It is hard to find precision on time schedule in a Greek concert, but Venerate Industries, who put together the ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY's gig in Athens, did as they promised. The doors opened at 21:15 and everything was ready for the bands to rock on time. About 200 people where gathered for this event; the An Club is a small underground club perfect for that amount of people.

FIREBIRD got on stage at 10 o'clock and there was not much of enthusiasm (that is a routine for the support bands) but by the time they finished it was changed. The British blues Rock trio of guitarist Bill Steer (NAPALM DEATH, CARCASS), Smok Smoczkiewicz on bass and Ludwig Witt (SPIRITUAL BEGGARS) on drums gave their best performance, both musically and 'on stage'. Even though Bill Steer has a thrash_death metal history, he managed to put these things aside and with his Gibson Les Paul Junior and his amazing ability to handle all the vocals and guitar parts he showed that blues and riffy old-school rock is his thing. The FIREBIRD songs brought to my mind Jimi Hendrix & LED ZEPPELIN and Steer himself sometimes sang like Rory Gallagher. We had a great time with FIREBIRD and we are expecting them back soon.

After a 15-minute break, ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY climbed on stage. First was a short greeting from Kyle Thomas, the band's frontman after the departure of Johnny Weils and Greed came on with the aggressive style this guys only know. The sound was really heavy and clear enough for this small space. Kyle Thomas has the vocal tone that really fits with the ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY 'stoner' riff music: songs with power, dirty, sleazy rock 'n' roll, the brutal sound that makes you want to stage dive is something this guys form Ritchmond, Virginia can create.

The set list included tracks from the band's 6 albums, but most of them were taken from their latest release, Open Fire. ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY are a 'bind' band. The rhythm section of Mikey Bryant on bass and Bryan Cox on drums is incredibly steady and edgy. Ryan Lake handled the rhythm guitars part with his hat on during the concert (everybody wondered how it didn't come off, even though he was constantly headbanging) and Erik Larson took all the lead guitar parts with a black Gibson Les Paul and a SCORPIONS - In Trance T-shirt that made him look even cooler on the eyes of the Greek fans. ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY had everything into place: the PANTERA-like outbreaks, the stoner riffs, the dual guitar harmonies and the aggressive punk rock attitude. It was all there. Thomas took a moment to dedicate the song Cleansing to his home town of Louisiana that suffered a big flood 2 years ago.

After one hour and fifteen minutes and a two-song encore (6 Shooter and Motor-Ready), ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY concluded this Saturday night massacre with a promise that they will return. Let's all hope they will.

ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY set list:

- Greed
- Whiskey War
- Brave The Rain
- Falling Behind
- The Beggar
- Wage Slave
- None Shall Return
- Ol' Unfaithful
- The Cleansing
- Void Of Harmony
- Dryspell
- 6 Shooter
- Motor-Ready

ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY photos

FIREBIRD photos