It’s really a shame that such qualitative artists are not among the top commercial names in the music industry these days. Yes, there was a time when both House of Lords and Robin Beck were household names but since then they have been releasing steadily excellent new records that unfortunately are forwarded towards a relatively small number of fans.The Greek fans have always been very supportive of the overall melodic rock genre. We are few but loyal as House of Lords have witnessed a couple of times before and Robin Beck was about to experience that night in Athens.

 

We knew what to expect from House of Lords; this is a band that never lets down its fans and makes perfectly clear one thing right from the start of the show: you won’t live dissatisfied of House of Lords’ performance. James Christian leads the way while the rest of the band keeps up in the same break-neck speed during the 90-minute set. The sound was crystal clear (although Christian and Bell encountered a few technical problems with their monitors) and the band stormed with the classic “Sahara” while they carried on with the brand new “Battle” (from the latest record “Precious Metal”). House of Lords played a well-balanced set with songs cued from almost their entire back catalogue. Personally, I’d have preferred to listen a song or two from “Demons Down”…but that’s OK. It goes almost without saying that the fans went crazy with the sheer playing of the classics “I Wanna Be Loved”, “Love Don’t Lie” and “Pleasure Palace”. It was yet another flawless performance by the US outfit!


Set List: Sahara, Big Money, Battle, Cartesian Dream, Love Don’t Lie, Come To My Kingdom, Permission To Die, I’m Free, Swimming With The Sharks, Can’t Find My Way Home, Rock Bottom, SOS In America, I Wanna Be Loved, Pleasure Palace, Slip Of The Tongue

 

And if we knew –more or less- what to expect from House of Lords, we didn’t have the slightest clue of Robin Beck’s sheer magnificent performance! Yes, we were aware of her superb vocal quality; yes, we knew that she had a rich arsenal of hit songs but what we didn’t know –at least, personally, I didn’t know- is the fact that remains an excellent performer! Having her husband James Christian on bass (the interaction on stage between them was great), Jeff Scott Soto’s guitarist on her left and Bell/Zamba (from House of Lords) as her backing band, Beck left us speechless and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration if we said that she put on an unbelievable 90-minute set that won over lots of Greek fans! She kicked off with the timeless “If You Were A Woman And I Was A Man” causing a delirium down the stage. Right from the beginning and as the show progressed two things became plain obvious: a) Robin still has a perfect voice and b) she is one hell of a performer that mesmerizes even the most reserved audience!

 
Her interpretation of such classics as “Save Up All Your Tears”, “Don’t Lose Any Sleep”, “Tears In The Rain”, “Hide Your Heart” and of course “First Time” was perfect while the unreleased ballad “Wish You Were Here” gave chills down our spine and I must confess that it was the absolute highlight for me (together with the stomping performance of “Hide Your Heart”). At the end of her show everybody left the venue with a small on the face…I just hope that she will return to Greek soil very soon. Congratulations to both bands…they made us proud!
Sakis Nikas  

If you Were A Woman And I Was A Man, Don’t Loose Any Sleep, Hold Back The Night, That All Depends, Wrecking Ball, Wish You Were Here, The One, Save Up All Your Tears, The Great Escape, Drum Solo, Cat Fight, Tears In The Rain, Love Lies  

First Time, Hide Your Heart, Follow You

 
 
 
 

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