Thirty years of Use. Thirty years of Nightstalker. You didn’t really need much more to know what was coming at Technopolis on Friday night.
A huge crowd, plenty of familiar faces and a night that felt more like a big celebration of the Greek heavy rock scene than just another Nightstalker show. But before we got to the guests of honor, there were The Steams.
And we really need to talk about them, because they were absolutely brilliant.
The Steams didn’t come out there simply to warm up the crowd. They took the stage and played as if the whole night belonged to them. Psychedelia, energy, a great sound and, above everything else, a band that looked like they genuinely loved every second of being up there.
Their guitarist in particular was worth the price of admission alone. The guy simply wouldn’t stay still. Between his antics, his movements around the stage, the screams towards the crowd and that slightly unhinged stage presence, it didn’t take him long to get everyone involved. He’s one of those musicians you don’t just watch playing guitar – you watch him actually living the show.
By the time The Steams were done, Technopolis was more than warmed up. They had delivered a killer performance and, to be fair, set the bar pretty damn high for whoever had to follow.
Then again, the band following them was Nightstalker.
So… yeah.
What is there left to say about these guys?
We’ve seen them countless times. We’ve heard those riffs countless times. We pretty much know when things are about to explode and which songs are going to have everyone shouting along.
And somehow, every single time they walk onto a stage, it still works.
This time, though, there was a very good reason for the night to feel a little different. Use turned 30, and in front of a packed Technopolis it got exactly the birthday party it deserved.
Released back in 1996, Use remains one of those records that helped shape what we now know as the Greek heavy rock scene. Three decades later, these songs don’t feel like relics from another era. They still hit hard live, they still make people move and they still sound completely at home coming through a massive PA.
That alone says plenty.
And of course, this wasn’t going to be just Nightstalker playing an anniversary set and calling it a night.
Throughout the show, friends and fellow travellers started joining them onstage. Dani from 1000mods, Alex from Villagers of Ioannina City, Babis from Planet of Zeus, among others, while Alex K. of The Last Drive was an especially fitting presence, considering his own connection to the story as the producer of Use.
And somewhere around there, you realised what the night was really about.
This wasn’t simply a band celebrating the anniversary of an old record. For a few hours, we were watching a small piece of Greek heavy rock history unfold onstage. Musicians from different generations who have shared stages, influences, friendships, tours and God knows how many kilometres on the road over the years.
Sometimes I think we forget just how important Nightstalker have been to everything that followed them.
Maybe it’s because they never really went away. Maybe it’s because they’re still out there playing, still releasing music and still doing what they’ve always done. They never needed to disappear for ten years and suddenly come back so everyone could rediscover them and start calling them “legends”.
They’re just Nightstalker.
Argyris up front, that unmistakable voice, riff after riff coming from the stage and a crowd in front of them that knew exactly why it was there.
As the show went on, the whole “30 years since the release of Use” thing started feeling less like an album anniversary and more like a celebration of an entire scene.
No pointless nostalgia. No unnecessary bullshit.
Riffs, beers, friends onstage and absolute chaos in front of it.
Exactly how it should be.
The Steams left Technopolis having delivered, at least for me, one of those performances that immediately makes you want to catch them again as soon as possible.
And Nightstalker?
Nightstalker celebrated 30 years of Use in front of a crowd that has essentially grown up alongside them, surrounded by musicians and friends who became part of the same scene they helped build.
Thirty years of Use.
Don’t even think about it.
Happy birthday.
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