had been scored, which puzzled us a bit in the beginning,” he recalled.

“Mode Plagal III,” released in 2002, faired even better than its predecessor on the WMCE chart, reaching No 33 for the year. Unlike the previous two albums, which were mostly instrumental with occasional vocal performances by the band’s members, “Mode Plagal III” included contributions from four female singers, the renowned vocal instrumentalist Savina Yannatou, the traditional singer Yiota Vei, as well as two more pop-inclined performers, Eleni Tsaligopoulou and Theodosia Tsatsou.

“Mode Plagal III” was followed by a two-band collaborative effort a year later, “Beyond the Bosporus” with Bosporus, a traditional group from Turkey, led by Istanbul-based Greek artist Nikiforos Metaxas as the artistic director. The joint effort included compositions from members of both acts. It has now been four years since this release, Mode Plagal’s most recent recorded output.

The visit by the New Wave era’s Television Personalities, also set to perform later this week, comes following a canceled date last year. Local fans will be eager to see the influential act, whose far-reaching style, ranging from pop to psychedelia, has influenced a considerable number of bands.

A steady supply of albums, from 1979’s “Bill Grundy” to 1998’s “Don’t Cry Baby... It’s Only a Movie” came to a halt when Treacy, the group’s singer and songwriter, went missing. Rumors of mental illness, drug abuse, homelessness and even death abounded as the years went by without a trace of the musician. Then, in 2004, he wrote a letter to an old friend disclosing that he was confined on a prison boat in Dorset. Treacy was released later that year and resurrected his old band. Shows were followed by a comeback album, 2006’s “My Dark Places” on the influential British label Domino. It was followed by another album that year, “It’s All About the Girl”.

The band’s Athens show at the Gagarin Club will be opened by the local indie-rock guitar-drums duo the Callas comprising brothers Lakis and Aris Ioannas.

Alavastro Cafe, 78 Damareos Street, Pangrati, Athens, tel 210 7560102.

Tiki Bar, ex-Deluxe, 15 Falirou Street, Koukaki, Athens, tel 210 9236908.

Blue Fox Cafe, 91 Asclepiou Street, Exarchia, Athens. 

Gagarin 205 Venue, 205 Liosion Street, [close to “Attiki” train and metro station], tel 210 8547600. Doors open at 9 p.m. Web > http://www.gagarin205.gr

The Saints, or Chris Bailey, the punk-era band’s frontman and sole remaining original member, were added to the agenda as a replacement for fellow Australians Beasts of Bourbon. In their heyday, the Saints were based in the UK and helped pave the way for other compatriot acts seeking fertile foreign ground.

The original plan for a triple-bill rock event at the Gagarin 205 club in Athens this Friday night included the Beasts of Bourbon, a long-running indie band from Sydney that was part of a fertile scene in the 80s for Australian acts, a number of which had impact abroad. The Beasts of Bourbon, however, withdrew after apparently losing the support of their label for a European tour. Even so, the one-day festival’s promoter has managed to maintain some of the evening’s character by filling the gap with another Australian band of the aforementioned era, the Saints, or, more accurately, Chris Bailey, the punk-era band’s frontman and sole original member still on board. Also on Friday’s bill are Gallon Drunk, back following several performances here in recent years, and the Thessaloniki trio Dread Astaire.

Back in their heyday, in the mid-to-late 70s, the Saints stood as a force on the punk scene. Emerging from Brisbane, where conservative politics ruled and affluent retirees relocated for the magnificent weather, the Saints were a stark contrast. After gaining some momentum in Australia, the ambitious band quickly relocated to the UK, the focal point of the punk movement, and established itself as an integral part of the scene, internationally.

Not long after, the Australian band’s success in the UK encouraged other aspiring compatriot acts to also try their luck in what was generally viewed, at the time, as a key location for the evolution of contemporary music. Fellow Brisbane act the Go-Betweens, now disbanded following last year’s death of co-founder Grant McLennan, and Melbourne’s Birthday Party, fronted by the then relatively unknown Nick Cave, were among the first Australian bands to follow in the path of the Saints and set up base in the UK. Stifled at home by a conservative-minded music industry and listening public, bands such as these felt the need to take their less orthodox sounds to more receptive places.

