The third stop in Greece for Over The Rainbow was to be in Ioannina. A group of former members of Rainbow by the addition of Blackmore’s son, Jurgen, never ceases to be a musical event despite the absence of the sacred monsters of this band. So be it. The opportunity for the Greek audience to hear everlasting rock music diamonds in the year 2009 is unique.

The Café  Kaplaneio for its eighth anniversary managed to book and bring in Ioannina Over The Rainbow, starting the concert period with the best omens. The Cultural Center of Ioannina, a very beautiful site with excellent acoustics, would be the stage where a great rock night, as it evolved, would be housed.

The Cultural Center was full by people from every age group since early and shortly after 9 the rock party started with George Gakis and Troublemakers. The city loves the band and they in turn compensated the crowd. A set list consisting mainly by other bands’ covers warmed up and stirred the audience. The opening track was "It's Only Rock n 'Roll (But I Like It)" - Rolling Stones, followed by a rock adaption of a folk song from Epirus! Then, “In Your Face” by Gakis and the party was lit up by “Big City Nights” with youth running on stage offering unprecedented times to the Cultural Center. Later followed a compilation of rock anthems like "Have A Nice Day", "Give Me All Your Love" and a Deep Purple medley "Smoke On The Water / Burn / Black Night / Strange Kind Of Woman / Highway Star" which vibrated the place and entertained the audience. Just before the end of the show the band and G. Gakis dedicated the next song to all members of Over The Rainbow, stating the members’ names one by one. The stage then went on to Alexandros Lolis with his electronic violin and a great cover version of Kashmir took place closing the performance of Gakis in the best way after 50 minutes.

The clock showed 22:35 and Over The Rainbow pounced on stage with “Tarot Woman”, “Kill The King”, “Can’t Let Go”. The feelings were mixed. On one side the enthusiasm for songs that we have never seen live from a band that bears the legacy of Rainbow, while the on the other the cruel comparisons. However, reality prevailed, and that was an all time classic Rainbow show, as songs from all periods of the group were performed and this is enough for us. The band sounded crystal and highly spirited reviving in 105 minutes its history from “All Night Long” to “Death Alley Driver” and then to the recent “Ariel” & “Wolf To The Moon” then going back again to “I Surrender” and even deeper in time with “Man On The Silver Mountain”. The performance of the band with Joe Lynn Turner was excellent, who had miraculously eliminated signs of time and was in perfect condition, the rhythm section with Greg Smith and Bobby Rondinelli robust and bulky with bassist Greg Smith offering valuable assistance on vocals, while on the other hand Jurgen Blackmore carrying the burden of his father coped well, reminding him mostly in appearance (even though with more weight), and the keyboardist Paul Morris offered some of his melodic touches in the background.

The concert was coming to an end and the stunning performance of "Stargazer" stirred up the oldest while with "Long Live Rock n 'Roll" everyone sang for rock longevity. Over The Rainbow bid us farewell as the public cried for encore. Indeed, the band resurfaced with the wayfaring keyboards of "Gates Of Babylon" creating a fantastic atmosphere and thus closed a very good performance with this amazing song, leaving us with the best impressions.

What if "Since You’ve Been Gone", "Can't Happen Here" and "The Spotlight Kid" played in their performance in Athens, were not performed, no one seemed bothered, as the excellent organization, the beautiful sound and the remarkable performance by the band and the high spirits of the audience, composed a memorable rock night in Ioannina, certifying in the best way that the city is fitted in the world rock map for good. And as Winger are coming next, Ioannina Rocks!!! 

Setlist: 

Tarot Woman, Kill The King, Can’t Let You Go, All Night Long, Death Alley Driver, Eyes Of The World, Ariel, Wolf To The Moon, I Surrender, Man On The Silver Mountain, Jealous Lover, (drums solo) Stargazer, Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll

Encore: Gates Of Babylon

Promoter: Café Kaplaneio


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