The Concert Day...

The countdown is finished!
 Today is the day. After almost 8 hours from now I will be on my way for the concert.
This will be the first concert I will be able to go, after exactly two years.
And the irony? The last concert I watched was again "The Wall"! hehehehe...
 I will try to bring inside the stadium my photo/video camera, in order to make a nice review here for you, and post a few videos and pics from the concert. Let's hope I will be able to...
 The tickets pre-sale is rather dissapointing, but let's hope it will be a nice concert at least...
 Because of this special day, I'm posting the whole concert in 2 videos so you can  see for yourselves.(These videos are from shows from the previous tour, that were taking place only in small stadiums. This new second part of the tour is re-designed for big stadiums, with more special effe, quadrophonic sound etc...)
Sit back, relax, and just enjoy! :)

                

                                      

J.J Cale (1938 - 2013)

A few days ago (26/7/2013) the guitarist/songwriter/composer/singer J.J Cale (John Weldon Cale) died from heart attack at the Scripps Green Hospital in California at the age of 74.
  In his long and successful career he released 15 solo records and wrote many famous songs...
He was the pioneer of what was named "Tulsa sound", a sub-genre that was a mix of  blues, rockabilly, jazz and country. Many of his songs became smash hits when other bands or artists made cover versions of them, such as Cocaine, After Midnight, (Eric Clapton) Call me the Breeze (Lynyrd Skynyrd), Same Old Blues (Captain Beefheart) etc... 
                                               R.I.P J.J Cale...
In the following video you can see J.J Cale & Eric Clapton on stage performing the songs "After Midnight" and "Call me the Breeze"

                               

           
      

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.53

Hello all!
Here is another post in the "Juke Box" series.
   For those who aren't familiar with these series of posts, the "juke box" is a post that I'm writing every Saturday, and it contains my Top-5 songs for the week.
The main purpose is to share the music I like with all of you, and maybe inspire some people in order to search for new bands & songs, or to remember things that are forgotten  through the years.
  So, for this week here are my top-5 songs:

 Love: Andmoreagain (Forever Changes) - 1967
 Pallas: Ghost Dancers (The Dreams of Men) - 2005 
 Sandy Denny: Like an old Fashioned Waltz (Like an old Fashioned Waltz) - 1973
 David Gilmour: Murder (About Face) - 1984
 The Incredible String Band: Ithkos (Hard Rope & Silken Twine) - 1974

 As I wrote at the previous "Juke Box" post, in order to make these posts a bit more interesting, I decided  to put a couple of videos of songs that are included in my weekly top-5 list. So, for this week here's two song for you to listen: Sandy Denny's "Like an old Fashioned Waltz" and Love's "Andmoreagain".
Both are rather sad and romantic songs.
I hope you will like them... Enjoy! :)
Have a great weekend everybody...
P.S: If any of you is in the mood, please write your personal top-5 of songs or albums for this week as a comment here or at G+. It's great reading your music likings...
Thank you...

                           

                                       

"The Wall" live in Athens. The return...

The countdown has started!
Only six days left, for the glorious live performance of "The Wall" in Athens.
A couple of years ago, "The Wall" visited Athens again, for 3 concerts. The place of the concert was a close stadium with a capacity of almost 15.000 people. (All 3 concerts were sold out).
 This time, we will be able to watch the "advanced" version of the show. Everything is special designed for concerts in open spaces and big stadiums. So I'm guessing it will be a night to remember. (Again!).
   Having watched numberless concerts in my life, both in Greece and Europe, I can't say I'm a person who can be impressed easily by cheap tricks. But nothing in this concert is cheap. Is an extremely huge and expensive production, which is a real experience for the audience.
   I remember leaving the concert area 2 years ago, cursing myself for not having a ticket for the following day as well.
  This time the concert will be held in the Olympic stadium of Athens, a very big stadium with a capacity of
minimum 60.000 people. I'm not sure that this time will be sold out (probably not), because of the real tragic economical situation here in Greece, but I hope that many people will finally decide to go and experience a real amazing concert.
 Speaking for myself, I already got my ticket and as I wrote in the start of the post "The countdown has started"!
P.S: The pictures you see on the right side of the post are: The Athens Olympic Stadium, and the diagram with the ticket prices.
In the following videos you can take a small idea of those concerts in Athens 2 years ago...
Enjoy! :)

