Radio Birdman "Zeno Beach" 2006****

I've always been a big fan of these guys, for years their surf-punk anthem "Aloha Steve And Danno" has been the standard opener for my mix tapes. I never thought I'd get to see them live as they belonged to another continent (Australia) and time (the late 70's). But, inevitably, they succumbed to the trend of cult bands reforming to reap the rewards of posthumous fame. In 2006, with a brand new album in tow which almost nobody had heard yet, they played at the AN Club, a -literally and figuratively- underground establishment at Exarchia, my old neighbourhood which huffingtonpost has described a "punk disneyland", an entertaining but incorrect description. But if that analogy had any merit, AN would be among the main attractions. Lots of great concerts have taken place there. It has a low ceiling and the stage pits artists and audience within touching distance, which makes rock gigs an intimate experience. On the other hand it's extremely stuffy, especially since nobody in Greece observes the non-smoking regulation. That night the place was packed, literally no place to move. Well, not exactly true, you could move to the music in tandem with everyone else, but if you wanted to scratch your nose or something, it required contortionist's abilities. Great fun, nevertheless - a real rock'n'roll night of the kind you rarely experience any more, filled with tons of energy and excitement. With any doubts removed from witnessing this concert, I went ahead and bought Birdman's latest CD, which I'm reviewing today.

1976 is commonly regarded as punk rock's year zero, but Radio Birdman formed in 1974 (same year with The Ramones, albeit half the world away) which explains why they're usually described as proto-punk. The band's Australian core was augmented with Deniz Tek, a medical student from Detroit who had witnessed the fury of The Stooges, MC5 and Grand Funk first-hand, and who took it upon himself to transplant the Motor City's garage rock sound to his new home. Radio Birdman's music bristled with punk energy, melodic hooks and aggressive hard rock guitars but that only brought them local hero status, and they disbanded in '78. Unbelievably and unexpectedly, almost three decades later, they just pick up from where they had left without missing a beat. Rob Younger's singing may be less throat-shreddingly loud, but he can carry a tune better than ever, while Masuak and Tek's double guitar attack hasn't lost any of its power. Pip Hoyle's keyboards are more conspicuous than before, while he also wrote two of the album's best songs, the penultimate Blue Öyster Cult-like mid tempo rocker "The Brotherhood of Al Wazah" and infectious surf-punk closer "Zeno Beach". Opener "We've Come So Far (To Be Here Today)" functions like a statement of intent, exhibiting the frenetic pace, hooks and deft solos we had come to expect of the band at their peak. It is a recipe often repeated in the album, always with success. There are variations, of course: the glam stomp of "You Just Make it Worse", flower power of "Die Like April", Nuggets garage rock of "Hungry Cannibals", metal chug of "Locked Up" and Doors-like psychedelia of "Heyday". Never a dull moment with this album - I hope celebrated young guns like The Hives and Strokes are taking notes: watch and learn, boys: this is how you do it!

***** for We've Come So Far (To Be Here Today), The Brotherhood of Al Wazah, Zeno Beach

**** for You Just Make It Worse, Remorseless, Found Dead, Connected, Die Like April, Heyday, Subterfuge, Hungry Cannibals, Locked Up

*** for If You Say Please

Flaming Stars "Bring Me the Rest of Alfredo Garcia Singles 1995-1996" 1997(comp)****

I saw the Flaming Stars for the first time at the AN Club in 1998, immediately after the release of this (exquisitely named and presented) compilation. For those not familiar with it, AN is the oldest live music establishment still standing in Athens. It was founded in 1987, the same year with Rodon, which stood less than a kilometre away at Victoria Square. AN is at the notorious Exarchia area, Athens' student neighborhood with a rich history of counterculture, art, anarchism, defiance and violence - naturally, my chosen place of residence until I left Greece. But it's never been the same for me since December 2008, when a policeman shot a 15-year old kid a few blocks from my home for no other reason than that someone in his company swore at him. It was a disaster waiting to happen: Successive Ministers of Public Order had vowed to clean up the neighborhood from the lawless anarchists and junkies, while big-time property developers bought de-valuated real estate in anticipation of the next boom that would transform this very centrally located place into the next commercial/entertainment theme park - if only the annoying students, leftist inhabitants and small shop owners could be swept away to make room for the offices and big chain stores. For the months preceding the shooting, teams of armed-to-the-teeth cops performed police crackdowns, basically consisting of harassing pub customers and passersby - leading to confrontations and the occasional molotov cocktail thrown at the SWAT team guarding the PASOK party headquarters situated at the borders of the neighborhood. After the shooting all hell broke loose: I'm telling you I've seen clips of riots in Palestine and assorted war zones and it really was no different than that. When the dust settled, we were left with a hardened, violent group of youngsters consumed by hate for the establishment, which included everyone who worked for a living or had any kind of ideology that didn't include blowing everyone up. On the other side, we lived under permanent siege with submachine gun-toting policemen guarding the entrances of the neighborhood and harassing everyone. While the government was drowning in scandal and corruption, they demonized the youth movement and anyone opposing their schemes. I knew then that I had to leave the country. Only months later, the debt crisis exploded, plunging Greece into chaos. The oligarchs and intertwined business/political interests who had been profiting from the loans promptly withdrew their money from the Greek banks and sailed for safer havens while the EU instigated a crushing austerity program in return for an economic bailout. This led to unprecedented recession, the social results of which are evident everywhere - nowhere more so than the center of Athens, with rows of closed shops and homeless people searching the trash bins for food. Exarchia has likewise fallen in a state of decadence, all plans of gentrification abandoned due to the crisis. At least, thanks to the graffiti artists and musicians, it's still decadent in an artistic and interesting way. And, beyond all expectations, AN Club still stands, although more celebrated entertainment venues have succumbed to the crisis.

