Belated entries - Athens, GR (not GA)
It's a little old, as usual, but I started this post soon after the trip -- and I've attempted to have fotos attached, replete with as yet unnamed hairstyles -- suggestions welcome for these.
Here 'tis:
Athens -- the cradle of Democracy…. And IMHO, it is the Tijuana of the Mediterranean…. Not in a bad way, just in terms of architecture, dust and cheap wares. Admittedly, I didn’t see nearly as much of the city as any normal tourist spending 5 nights there otherwise should have done - but I was traveling with the circus troupe known as The Boheme Sauvage - and Vangeles (not the Chariots of Fire composer) - our host and the promoter and editor of a sub-Kultur magazine - put 10 people up in his apartment for the week (at least there were two bathrooms) - and he showed us an amazing time as Greek hosts are known for doing…. Anything we needed, he happened to have somewhere around the house (except for Tabasco sauce) -
So it was music, dancing, poker, Don Julio Tequila, Meztaxa, Jameson Whiskey, DeWars (sponsor of the event), cheap beer, cheaper wine sold and refilled in plastic bottles at every grocery store (!) and other less conspicuous libations, sunshine and warm nights and rooftops overlooking the city that kept our party rolling for two days (before the actual GIG, mind you!) - it was wonderful to get to know the other lads and lasses of the troupe as well, and I never closed eyes before sunrise the whole trip….. Had a couple Donald Fagen mornings waking up shirtless on the roof,
The Boheme Sauvage party itself was in a super-trendy Schicky-Micky club that was godawful in the interior (imagine Addagio in Berlin or Club Ra from Luxor in Vegas planted in Greece with disgusting little Harlequin clowns hanging from every light fixture in the joint…. Yech!) - Naturally, I was behind the clown-kidnapping plot, and he now stays bound and gagged at the Speakeasy.
The crew managed to make the best of the club, and decorated accordingly, and in full regalia, we entertained the balls off the wide-eyed denizens of Athens, and showed them how to party Berlin-style….. My perfomance as pianist was not too shabby, and what I lacked in motor skill and memory, I certainly made up for with panache and charm (whatdya expect?)
And even though there were at least 9 cameras among us, not one of the troupe brought theirs to the B.S. itself, so we eagerly await the fotos and footage from the promoters….
then....
Being wrecked and broken the day after the party, me and a few of the gals stayed in the apartment and played games in a domestic Friday night recovery….. saving up energy for carnival parties on Saturday night which we absolutely dominated upon our flamboyant arrival.
Also managed to take in the Akropolis and the Parthenon…
Great networking and lotsa new friends and such, and leaving a Boheme Sauvage sized hole in Athens - I can say it was a successful and decadent trip.
After 3 days back at the Speakeasy of slow recovery, me and the FTB crew headed off to Italy for a quick wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am concert in Vicenza on Friday-we got to spend a day in Venice beforehand, and had a free night to galavant about….
I do hope in my heart of hearts I don’t get too old for this kinda jive…
Here 'tis:
Athens -- the cradle of Democracy…. And IMHO, it is the Tijuana of the Mediterranean…. Not in a bad way, just in terms of architecture, dust and cheap wares. Admittedly, I didn’t see nearly as much of the city as any normal tourist spending 5 nights there otherwise should have done - but I was traveling with the circus troupe known as The Boheme Sauvage - and Vangeles (not the Chariots of Fire composer) - our host and the promoter and editor of a sub-Kultur magazine - put 10 people up in his apartment for the week (at least there were two bathrooms) - and he showed us an amazing time as Greek hosts are known for doing…. Anything we needed, he happened to have somewhere around the house (except for Tabasco sauce) -
So it was music, dancing, poker, Don Julio Tequila, Meztaxa, Jameson Whiskey, DeWars (sponsor of the event), cheap beer, cheaper wine sold and refilled in plastic bottles at every grocery store (!) and other less conspicuous libations, sunshine and warm nights and rooftops overlooking the city that kept our party rolling for two days (before the actual GIG, mind you!) - it was wonderful to get to know the other lads and lasses of the troupe as well, and I never closed eyes before sunrise the whole trip….. Had a couple Donald Fagen mornings waking up shirtless on the roof,
The Boheme Sauvage party itself was in a super-trendy Schicky-Micky club that was godawful in the interior (imagine Addagio in Berlin or Club Ra from Luxor in Vegas planted in Greece with disgusting little Harlequin clowns hanging from every light fixture in the joint…. Yech!) - Naturally, I was behind the clown-kidnapping plot, and he now stays bound and gagged at the Speakeasy.
The crew managed to make the best of the club, and decorated accordingly, and in full regalia, we entertained the balls off the wide-eyed denizens of Athens, and showed them how to party Berlin-style….. My perfomance as pianist was not too shabby, and what I lacked in motor skill and memory, I certainly made up for with panache and charm (whatdya expect?)
And even though there were at least 9 cameras among us, not one of the troupe brought theirs to the B.S. itself, so we eagerly await the fotos and footage from the promoters….
then....
Being wrecked and broken the day after the party, me and a few of the gals stayed in the apartment and played games in a domestic Friday night recovery….. saving up energy for carnival parties on Saturday night which we absolutely dominated upon our flamboyant arrival.
Also managed to take in the Akropolis and the Parthenon…
Great networking and lotsa new friends and such, and leaving a Boheme Sauvage sized hole in Athens - I can say it was a successful and decadent trip.
After 3 days back at the Speakeasy of slow recovery, me and the FTB crew headed off to Italy for a quick wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am concert in Vicenza on Friday-we got to spend a day in Venice beforehand, and had a free night to galavant about….
I do hope in my heart of hearts I don’t get too old for this kinda jive…