For a band hailing from a distant land whose rock music circuit had little if any tradition of acceptance abroad, the Saints achieved plenty. Signed by EMI, the Brisbane band released three albums on the label. The affiliation, somewhat strained by the Australian act’s refusal to accept demands by the label for the adoption of a typical punk image, torn clothes and mohawks, produced three albums, ending with 1978’s “Prehistoric Sounds,” a release that fused punk aggression with jazzy overtones.

Ed Kuepper, Bailey’s songwriting partner in the Saints, departed a year later after band politics split the two apart and swiftly began spearheading his own projects, beginning with the Laughing Clowns, an act with which he continued to develop the punk-jazz vein of “Prehistoric Sounds.” Following several Laughing Clowns albums, Kuepper started what has proved to be a very prolific solo career. Along the way, he has also released work as the Aints, a tongue-in-cheek response to Bailey’s insistence on preserving their old band’s name with the help of a parade of musicians over the years. For his current version of the Saints, Bailey is backed by Caspar Winjberg on bass and Peter Wilkinson on drums.

Gallon Drunk, Friday’s other main act, were formed in London in 1990 with James Johnston as frontman. After launching recording activity with two highly charged albums, both released in 1992, the band’s next effort, 1993’s “From the Heart of Town,” was nominated for the Mercury Prize, the prestigious UK music award.

A year later, Johnston was recruited by Nick Cave as a temporary replacement for guitarist Blixa Bargeld, who was unable to go on a tour with the Bad Seeds, Cave’s backing band. Johnston became a regular member of the celebrated act in 2003, after Bargeld, also a member of the German act Einsturzende Neubauten, withdrew from the Bad Seeds following an association with Cave that began the mid-80s. Following a number of older shows with Gallon Drunk, Johnston has also performed here with Cave’s Bad Seeds, as well as Mick Harvey, Cave’s lifelong music partner who played as a solo act last winter. The London band, which had provided the soundtrack for “Black Milk,” a film by Greek director Nikos Triandafyllidis released in 1999, is currently finishing recording a new album titled “The Rotten Mile.”

The evening’s Greek band, Dread Astaire, a regular performer on the domestic scene over the past year or so, have so far put out two vinyl single releases on their own label, Fuzzie.

Tickets at 25 euros, are available at Ticket House, 42 Panepistimiou Street, Athens, tel 210 3608366. Gagarin 205 Venue, 205 Liosion Street, [close to "Attiki" train and metro station], tel 210 8547600. Doors open at 9 p.m.

Related Links > http://www.gagarin205.gr

Classical > Athens > Saturday and Sunday
The WDR Symphony Orchestra of Cologne will perform works by Mozart, Richard Strauss and Rachmaninov, conducted by Semyon Bychkov and joined by soprano Genia Kuehmeier, at the Athens Concert Hall on the weekend.
At the Athens Concert Hall, 1 Kokkali Street and Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, Athens, tel 210 7282333. Nearest metro station Megaron.

Byzantine Hymns > Athens > today Saturday
Tenor Mario Frangoulis and vocalist Dimitris Bassis will interpret Byzantine hymns and compositions by Nikos Skalkottas, Manolis Kalomiris and others at a charity concert with the ERT Greek Radio and TV Orchestra and Choir at the Herod Atticus Theater. For tickets, contact the Hellenic Festival, 39 Panepistimiou Street, Athens, tel 210 3272000.
At the Herod Atticus Theater, Acropolis, Athens. Nearest metro station Akropolis.

Contemporary > Athens > Sunday
Under the baton of Miltos Logiadis, the Orchestra of Colors will interpret works by Solon Michailidis, Costas Nikitas, Christos Samaras and others, along with vocalist Yiannis Idomeneos and pianist Vicky Stylianou, at the Benaki Museum Pireos Street Annex at 8.30 p.m. on Sunday.
At the Benaki Museum, 138 Pireos Street and Andronikou, Athens, tel 210 3453111.

Ticket presale at > Ticket House, PMW and online at www.ticketpro.gr from 19 September.
Ticket Prices > 50, 40 and 35 euros.

Terra Vibe Venue, 37th km Athens - Lamia National Highway, Malakasa Interchange, tel 210 8155396, http://www.terravibe.gr