                                  

                                        

TV Series: "Ripper Street" (2012)

   Here's a new and not so famous series that I really enjoyed watching.
It's a drama, set in the East London in 1889, and the plot occurs a little bit after the murders of the famous Jack the Ripper. The general area is the Whitechapel district, which was an area with many problems and many villains making rounds. At the same time the local police department tries to preserve the peace and order, facing new challenges and sometimes chaotic situations in every episode.
   The first season consists of 8 episodes of almost an hour long each one. Although there is a small background story that evolves, the truth is that there is not a real connection between the episodes, and they can be watched separately. Only the last two are connected and they deal with the same story.
   We have 3 major characters here, and a few secondary ones. The major ones are: Detective Inspector Edmund Reid (Matthew Macfadyen),  Detective Srt. Bennet Drake (Jerome Flyn) and the "Yankee" Captain Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg). As secondary characters we have a couple of police officers, and a few whores from the local brothel...
   The things I liked the most are the scenery set up, the very good production, and in general the very nice re-creation of this specific era. All the actors are playing their roles good, the production is from BBC and it looks expensive, and the plots are most of the times interesting to say the least. Well, what more can you ask from a Tv series?
   Finishing this post, I just want to say that although I can't say that these series are something incredible, they surely are very enjoyable to watch. Especially those who likes this  specific English era, should watch it.
And here's a trailer from the first season...
 

                      

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.52

Hello!
  Since it's Saturday again, it's time for my usual juke box post.
In the following list you will see my Top-5 songs for the week that passed.
I was thinking how I could make these series of posts more interesting for the people that are visiting this blog.
   When I started writing these Top-5 lists, the main idea was to show to everybody which were my most favorite songs in every passing week, and also inspire (maybe) some of you in order to make a small research and maybe expand your musical horizons a bit. And that's why I'm asking also for everybody that is in the mood to write a comment with his/hers personal favorite songs or albums. In order to share some knowledge, and inspire each other.
   So, the only thing I could think off in order to make these posts a bit more interesting, is that: After each top-5 list and at the end of the post, I will be adding a couple of videos from this list in order for you to be able to watch and listen to them right on that moment. From every list I will try to put videos of not so famous songs, so that you will be able to listen to something that you maybe don't know yet.
  I hope it is a good idea, and some of you will appreciate it...
   And here's the list with my Top-5 songs for this week:
  

   Eloy: Poseidon's Creation (Ocean) - 1977

   Pendragon: The Pursuit of Excellence (The Masquerade Overture) - 1996

   Lisa Gerrard: Sanvean (The Mirror Pool) - 1995

   Rhapsody (Of Fire): The March of the Swordmaster 

                                     (Power of the Dragonflame) - 2002

   Pink Floyd: Goodbye Blue Sky (The Wall) - 1979

   In the following videos you can listen to the songs "Sanvean" from Lisa Gerrard, and "The March of the Swordmaster" by the Italian band "Rhapsody (Of Fire).
   Enjoy! :)

             

The Progressive Rock Encyclopedia: C (Part 6)

                                  CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX
   CBP appeared in the music business around 2004, as a project of the multi-instrumentalist Justin Greaves among many others of his projects. The members of the band were musicians in other bands as well, such as Iron Monkey, Electric Wizard and Mogwai to name a few. The main idea was to make a band with a more'unique' and 'elegant' sound, and the truth is they did it.
   Many members came and gone through the years, but the main idea of the band's sound remained the same. They released their first record "A Love of Shared Disasters" in 2006, and since then they have a steady release rhythm of a new record in almost every 2 years.
   They are a really interesting band, with great melodies and rhythms, that I strongly recommend to every fan of Rock music. CBP is the band for which I wrote my first post here in this blog, almost 1.5 year ago.
 If any of you is interested, you can read that post here: http://gfreedomathina.blogspot.gr/2012/04/crippled-black-phoenix-respect.html
 In the following videos you can listen to a couple of beautiful songs, and have an idea about the band...

