Opening band Vincas set the bar fairly high in my opinion, but Iceage tour mates Merchandise lacked a general stage presence that I was hoping for. You’re opening for Iceage man; mess up the crowd a bit.
Well, once the members of Iceage (singer excluded) took the stage, I began to feel the shoves of the now shirtless men around me. The pit was forming, and though it was small, these guys were here for the same reasons I was.
Iceage looked around the venue for their frontman, who had recently walked into the bathroom. The guitarist called his name in the mic. Some concertgoers searched the room as well. Others stretched their arms.
Lead singer Elias Rønnenfelt marched out of the bathroom and onto the stage, grabbing his guitarist by the shoulder and stating something quietly urgent in his face. It appeared as though he were reprimanding his player for calling his name in the microphone. The tension was already high, and that’s about the time I started to fear for my life.
After about twenty-five minutes of destruction, Iceage stopped, and Rønnenfelt lurched forward and walked off the stage. In a few steps, he was out of the venue. The show was over. The place smelled terrible. Sweaty hugs were given.
Iceage is touring the world after one debut album, and their live show in Athens that night was like witnessing history. They are an unstoppable force of punk, and though the Athens crowd seems to have lost some of its teeth over time, Iceage has more than enough power to keep the fire going for a while.