Back in happier times, the promoters of the Flaming Stars concert had for some reason advertised it as a "Rockabilly Orgy", using a suitably 50's-oriented poster. As a result it had attracted a small band of tough-looking rockabilly types. Now, in Greece as elsewhere, rockabilly fans were a closed circle with a gang mentality (probably similar to English teddy boys). By '98 they had ostensibly softened and attracted more attention for their pretty stylish girlfriends than for the violent outbursts of the past, but still they weren't the kind you'd want to mess with. AN is a small underground club with a low ceiling so there's not much separation between bands and audience. If you're not tall (as I am) it's difficult to even see the stage. Not to mention that the place is a fire hazard (or would be, if not for the fact that when it's packed there's not enough oxygen to start a fire). Anyway the band starts playing and, three songs in, they still haven't played a single note of rockabilly. The guys in the front rows are starting to get agitated and move toward the "stage". You can see the sentiment isn't friendly when one of them shouts "You promised us a rockabilly orgy, so when the fuck are you going to play some rockabilly?" to which the singer coolly replies "Why don't you start with the orgying and we'll provide the rockabilly". For a moment it seems like there's going to be a fight, but the rockabillies finally choose not to get insulted, they relax and have a nice time while the band plays their music which includes traces of garage rock, jazz, indie pop, surf, country, spaghetti-western and -yes- 50's rock'n'roll. Stylistically and lyrically they draw inspiration from 50's pulp literature and film-noir. It's not coincidental that singer (and former Gallon Drunk drummer) Max Décharné is foremost a writer of short stories and journalist. And while his music is retro, his relaxed singing style owes more to acts like Nick Cave or the Tindersticks. This compilation brings together all the early singles and EP's and makes for a great introduction to the band. It starts off with "Bring Me the Rest of Alfredo Garcia" a cool reference to the Sam Pekinpah western "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia", with lazy vocals, surfing beat and floating 60's organ. The same elements dominate "Money to Burn" while  "Bury My Heart at Pier 13" and "3AM on the Bar Room Floor" are jazz noir, set to a slow calypso beat. "Like Trash" justifies the rockabilly tag with its frenzied Jerry Lee-style piano and the instrumental theme from "Get Carter" provides another cult movie reference. "New Shade of Black" is an atmospheric country-ish ballad while "Ten Feet Tall", "A Hell of a Woman" "The Face On The Bar Room Floor" sound like early Lou Reed backed by a 60's garage/psych band. "Bandit Country" is a spaghetti western-style instrumental and "Downhill Without Brakes" a rolling garage/surf rocker. Love the drums in this one! "Revenge" is a country ballad with great harmonica and "Broken Heart" a garage/rockabilly dynamite while "Davy Jones' Locker" and "Spaghetti Junction" are cinematic instrumentals. "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" sounds like a combination of Velvet Underground and the Tindersticks and "Eat Your Heart Out" and "Burnt Out Wreck of a Man" like Bob Dylan covered by new-wavers Suicide. All in all an exciting idiosyncratic mix of musical genres, impeccable style and inspired writing. Play loud!

***** for Bring Me the Rest of Alfredo Garcia, Broken Heart, Downhill Without Brakes

**** for Money to Burn, Like Trash, The Face on the Bar Room Floor, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, Burnt Out Wreck of a Man

*** for Bury My Heart at Pier 13, Get Carter, New Shade of Black, Ten Feet Tall, A Hell of a Woman, Bandit Country, Revenge

** for Davy Jones' Locker, 3AM on the Bar Room Floor, Eat Your Heart Out, Spaghetti Junction