                         

                                       
                                            CROMWELL
 Cromwell is a German band with an English name. They were founded in 1992 as a 5-members band, driven by the beautiful voice of Anne Taeffner. The name of the band was not randomly chosen, and it describes the dark approach of the band to the Middle Ages, as in many occasions their songs are about passages and moments from the British history. Unfortunately they released only one record named "Burning Banners" in 1997, and they disappeared afterwards. They have a very strong and balanced sound, and their songs are in English. This record is a little hidden jewel, and that's the reason I decided to write about them.
   I tried to post their song "The Crow" here, but It seems impossible! So if you want, click on the following link in order to listen to their song and see how they sound like.
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QR4KoCdiOg
                                         

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.51

Hello!
Today is Saturday, so it is time to post here my Top-5 songs for this week.
Once more my top-5 contains many different kinds of music, but that's normal I think, because it's almost
impossible for a whole week to listen to only one kind of music.
Anyway, without further delay here are my top-5 songs:

Dunwich: La Cassa Del' Alchimista (Heilagmanoth) - 2008
Jefferson Airplane: Rejoyce (After Bathing at Baxter's) - 1967
Madrugada: Higher (Industrial Silence) - 1999
Amarok: Fieldmour 1 (Amarok) - 2002
Fields of the Nephilim: At the Gates of Silent Memory (Elizium) - 1990

It would be great if some people write as a comment here or at g+ their best songs or albums for this last week. It's fun to see what other people like to listen.
Have a nice weekend everybody, and thanks for reading this post... :)

Goodies from GFreedom's Music Collection #5

                          ARENA: The Visitor (1998)

   Arena in a british Neo-Prog band, that follows the footsteps of Marillion. That shouldn't be a surprise if you consider that their drummer (Mick Pointer) is Marillion's first drummer. Together with Clive Nolan are the founding members of the band, and if I'm not mistaken the only steady members since 1995.
  "The Visitor" was released in 1998, it's their 3rd album, and one of their best works in my opinion. The album has 14 songs in total, and a running time of almost 62 minutes.
It is a concept album with a very interesting theme story: It is about an angry and disillusioned man who walks across a frozen lake. At some point, the ice breaks beneath his feet and he is sinking in the cold water.
Most of the songs are about the moments that he sinks; his feelings, his thoughts, and how he is trying to handle this life-threatening situation.
   There are many great songs here, and some of them can be considered as Arena's best songs in general.
(The Hanging Tree, Tears in the Rain & Enemy Without are some of them).
   This record was an expensive production, and this is clear in every little detail. From the sound, up to the cover and the booklet inside. It was a very ambitious work, and the overall result is satisfying to say the least!
   I strongly recommend this album to the fans of Marillion or Progressive Rock in general, but also to those who likes Rock music as well. You will find some great melodies here, strong guitar riffs and beautiful solos (but in many occasions they will remind you the guitar sound of David Gilmour), and an excellent singer with a voice that fits perfectly to the music and the style of the band.
 And here is the full tracklist of the album:

1. "A Crack in the Ice" – 7:25
2. "Pins and Needles" – 2:46
3. "Double Vision" – 4:25
4. "Elea" – 2:36
5. "The Hanging Tree" – 7:10
6. "A State of Grace" – 3:26
7. "Blood Red Room" – 1:48
8. "In the Blink of an Eye" – 5:29
9. "(Don't Forget To) Breathe" – 3:40
10. "Serenity" – 2:10
11. "Tears in the Rain" – 5:44
12. "Enemy Without" – 5:05
13. "Running from Damascus" – 3:45
14. "The Visitor" – 6:14

