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I
have been waiting for a long time the day I would
be able to see live the band that offered me with
its music, and continues to do so, numerous incomparable
moments. Many fans have turned their back on the
band the last few years, due to the change it
has made on its sound and the different musical
direction it decided to follow. Well, I think
all of them were deeply dumbfounded by Fates latest
live performance here in Greece.
It was 8:30 and I was sitting
right outside Ydrogeios Club in Salonica, together
with a friend of mine (younger than me). Even
though he isn't a new kid on the block, he became
familiar with Fates sound through the last 3 albums.
Anyway, time was passing by, it was almost 9:30
and we were still sitting outside the club, freezing
to death and listening to Fates sound check. Finally
the gates opened. We stormed inside and I managed
to find a place near the stage, almost 2 meters
away from it (like I wouldn't!!!). Soon thereafter
we heard that Wastefall wasn't going to play at
all. I was really disappointed and pissed off
at the same time for these simple reasons. First
of all, I've paid a ticket for 2 bands (28 Euros)
and secondly, I liked very much their latest release
so I was curious to see their abilities on the
stage. What actually made me mad though was that
no one came out to inform us about that change
on the program and give us a good explanation.
But that's how normally things work in Greece,
don't they???
Nevertheless, the clock was showing
10 and finally Fates appears on stage with Alder
apologizing for the delaying and putting all the
blame to Olympic Airways. To tell you the truth
I believed him, since Olympic Airways has a bad
history in delays. The line-up suggested to us
that an overwhelming night was soon to follow.
An old friend called Frank Arresti was again on
Jim's side with its guitar and the amazing Joey
Vera had the support of Spock Beard's Nick Virgilio.
Unfortunately Kevin Moore's absence on the keyboards
was more than obvious (I learned he appeared the
next day in Athens, aarrgghhh) and the band tried
to fill the gap with some pre-recorded parts.
But having a "live" sound is one thing
and using computer is another, don't you think?
The band started the show with
"Simple Human" where the crowd simply
went wild and they continued with "Point
of View", "Monument", "Heal
Me", "Disconnected", "P.S.O.G",
"Eleventh Hour", "Through Different
Eyes", "Another Perfect Day", "Still
Remains", "At Fates Hands", "Prelude
to Ruin", and "Ivory Gates of Dream"
(ecstasy!!!). These are the songs I recall from
that night. They're not in the right order and
please excuse any mistakes, but as you can imagine,
there were times back then that I couldn't help
staring at these extraordinary musicians with
my mouth forming a big "O" in surprise.
Vera, with his incredible grimaces, was almost
unerring and when he was synchronizing and playing
on the right tune with Virgilio, you had the impression
that your chest was gonna burst. Matheos was also
perfect, but smileless the whole time, wedded
to his guitar. Ray Alder was amazing, even though
he seemed to me a bit hoarse, and proved once
again what a significant and great performer he
is. Same goes for Arresti and I have nothing more
to add except that experience did all the talking.
Finally, seeing Virgilio playing the parts that
was written by Mark Zonder, I realized once again
what a sublime drummer Mark is. I believe Nick
was slightly nervous, although he had followed
Fates in the American tour with Theater and Queensrÿche
and played these songs before. As far as I can
tell, he made a couple of mistakes, but excluding
that his play left me speechless. He's a very
good drummer and a rightful replacement of "Big"
Mark. The sound was very good and powerful, even
though I was standing the whole time under the
speakers, and the songs sounded rawer and rougher
than in the albums, releasing a vast amount of
energy. By the end of the concert I was very pleased
with Fates performance and I believe the same
goes for everybody present that night. As for
the others, I must thank them for not showing
up. They left room for us in the club. And as
I said before, there are "clones" for
everybody's tastes in progressive metal!!!
Given the chance, I'd like to
say a few words regarding the bull…. I hear
and read all this time about some big bands and
artists. They accuse Halford of doing many things
and also Zakk Wylde, Schaffer, Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche,
Fates Warning and, would you believe it, the mighty
Ozzy, too. It seems that the excess of Democracy
is a problem here in Greece, to the point that
every idiot has the right to write anything about
everybody, confusing the artist's personal life
with its professional one. I've been listening
to the specific kind of music for almost 20 years
and never in my all life have I commented anybody
in a bad manner. I'm a fan of all the so-called
metal genres (even though I don't like to separate
metal) and I have formed my personal opinion of
all these. I don't care whether Halford is fond
of men or women, I can't blame Zakk Wylde, or
any other American for supporting his country,
or Ozzy for being the victim of his own wife bad
management and decisions lately. So here's what
I think: Who am I to judge everybody? I'm not
the only perfect person worldwide and I don't
call upon all the others, problematic ones, to
do as I say. I only care about the sound that's
produced from my speakers. If I like it, then
it's all right, if not, I'll look somewhere else.
The only thing I won't do is to curse and blame.
We should show more respect to all these people
that honor the music we love and we're proud of.
Before I close this tiresome homily I have a question
for all Ozzy's accusers, especially the Greek
ones: Where are you going to be on June 25, when
Ozzy visits Greece? Sitting on your armchair watching
"Fame Story" or in Terra Vibe? We'll
just have to wait and see. I only wish that everything
will go according to plan and we'll be able to
see the mighty and divine Black Sabbath live in
Greece. Then we'll talk again…if you have
any speech left…
p.s.1: I've lost my friend from
the very first notes of the show and I met him
again in the end sweaty and over the moon.
p.s.2: Anybody that doesn't understand
the true meaning of "progressive music",
he'd better not continue listening to it. |
