The Guns and Roses concert at OAKA in Athens on July 22nd happened to coincide with very high temperatures, which on the one hand caused the production to change by at least 30 minutes to the start time, and on the other hand to think about the possibility that there might be quite a few empty seats, due to the heat, in the stadium. Guns and Roses came to Athens 30 years after their 1993 concert, and of course the heat wasn't enough to keep their audience away from OAKA.
The stadium was largely filled, the arena again did its job keeping the tempo going throughout the evening, and the word "initiation" in the title is literal for an important reason. Many of the people who came to enjoy this magnificent concert were parents who brought their children to the stadium. Wearing t-shirts of the legendary band, parents and children, "so that the children can learn rock", to hear and see "the band" up close. The parents were fans of the `80s and `90s who keep the intensity and passion for rock music alive today. And they were the ones who rocked to the rhythms of Guns and Roses songs, the ones who danced, the ones who sang, and the ones who left afterwards with charged batteries.
Certainly, the teenagers understood that there is a relationship of passion and consistency here.
The evening started half an hour late in case the heat could be banished, which was not possible as the temperatures remained high even after midnight. But at 19.30 the support group started, the Last Internationale with dynamic presence, loud sound, getting the first good impression of the audience.
Last Internationale is the American band formed by Edgey Pires and Delila Paz, and characterized by social lyrics, concern for people, love, justice, and all this with a strong rock rhythm and a very good beat. Paz thanked Guns and Roses at least three times for including them on their tour, stressing that they are an independent band. What was certain was that their stage presence confirmed to us that this group really had to be the support group for Guns and Roses: they had the same flame of teenage eroticism and audacity, as befits an authentic rock style: "I'll tell you and you'll listen"!
It is certain that after this concert, Last Internationale gained a lot more fans in Greece.
And then came the graphics. The very good quality and aesthetic graphics, which characterize Guns and Roses from day one. Let me make a parenthesis here, about the official poster of the Greek concert, which had as its central theme father Zeus projecting between two Ionic columns, holding the thunderbolt. The official video for the Greek concert referred to the goddess Athena. Both very tasteful and characteristic.
When Guns and Roses appeared on the OAKA Stage, after 30 years of absence, everything seemed self-evident: it was all there. Their sounds, familiar to loyal followers of their music – the images of the graphics – the band members huge on the screens, and the audience moving to the beats: the concert was magnificent.
Video Features:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsLEumUZxtw ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-gQ3McI6Dg,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcqQZue_skQ
The songs presented at the Athens concert were:
It's so easy
Bad Obsession
Chinese Democracy
Slither
Pretty tied up
Mr. Brownstone
Welcome to the jungle with the very "episodic" Rumble intro
Double talkin' jive
hard school
Absurd
Estranged
live and let die
Rocket queen
Down on the Farm
you could be mine
TV Eye with the voice of Duff McKagan
Anything Goes
Civil War
A required of its duration Slash
Sweet Child O'mine
November Rain
Reckless life
Wichita Lineman
Locomotive
Knockin' on heaven's door
night rain
Patience
Paradise City
Three hours of tireless hard rock from the original representatives of the American rock of the `80s and `90s, finally came to satisfy the fans of the genre. The setlist songs were not what was expected, as most expected to hear eg Don't Cry or some other songs that are "usually" presented at the band's concerts.
Axl Rose is always an unsurpassed frontman, who knows how to "hold" the stage. Slash, on guitar, gave the audience the solos they were waiting for. Duff McKagan, apart from the right bass, also gave very beautiful vocals to TV Eyes. Richard Fortus on a very strong guitar, Dizzy Reed on the keys, Frank Ferrer on the very nice drums and Melissa Reese who sonically "dressed" the songs with her keys: Guns and Roses 36 years after the release of Appetite for Destruction (literally, exactly 36 years ago since the record was released on July 21, 1987), still fill the stadiums like the first day.
The beautiful event was a short break, 10 minutes before midnight, where Axl Rose asked everyone inside the stadium to wish Slash a happy birthday. And so the band together with the Greek rock family sang Happy Birthday to the great Slash.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtTN-sPreCQ
And after Paradise City which - like Sweet Child o'mine - those in the stands sang standing up, Guns and Roses took their famous final bow and left. And everything was really simple and self-explanatory. Why;
Because whether it took 30 years to come to Athens or not, Guns and Roses for their fans, they were never really missing.