                         

TV Series: GAME OF THRONES (Season 3)

   I had in mind to write a small review about the 3rd season of GoT almost a month ago,but I got delayed due to real life commitments.
Because of this long delay, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to write about it now, but finally I decided to do so even if it's almost a month since the 3rd season's end.
  So, what do we know about GoT so far? G.R.R Martin's favorite 'game' is to create some characters, develop them, making the people like them, and finally... kill them! It happened quite a few times so far, and be sure it will continue happening in the future. That's a fact, and many people find it rather annoying. But on the other hand, how many books or tv series you know that this is happening?
  Also, as I have mentioned in the previous posts about GoT TV series, the story we see follows the story that is written in the books. Each of the 2 first seasons was about the story and the plot of the first 2 books. (1 book = 1 season). But season 3 is not like that. Because the 3rd book is the biggest and most important one, they decided to make 2 seasons out of it, and I have to say I totally agree with that! So what you watched in the 3rd season, it's only the half book. You will be able to see what's going on in the rest of the book in season 4. So, be patient!
  In season 3 we watched the main characters continue their personal stories, and slowly slowly the plot becomes more and more complicated. I heard many people complaining about the 'lack of action', but that is only normal, because GoT is not an action series! If you want action, you can find hundreds of series or movies out there, but GoT is not one of them!

SPOILER ALERT - Do NOT read the below if you haven't watched the entire season.

  Each season consists of 10 episodes, and it became a small habbit of the production to make the 9th episode unforgettable. Not the 10th, the 9th!
On the 9th episode of the 1st season (Baelor) we watched the death of Ned Stark. On the 9th episode of the 2nd season (Blackwater), we watched the very impressive attack at King's Landing. And now, on the 9th episode of season 3 (The Rains of Castamere) we watched the betrayal and the death of almost all the Stark family and their army by Walter Frey and his men. (Btw, I don't think anybody remembers the episodes name, because it became famous as "The Red Wedding").
( It became very famous, but in case you never heard of it, you should watch the following video that shows people's reactions when they were watching this specific episode).

    Having read the books a few years ago, I knew what was going to happen, so I was just waiting to see my friends reactions when they were going to see this episode. And the reactions were more enjoyable than the episode itself! Everybody freaked out! hehehe
   I don't think there is anything more to write here, further than the fact that all of us who love these series will have to wait another year to see what happens in the rest of the 3rd book. As for all of you who never read the books, I think there is plenty of time to start reading them now! :)
  And here is the trailer from the 3rd season:

                                  
             

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.50

Since I'm back here, I have to continue some series of posts that I used to write.
One of them is the "Juke Box". As many of you knows already, on every Saturday I used to write here the
best 5 songs I've listened during the week.
And because today is Saturday it's the time for one more "Juke Box" post.
So, those are my Top-5 songs for this week:

Electric Prunes: Antique Doll (Underground) - 1967
Annie Haslam: Still Life (Still Life) - 1985
Galahad: Empires Never Last (Empires Never Last) - 2007
Arena: The Hanging Tree (The Visitor) - 1998
Black Sabbath: The Sign of the Southern Cross (Mob Rules) - 1981

As you can see there are no songs from the '70's this time, and that was a surprise even for me! hehehe
Anyway, if any of you is in the mood, he/she can write here as a comment or at G+, his/hers personal top-5 songs or albums for this week.
Have a great weekend everybody, thanks for reading... :)

So Here I Am Once More... *

Hello everybody! :)
Due to some major changes in my life I wasn't able to write anything here for almost a month.
I had no internet connection and to PC for sometime, so I was not able to deal with my blog.
Now that my life slowly slowly returns to normal once more, I will start posting things here again.
Maybe not so often like before, but often enough I hope.
Truth is I missed my blog, and I hope some of you have missed it as well.
Thank you...

*(From Marillion's song 'Script for a Jester's Tear')