A month ago I had no idea who Palaye Royale and Starbenders were. You see, in the storm bringing of releases and the chaotic world of the internet, it’s not always easy to pick out bands. And yet these two relatively new acts were going to visit our country for a concert and since we don’t get too often the chance to see bands that are in their prime, as we say, a good friend and I decided to buy a ticket and check out the buzz about them. But the first attempt was a failure as the concert at Gagarin was already sold out! I repeat…sold out and on a Monday night! Luckily for us they added one more day (Sunday) and so we found ourselves at the well-known venue in downtown Athens.

Starbenders at Great American Music Hall, photo by Misti Layne

Upon entering the venue, we managed to…raise the average age as it was obvious that the vast majority of the 400 or so people were under 25 years old. Also, it was a surprise to me personally that even though they announced an extra concert at the very last minute they managed to gather so many fans (at a time when they had already sold out over 1,000 tickets for Monday). Second big surprise and probably the absolute highlight of the night: Starbenders! With a modern rock sound that nevertheless stepped in the early/mid 80s at times and an incredible frontwoman – something between Stevie Nicks in vocals and Susanna Hoffs in her overall presence – the Americans “won” you over at once as they exuded a very cool and breezy character on stage. And the crowd loved every minute of it!

photo taken from Palaye Royale’s Facebook page

Palaye Royale is one of the hottest names in the wider rock scene at the moment. With an incredibly professional show and the air of a headliner, they gave a flawless concert that will be forever etched in the memories of the kids who didn’t stop cheering them on throughout the entire show. Note: they sang the lyrics to ALL the songs. Musically, they may not be completely clear whether they want to play 70s glam rock, 90s British rock or modern metal but one thing is for sure, when they decide to focus on their more… radio-friendly side, the result is definitely better. As for their stage presence…the guitarist is a mix of Keith Richards and Mick Ronson, the drummer is like something out of the glorious Sunset Strip and the singer is a catwalk model. Maneskin is definitely one of the bands that reminds a lot of the Palaye Royale style. Fashion Rock or what?

I’m 100% sure that as long as bands like Starbenders and Palaye Royale keep coming out, Rock N’ Roll will live and reign. Maybe no longer in sales but in the hearts of the people…that’s even healthier, don’t ya think?

Sakis Nikas