Lizzy Borden, Mamma Kin at Stage Club (2010)

Stage Club (Larisa, Greece)

Lizzy Borden, Mamma Kin

Well, once a metalhead, you 're always a metalhead and old flames die the hardest, […]

By Dimitrios “Rockavlon” Fatouros

• December 1, 2010

Well, once a metalhead, you 're always a metalhead and old flames die the hardest, so even though my whole life's in turbulence and even if my world is upside down right now and I am struggling to keep all of the things that I dabble with, going on at the same time, I decided to ask half a day off, drive for 4 hours straight, attend a show, stay and party away the night, drive back to work and all that just because Metal is still, 30 years into my life, one of the few constants that has never faded away.

The driving part was pretty dull, if not for all the crazy talking that I had with the lovely lady that was accompanying me, on my little road trip, that helped me maintain some semblance of sanity and kept me awake! Also another noteworthy part was the fact that as I put a CD compilation I had prepared for the trip in the player and asked it to shuffle it seemed to have a mind of it's own, as I picked up the aforementioned lady, it chose to play STEEL PANTHER, when we stopped for gas it did the same and yet again it did so, by playing "Community Property" when we reached Larissa. Also at some point, when we carried Lizzy and Marten to a club nearby, as the guys were entering the car, "Tomorrow Never Comes" (the acoustic version) came on… strange juju, indeed, hahahaha, and funny as hell.

Anyhow, reaching Larissa at around 19.30 we were informed that the show wasn't gonna happen for a bit longer, so we decided to go and hang out with the band for a bit, which proved to be quite funny and entertaining (reading fortune out of cups of Greek coffee - stating the obvious…haha). There, we found out that the band's gear and clothes were left behind, (allegedly in Rome) so they had to do the show with borrowed gear and even with whatever clothes they could find, which did take away from the visual edge of their show a bit - but didn't hinder them from delivering a bona-fide performance. Because of the whole buzz, we missed most of MAMMA KIN's show, only arriving as they were finishing up. They looked OK-ish but weren't great and I supposed they were very average overall. They need to practice a lot harder, if they want to take things up a notch.

There was a bit of a delay for Lizzy and the boys (and gals) to prepare and then around 23.00 or so the band stormed the stage with "Tomorrow Never Comes" from their latest album "Appointment With Death" complete with dancers posing as the Angel and the Gambler. The band was on fine form and the crowd went apeshit and remained that way for a good portion of the show, with only the 'newer' songs getting a little less enthusiastic response, when compared to the older ones. In fact as soon as Lizzy launched into "Notorious" the club itself, which was filled to capacity, turned into a bloody arena, with people screaming, thrashing around, moshing, body slamming, stage-diving, crowd surfing -you name it! I had real trouble trying to take some photos as there wasn't a barrier or any security people and that even did piss off Lizzy slightly, as some buffoon was pulling him by the leg, while he was performing - with me trying to unlatch his hand on several occasions! Lizzy also had to put up with a very drunk punter who'd climb up on stage and stand before him - who he tried to diligently push back into the crowd w/o hurting. Hehe, crazy shit and a bit annoying, for sure - but fun nonetheless. The sound, which was pretty decent, became very good; I must say I was quite impressed by the acoustics and the band launched into "Voyeur" (I am watching you), followed with a little solo in between it and the awesome "Live Forever" again lifted from the "Appointment…" album."Eyes Of AStranger" and "Love Is ACrime" followed, which were greeted fairly warmly by the crowd and then a bass solo ensued by Marten, which really kicked ass. The band soldiered on with "Under Your Skin" from their latest and greatest, which did work, but not for everybody. I suppose I then enjoyed a shit-load, the monstrous "There Will Be Blood Tonight" (even if there wasn't a drop of it in sight – Lizzy usually splashes around a gallon or so of fake blood during the song) which was introduced by a small section of "(We Only) Come Out At Night"…since I love the tune - I can't tell about people around me - but I'm pretty sure they were going nuts too, since I was being pushed around while still trying to shoot some more photos. Then, we were treated to a guitar and a brief drum solo that were interesting enough and didn't overstay their welcome. The band took the stage again, for "MeAgainst The World" which really got the crowd going as "American Metal" did which also featured the sexy dancers Kicira and Steffi, in stars 'n' stripes be-kinkies! This really got the red blooded punters going, even more than the songs, with a relative chaos breaking out, especially in the front rows…hehe. 'Lax, guys - haven't you seen girls in a bikini (or out of it) before? Heh!

"We Got The Power" was most welcome and very well received and it finished into a little portion of "Rod Of Iron" which people really missed…and I guess the band should have played! The guys took a little breather and proceeded to storm us with their cover of "Long Live Rock 'N' Roll" which they obviously dedicated to the one and only Ronnie James Dio (God bless his soul and may he rest in peace). Then they took off the stage - with Joey returning for some more skin-beating - to keep people on their toes, until the rest of the guys returned for the encore. "Master Of Disguise" was aired and it was superb, with Lizzy trying to compensate for his missing masks during the song, by grimacing wildly and doing various crazy gestures and giving people crazy looks - which kinda worked well as you can see from some of the pictures! Then it was time for some 'axe' paeans to be given an airing, but there was no axe in sight, oh well…"Give 'EmThe Axe" and "Redrum" were performed to bloody perfection with the band - plus girls coming out for a final time - to do the Mars Bonfire penned, STEPPENWOLF made "Born To Be Wild" classic in a really celebratory and chaotic atmosphere; a real party. One very 'hotblooded' punter even got out of line and tried to fondle one of the dancers and for a minute there might have even been an onstage conflict, but thankfully he was removed from the stage(for feck' sake boy - grow a pair and find yer own girl - don't act like a (small)-willied dick)! The band finished the song and took several bows while the crowd was really cheering them to no end!

Surely they could have played "Psychopath" and "Loving You Is Murder" or "Save Me" and many more but ah, one can't have it all! I was rocked out and elated as #@$@#, not givin' a damn about how tired I was!At any rate, all the huballoo didn't dump the people's or the band's spirits and there was a meet-an-greet afterwards with the band signing autographs and taking pictures and then staying up till the morning at a nearby club to party with the fans!

The LIZZY guys remained pretty cool throughout the night, even though they were faced with some unfortunate events (i.e. missing the gear/costumes/effects), being treated poorly by the promoter and having to put up with some crazy shit that came up. They're all lovely characters and awesome entertainers…and I really appreciated meeting them!

At about 6-7a.m. and after a very 'so-so' meal and some other crazy shenanigans I had to pull my friend and get back in the car, only to run out of gas and get into more shitty adventures along the way, in order to barely make it back to work and slave away for another 8 or so hours before I finally hit the shack, after a crazy 32-hour stint. Well, but was it worth it? The f%ck it was worth it!

I'd suggest that you go out and see LIZZY BORDEN perform when they come around your town, anywhere you might live -they're friggin awesome and I'd like to urge the Athenian concert promoters instead of bringing over all those (out of key)'weeping willows' that are guaranteed to fill up a hall year after year, to grow some balls and try something different by bringing some truly talented bands here for a change.

Red hot and white and blue, American Metal! For me and you! Yeeeah,Lizzy rulz!

LIZZY BORDEN setlist: