|
 A
live Uriah Heep performance over Greek ground,
was always my wildest desire, since I never had
the chance to see them before, even though they
have visited Greece at least one more time. That
day my dreams came true, although I would only
be able to admire the 2/5 of the band's original
line-up, and I'm talking about Mick Box (guitar)
and Lee Kerslake (drums).
Angelos Perlepes' Mystery was
the support group to the "forefathers"
of heavy metal. Mystery was really a very "compact"
group over the stage. By playing their usual -
Malmsteen like - heavy metal, they managed to
come up with a really decent performance, something
that warmed up the crowd the best possible way
for the things to come.
It was about 22:30 when at last
Uriah Heep decided to come on stage, under the
consecutive applause of the ecstatic Athenian
crowd. They started the concert with "easy
living" and immediately all hell broken loose
within the club, with the crowd cheering and singing
endlessly. The same scene repeated itself over
and over as the band continued to perform almost
all the hit songs (some of them are: Look at yourself,
Gypsy, July Morning, Been away too long, etc).
Uriah heep managed to cover the biggest part of
their discography, and from what I can tell their
focal point was to satisfy the crowd's will for
some all-time classic songs.
This sophisticated rock group
justified its presence and history, along with
the crowds expectations, which participated vigorously
at every song deifying them at the same time.
It was really a hard rock/heavy metal party,
although the band's members and the larger part
of the crowd (no boos please!!!) were as old as
the hills. The most important thing though was,
that despite this "general chaos" you
had no problem enjoying the concert due to everyone's
impeccable behavior and sign of respect for the
fellow rocker. Finally I'd like to mention the
really encouraging presence of young fans among
the crowd, a good omen for the future of hard
rock and especially for Uriah Heep.
Trying to display 33 years of
music history in only 2 hours, it is not an easy
thing to do, but Heep did their best. After 2
hours, full of intensive singing and rocking the
band left the stage, followed by the crowd after
a while. At the end the only thing that has left
to us was an indescribable feeling of admiration
for Uriah Heep's music and for the liveliness
and freshness of their performance, that remains
unchangeable through time. There was one thing
the band ordered us to do during this amazing
night. "Return to fantasy"!!! |
