MESHUGGAHis a band that has a strong fan base in Greece and their live show was greatly anticipated. So it came as no surprise that the venue was packed with restless metalheads, ready to see the experimental band from Sweden with the distinctive innovative yet complex music style.

The Greek progressive band TARDIVE DYSKINESIA hit the stage around 21:30. It was obvious they've read their homework, they were very well rehearsed and they gave a solid performance, with songs heavily influenced by the likes of the headliners and FEAR FACTORY, they were worthy of their support role and were treated accordingly by the fans. Among the songs they played were "Triggering The Fear Reactor" and "Freak".
It's been almost a decade since I first listened of the name MESHUGGAH while I was interviewing Jeff Loomis. I asked him which band he'd like to tour with and he instantly answered that he'd love to tour with them since he was a huge fan of theirs. That pretty much triggered my interest in them.

For those who are not fans or don't know what they're playing, well, what are you doing reading this live report in the first place? To make a long story short, if there was ever a science experiment that involved blending the DNA of Archimedes, Chuck Schuldiner and create a band out of the unholy mix, you'd be getting MESHUGGAH.

I'm sure that there are actual musicians out there that have gone mad while trying to play some of this band's songs, just like a hero from H.P. Lovecraft's novels reacted upon seeing one of the Great Old Ones.
It's one of those bands that you either love or hate for their complexity. And Gagarin 205 was crammed of the people who love their music. It was around 22:30 when the lights went red and the band appeared, bringing a massive musical boot (my metaphors are weird, I know) straight to our face with "Rational Gaze".

The sound was surprisingly good, something that we're really not accustomed to since it's usually average or above average at best. The sound did decline by time though, the opposite of what usually happens but that didn't seem to bother anybody.

"Bleed"was up next and the people went even crazier. Jens Kidman is a massive front-man and is supported by an all star band. I can only imagine how many hours these guys have been practicing to get it all right and sync so perfectly, while headbanging. Their brains have probably evolved to having powers of telepathy besides creating great music.

There's not much else to be said about a MESHUGGAH live show. The band was perfect and it was a rollercoaster of felling your body having spasms from the music or standing still and watching them, pretty much like you'd do with a classic piece of art in a museum.

Their setlist went on for a little less than one and a half hour. The only setbacks of the night were that they didn't play "New Millenium Cyanide Christ" (also best low budget video, ever) and that the show was given a quite abrupt ending. No encore. People stood puzzled for quite a few minutes till they decided to walk out.

WE WANT MORE!