Lawlessness threatens to turn heart of Athens into no-go zone

Friday
September 12
Rock-Pop
Bitten
Classic rock from local quartet Bitten in
northern Athens.
VRILISSIA Lazy Club, 1 Pendelis.
Classical
Eleni Karaindrou
Greek composer Eleni Karaindrou, internationally
acclaimed thanks to her
soundtracks for award-winning films by
Theo Angelopoulos, presents the world
premier of her music for the director’s
latest film, “Dust of Time,” as well as selections
of other works.
VYRONAS Vrachon Theater. Starts at
9 p.m. Tickets are on sale at Ianos, Public
and Fnac stores as well as at www.i-ticket.gr.
For credit card orders by phone,
call 801.11.60000 or 210.678.6000.
Greek
Philippos Pliatsikas
Domestic top-seller Philippos Pliatsikas,
who has maintained his popularity
as a solo act following the breakup of
Pyx Lax, performs a career-spanning set
in Nea Smyrni.
NEA SMYRNINea Smyrni Park. Starts
at 9 p.m.
Citizens for Africa
The local humanitarian group Citizens
for Africa stages a two-night fund-raiser,
beginning September 12. Proceeds
will go toward the establishment of a clinic
in Kucha, southern Ethiopia, a heavily
deprived location. Performers include
the innovative electronica act Constantinos
Beta, Nikos Xydis, Ypogeia
Revmata and Afrolab Percussions.
ARGYROUPOLIPetrino Theater. Starts
at 8.30 p.m. and admission is 10 euros.
Saturday
September 13
Rock-Pop
Gary Moore
British hard-rock / blues guitarist Gary
Moore, a local favorite here, especially
in the 80s, performs in the Greek capital.
FALIRON Tae Kwon Do Stadium. Tickets
cost 50 euros (at the door); 45 euros
(advance purchases) at Metropolis
music stores and Tickethouse (42
Panepistimiou, in the arcade) in Athens,
www.ticketservices.gr and Musicland
(102 Mitropoleos) in Thessaloniki.
Kitchen Groove
Local rock quintet Kitchen Groove performs
in downtown Athens.
AFTER DARK 31 Didotou & Ippocratous.
Starts at midnight.
Theologos Kappos
Theologos Kappos and his backing
band, Anemodiktes, along with cover
band Rock Ivy present a double-header
at the 2nd Kolonos Theater Festival.
KOLONOSKolonos Theater, Kapaneos
& Alexandreias. Starts at 9 p.m. and admission
is free.
Classical
Eleni Karaindrou
Greek composer Eleni Karaindrou, internationally
acclaimed thanks to her
soundtracks for award-winning films by
Theo Angelopoulos, presents the world
premier of her music for the director’s
latest film, “Dust of Time,” as well as selections
of other works.
VYRONAS Vrachon Theater. Starts at
9 p.m. Tickets are on sale at Ianos, Public
and Fnac stores as well as at www.i-ticket.gr.
For credit card orders by phone,
call 801.11.60000 or 210.678.6000.
Thessaloniki State Orchestra
The Thessaloniki State Orchestra, fronted
by tenor Marcelo Alvarez, performs
at the city’s Dimitria Festival.
30
Callas tribute
Croat pianist Ivo Pogorelic, who has
performed with some of the
world’s premier orchestras, including
the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, the London Symphony
Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic,
performs a solo show in remembrance
of Maria Callas at the
Herod Atticus Theater on September
15. Pogorelic, whose recording
career includes numerous works
by classical greats for the high-caliber
Deutsche Grammophon label,
will present material by Chopin,
Liszt, Sibelius and Ravel. Pogorelic,
who has provided considerable
fund-raising support for Sarajevo’s
reconstruction following the previous
decade’s war, was named a
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
in 1988.
THESSALONIKI Thessaloniki Concert
Hall. Starts at 9 p.m. and admission costs
15-60 euros.
Greek
Sotiria Leonardou
Actress-singer Sotiria Leonardou, probably
best known for her singing role in
the landmark Costas Ferris film “Rebetiko”
back in 1983, joins forces with
Panos Fortunas for a performance titled
“Roots-Rock-Rebetiko” at the Papagou
Festival.
PAPAGOU Kipotheatro. Starts at 8.45
p.m. and admission is 15 euros, 10 euros
for students.
Citizens for Africa
The local humanitarian group Citizens
for Africa stages a two-night fund-raiser,
beginning September 12. Proceeds
will go toward the establishment of a clinic
in Kucha, southern Ethiopia, a heavily
deprived location. Performers include
the innovative electronica act Constantinos
Beta, Nikos Xydis, Ypogeia Revmata
and Afrolab Percussions.
ARGYROUPOLIPetrino Theater. Starts
at 8.30 p.m. and admission is 10 euros.
Nikos Portokaloglou
Domestic mainstream pop-rock act
Nikos Portokaloglou, who has enjoyed
a commercially successful run in recent
years following a more subdued period
with his previous band, Fatme, performs
at the Thessaloniki International
Fair.
THESSALONIKI Thessaloniki International
Fair showgrounds. For further information,
call 210.321.0890 or
210.321.0731.
Sunday
September 14
Greek
Yiota Vei
Singer Yiota Vei, a long-serving artist,
mostly in the field of traditional Greek
music, is joined by Rena Venieri for a performance
titled “Woman Throughout
Time” at the 2nd Kolonos Theater Festival.
KOLONOSKolonos Theater, Kapaneos
& Alexandreias. Starts at 9 p.m and admission
is free.
Nikos Portokaloglou
Domestic mainstream pop-rock act
Nikos Portokaloglou, who has enjoyed
a commercially successful run in recent
years following a more subdued period
with his previous band, Fatme, performs
in Keratea, southeast of Athens.
KERATEA 2nd Primary School. Starts
at 9 p.m.
Eleni Tsaligopoulou
& Yiannis Kotsiras
Popular Greek singers Eleni
Tsaligopoulou and Yiannis Kotsiras,
who have teamed up in the recent past
for club residencies in Athens, continue
their series of summer shows with
an evening in Aghios Stefanos, just over
20 kilometers north of Athens.
AGHIOS STEFANOSOpen-Air Theater.
Philippos Pliatsikas
Philippos Pliatsikas, who has continued
applying the chart-topping songwriting
formula of his previous band, Pyx Lax,
for sustained commercial success in the
domestic pop-rock arena, performs in
Thessaloniki.
THESSALONIKI, Aristotle University.
Monday
September 15
Jazz-Blues-Ethnic
Troism
Jazz group Troism performs in Thessaloniki.
THESSALONIKI Archaeological Museum,
6 M. Andronikou. Stars at 8.30
p.m.
Classical
Ivo Pogorelic
Internationally renowned Croat pianist
Ivo Pogorelic performs a solo show in
remembrance of Maria Callas with
works by Chopin, Liszt, Sibelius and Ravel
on the repertoire. Organized by the
Athenaeum International Cultural Center.
ATHENS Herod Atticus Theater. Starts
at 8.30 p.m. and admission ranges
from 8 to 55 euros. Tickets are on sale
at the Greek Festival box office (39
Panepistimiou) and at 210.327.2000.
Greek
Socrates Malamas
Singer-songwriter Socrates Malamas, a
deep-digging songwriter of rock-tinged
Greek music, as well as gentler material,
who has delivered a number of
landmark Greek albums since emerging
as a recording artist in the late 80s,
continues his summer-long tour of the
country with a show in the capital’s west.
PETROUPOLIPetras Theater. Starts at
9 p.m. and admission is 20 euros. Tickets
are on sale at Cine Petroupolis (tel
210.501.2391).
Popi Asteriadi
Popi Asteriadi, a key figure of the newwave
movement here in the late 60s and
early 70s – a low-key antithesis to the
noisier bouzouki songs of the day – who
ATHENSPLUS • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2008
ΜUSIC
has since opted to work selectively, performs
in Ilion, Athens.
ILIONAntonis Tritsis Park. Starts at 8.30
p.m. and admission is free.
Nikos Portokaloglou
Domestic mainstream pop-rock act
Nikos Portokaloglou, who has enjoyed
a commercially successful run in recent
years following a more subdued period
with his previous band, Fatme, performs
in western Athens.
PERISTERI Finikas Theater. Starts at
8.30 p.m. For further information, call
210.570.9045 (Peristeri Town Hall).
Dionysis Savvopoulos
& Thanassis Papaconstantinou
Veteran songwriter Dionysis Savvopoulos,
whose Dylanesque work in the late
60s and early 70s, as well as his willingness
to draw elements from the wider
Balkan region, established him as a pivotal
figure here, is joined by Thanassis
Papaconstantinou, one of the most
telling Greek songwriters of the past 15
years, for a double-header west of
Athens.
ELEFSINA Former Oil Refinery. Starts
at 8.30 p.m. and admission is 15 euros
(students 5 euros).
Stella Konitopoulou
Singer Stella Konitopoulou of the Konitopoulos
clan – a large musical family
hailing from the island of Naxos –
whose more recent exponents have
added commercial glitz to traditional
Aegean island sounds, performs at the
2nd Kolonos Theater Festival.
KOLONOS Open-Air Theater, Kapaneos
& Alexandreias. Starts at 9 p.m. and
admission is free.
Tuesday
September 16
Classical
Sonia Theodoridou
Soprano Sonia Theodoridou sings Jacques
Brel as part of the Athens Concert
Hall’s Atrium Nights series.
ATHENS Athens Concert Hall (Vas.
Sofias & Kokkali, tel 210.728.2333).
