For those about to (hard) Rock...we salute FIREHOUSE. One of the last goin' mainstream bands of the US hair Metal scene (mid-to-late 80s_early 90s) decided to give it a shot in Greece for the first time. The nonparallel success of (primarily) All She Wrote would guarantee for an 'I was there, too, did you see me?' participation of a good amount of 'boulevard' hardrockers, apart from those anyway interested for most (or the entire) discography of the North Carolina quartet.

Expecting not more than 400 heads to shake around in total, it was nice to see approximately 200 faces applauding KINGDRAGON on their way up onstage. A video 'intro' paved the way for a 35-minute set of 'mature' keyboard-driven Hard Rock performed in full passion and near-pro onstage attitude by the Athenian quintet. The sound - even if not 'bad' by any means - was somehow wavy at times (with even some rapid 'sonic fluctuation' spurts), still it did not seem to embarrass KINGDRAGON's offerings; three out of four songs from their newly released Fire In The Sky EP (read a review here) plus a relative amount of soon-to-be released material. Their take on PRETTY MAIDS' cult Love Games tune pushed up the - anyway - warm reaction by the crowd. Singer George Aspiotis' vocal abilities was not 100% unveiled (his voice was kinda weary, I fear) but his 'frontman' aptitude saved the day anyway. The guitar work showed immense traits and the rhythm (bass_drums_keys) section stood still in defense of a clear-cut feat by a sanguine band. Waiting for the 'big one' now, from KINGDRAGON.

It's kinda funny there's a tension for 'social fashion' regarding a music that's surely out of fashion nowadays. When FIREHOUSE hit the stage with Rock You Tonight it was obvious we'd spend a nice evening over there (Gagarin205 Club). Good sound - I'd request for some more volume in the guitar - and applicable output mix and the quartet showed a desire to deliver the goods. The up-tempo madness of Lover's Lane pumped it up and as soon as All She Wrote (soon enough, huh?) did burst out the venue was shaking (then to act dead until Overnight Sensation spewed out in the band's encore...); 'hair' Metal to the masses!

With 75% of their original lineup (bassist Allen McKenzie joined FIREHOUSE five years ago) standing in front of us, 90 minutes passed by including a gigantic performance by the band (ah, this damn bombastic bass_drums duo still kills!) with Bill Leverty just confirming his expertise in such ease and simplicity, and vocalist C.J. Snare performing excellent vocals (even if showing kinda 'solemn' at times) that soon brought us back to the band's first-two-albums heyday.

Yeap, the Firehouse (1990) debut was played nearly in its entirety, with 2-3 songs originating from the Hold Your Fire (1992) follow-up and - then - a couple of tracks off the latest (to date) CD release of the band, Prime Time (2003). The instrumentation was - as pre-said - great; really nothing to complain about. A typical 'break' drum solo was included, the expected Highway To Hell cover and Helpless were cut-off but with songs, grooves, hooks and refrains like Reach For The Sky, Don't Treat Me Bad, Overnight Sensation, Outta Be A Law, Don't Walk Away and Holding On who'd oppose? Candy moments included ballads like Love Of A Lifetime and When I Look Into Your Eyes; got teenage romance again?

FIREHOUSE gave a more than good performance that evening. No stage show, a real Hard Rock attitude, 'good songs' raging fire, truly enormous music_vocals; they said they'd be back soon in Greece. Bearing in mind the had not played here for nearly 20 years, let's just hold our horses; let aside the fact not more than 30% of that evening's crowd would pay again for a 'social visit' and two 'hit' songs they know.

Nonetheless, to the band(s) (and the promoter who booked them): again, we salute you.

(photos by Nick Magni Ntolkas)

KINGDRAGON

FIREHOUSE