What better way for a band to finish a tour in their own country? Especially when this tour is actually the first one abroad. So this is how the beloved Mother Of Millions celebrated this particular event at the historic venue of Gagarin. A celebration we couldn’t miss, during which we did our necessary shopping after a raid on the bands’ merch stand.
The schedule was kept on time and so Allen’s Hand, who followed Mother Of Millions in their tour, opened the night in a hopelessly empty venue as there were 50 of us inside at the time. I didn’t know what to expect from them and in truth they have an unusual way of presenting themselves. Weird song titles, fixation with chicken on their covers and the singer came out on stage in white fur and pink trousers! Other than that though, it was a very strong performance. With a style of music that is hard to categorize (since they have elements of pop/rock, funk, prog, math) I think they won over the sparse crowd with their great rhythms and the tight bond they had with each other on stage. Also, respect to the bass player and his Watchtower t-shirt. It’s really worth a look into them
Setlist: Begin The Day, Thermochemistry, Deep Space, Dellabongo, HanDiCaprio, R3D3, Figurine, Poutsatron
Next in line, a band I really wanted to see. And we.own.the.sky was much better than I expected them to be. I keep writing that I believe that to play instrumental music and not make the listener bored to death, takes a lot of talent and skill. And they have pounds of it. With crystal sound they built immersive atmospheres, their wonderful post melodies filled the room and made your mind travel far away. How well they played was evident from the crowd, (which had grown by a lot compared to Allen’s Hand) as you could see almost everyone had their eyes on the stage without ignoring what was happening in front of them. They also played a track from their third full-length which is currently being recorded and the highlight was at the end with the crowd singing the melody of “Youth”. All the kudos I can say for this performance are few and far between. Amazing music, amazing band.
Setlist: Of New Beginnings, We Align, Ikigai, Raindrops And Oceans, Muzzle, Alterecho, Perfeels, Penny For Your Thoughts, Youth
After a short wait, it was time for Mother Of Millions. And I can say that they were much better than the last time I saw them. Great comfort on stage and performing excellence in all the songs. Songs that have been edited to ensure that their performance is not full of pre-recorded parts and yet, they didn’t seem to miss anything from their original recordings of their albums. All members gave their best. Kostas Konstantinidis on guitars, Panos Priftis on bass, George Prokopiou with his passionate singing and, for me the absolute star of the evening, George Boukaouris. He is not only an impeccable drummer but also manages to handle the keyboards with great ease in some parts of the songs. They also played a new composition from their upcoming work which is in the final stages of production and it was as Kostas had foreshadowed in the interview we did together. More riff-driven, heavier, more aggressive. Personally, it made me expect big things from them again. Top moments would be the thrilling performances of “Amber” and “Artefact”, as well as the magnificent closing with “Rome” and the sing-along of the crowd.
Setlist: Silence, Spiral, Orbit, Collision, Rite, Soma, Amber, New Track, Orientation, Anchor, Artefact, No Light No Light (Florence And The Machine), Rome
So, a very nice evening came to an end. Three bands that gave their best and justified with more than enough those who decided to honor them with their presence. And this was not only shown by the enthusiastic reactions of the audience but also by the long queue that was created at the merch stand after the end of the concert. Support the Greek scene, it really deserves it.
George Terzakis
Mother Of Millions 