Maria Callas tribute
The Opera Gala presents a tribute to
Maria Callas with the National Opera
Orchestra at the Patras Festival.
PATRASAncient Odeon. Starts at 9.30
p.m. For information, call 2610.966.200
(Patras Town Hall).
Greek
Echopsychosis
& Apogionomeni
Double-header from rock group
Echopsychosis and Greek music act
Apogionomeni at the Aghios Nikolaos
Festival on Crete.
CRETE Aghios Nikolaos, EOT Beach.
Starts at 9.30 p.m.
Wednesday
September 17
Classical
Sonia Theodoridou
Soprano Sonia Theodoridou sings Jacques
Brel as part of the Athens Concert
Hall’s Atrium Nights series.
ATHENS Athens Concert Hall (Vas.
Sofias & Kokkali, tel 210.728.2333).
Italian
Nicola Piovani
Italian composer Nicola Piovani, who
provided the music for compatriot
Roberto Benigni’s award-winning film
“Life is Beautiful,” performs in Athens.
VRACHON THEATER Vyronas. Starts
at 9 p.m. and admission costs 30-40 euros.
Tickets are on sale at Hymettus Town
Hall (Iroon Polytechniou Square, tel
213.203.7819.) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on
weekdays.
Greek
Rebetika tribute
Tribute night to rebetika and old-school
Greek songs that followed the 1950s with
Manolis Karantinis, Gina Argyriou and
Dimitris Reppas in the Athens neighborhood
of Vyronas.
VYRONAS Kollimenou Square (previously
Tsirakopoulou). Starts at 8 p.m. and
admission is free.
Vassilis Lekas & Yiannis Spathas
Singer Vassilis Lekas, who emerged in
the 80s working with the late composer
Manos Hadjidakis, and guitarist Yiannis
Spathas, a co-founder of the 70s rock
group Socrates, who has since worked
on assorted projects, perform at the
Alimos Festival in southern Athens.
ALIMOS Open-Air Theater, Pani Hill.
Starts at 9 p.m. and admission is 10 euros.
Yiannis Zouganelis
All-round entertainer Yiannis Zouganelis
takes on a singing role as frontman of
his Stavros Tou Notou backing band at
a municipal concert marking the beginning
of the academic year.
HAIDARI1st Haidari High School. Starts
at 8 p.m.
Babis Tsertos
Rebetika singer-instrumentalist Babis
Tsertos performs songs by two of the old
style’s greats, Vassilis Tsitsanis and
Markos Vamvakaris, as well as Mikis
Theodorakis, at the Papagou Festival.
PAPAGOUGarden Theater. Starts at 8.45
p.m. and admission costs 20 euros.
George Dalaras
Perennial star George Dalaras performs
songs by the late composer
Stavros Kougioumtzis in support of
the Mazi Yia to Pedi (Together for Children)
charity.
ATHENS Herod Atticus Theater. Starts
at 8.30 p.m.
Thursday
September 18
Greek
George Dalaras
Perennial star George Dalaras performs
songs by the late composer
Stavros Kougioumtzis in support of
the Mazi Yia to Pedi (Together for Children)
charity.
ATHENS Herod Atticus Theater. Starts
at 8.30 p.m.
GET IN TOUCH
Readers are invited to
send their views and
favorite playlists to
music@athensplus.gr.
ROCK, THE DIY WAY
Indie-rock guild
at Rodeo club
BY PHOEBE FRONISTA
In view of their soon-to-be-released debut
album, Cube, an act making impact on the local
alternative scene, will be performing at the
Rodeo downtown venue on September 18.
Influenced by the Seattle grunge scene as well
as southern rock, 20-somethings Cube can be
said to be veterans of a new wave in
underground rock music here.
Spinalonga Records, an Athenian indie label
that has worked hard at trying to establish an
English-language underground rock scene in
the city since its inception four years ago, has
played a key
part in the
movement.
Also
performing on
the night will
be three other
local indierock
acts,
Monovine, No
Label and the
Mushroom
Freaks, all
part of the
Cube headline the
Spinalonga label’s event on
September 18. [Dina Hohlaka]
Spinalonga
label.
What began as
a one-off
compilation
idea, soon swelled into a number of bands and
three compilations titled “In the Junkyard.”
One of the label’s more popular bands, the
funky-sounding Sugah Galore, opened a show
for internationally renowned soul singer Sharon
Jones last summer and are preparing to release
their debut album.
The styles of music at Spinalonga range from
ambient-electronica to metalcore, but the
label’s philosophy could be summed up very
simply – do-it-yourself: The bands themselves
arrange the concerts and design their posters
at a distance from the industry.
This grassroots approach seems to be having an
effect, if the growing number of Spinalonga
bands releasing material and playing small but
packed venues is any indicator.
Rodeo Club (34 Heyden, Victoria Square).
Admission costs 6 euros. Doors open 8 p.m.