"Well you took me out of my mind babe... You took me out of my head"

On Friday and Saturday, the 12th and 13th of December, 2014, we attended in Kyttaro Live, a not just historic but also one of the best concerts we've seen lately. We are talking about the Shadow Play Festival Vol.6, a live dedicated to Rory Gallagher through the soul of Barry Barnes and the Band of Friends, whom we had the pleasure to meet and discuss about their career, Rory and their plans.

It wasn't just the great anticipation of this live that rose on Friday evening, nor the incredible stage presence of these living legends of Rock / Blues music scene or the amazing atmosphere of Kyttaro, that had exactly as much crowd as it should, with crystal clear sound and very good atmosphere. It was all these things, combined with the wonderful musical journey we made in the 70's Ireland (and around), the Ireland of Rory Gallagher and his unique Rock rhythms. A journey full of emotions.

The last (and probably best) Shadow Play Festival could not but start with Barry Barnes, a lifelong admirer and continuer of Rory Gallagher's work. The great musician and kind man who "runs" the longest tour dedicated to Rory, even though he didn't bring with him the rest of SinnerBoy, managed with great ease to fill the stage with his voice and guitar and carry us away to historical blues and frantic rock tunes. Tireless, intoxicating, and full of emotion and passion for his music, he roused the crowd of Kyttaro who sang and remembered along with him the old, time-tested pieces. Sometimes passionate like Too Much Alcohol, sometimes bluesy like Out of my Mind and Wheels within wheels, sometimes dark like Death letter blues, sometimes just himself with Sail Away.

During the concert Barry kept us another surprise, the friendly participation of Greek guitarist Manos Kambouris who jammed with him on stage. The talented Manos Kambouris, senior graduate of theoretical music studies and guitar teacher, managed to rouse the crowd too, in a way that an amateur (in the true sense of the word) of blues would do. The setlist for the part of the evening that involved Barry Barnes, included the Pistol slapper blues, Daughter of the everglades, Ride on red, Cuckoo, I'm not awake yet, Out on the western plain and Going to my hometown. (Read the statements of Barry Barnes in Evart.gr)

After an hour or so of wonderful acoustic blues played by Barry Barnes, the audience warmly welcomed the Band of Friends with Gerry McAvoy, Ted McKenna and Marcel Scherpenzeel. The over 20 years alongside Rory, Irish bassist, along with the "globetrotter" Scottish drummer, and the young equally charismatic Dutch guitarist, made their presence noticeable from the very first second on the scene of Kyttaro taking us back to 1973's Tattoo with Cradle Rock.
Afterwards, with pieces unaffected by the passage of time, they carried away our bodies and souls traveling us to older places and times through the sounds of Rory Gallagher's songs . And what are these sounds? "They are rock, jazz, blues, they are everything", as Marcel Scherpenzeel told us later. Among the pieces we heard the classic hits of Rory could not be absent, like Shadow Play (hence the festival's name) and Bad Penny. The setlist also included Wayward child, Last of the independents, Do you Read me, I wonder who, Bought sold, Singing with the band (piece of the Band Of Friends), Leap of faith (also piece of their own), Philby, Calling card, Tattoo'd Lady and also Succubus and Bullfrog Blues, which were the concert's encore. (Read the statements of members of the Band of Friends in Evart.gr))

During the live Gerry McAvoy, Ted McKenna and Marcel Scherpenzeel, as much as Barry Barnes, spoke frequently to the crowd causing an intense interaction between the fans of Rory on and off stage, something that strengthened the familiar and warm atmosphere. It's really hard to describe the whole range of energy and fun that these extraordinary musicians transfered to the crowd and brought us very easily in their rhythm with both Rory Gallagher's and their own songs.

Especially for those who had the opportunity to attend Saturday, December 13's concert, the encore of the Festival kept another surprise, since Barry Barnes reappeared on stage jamming with Band of Friends, closing in the best way a live that will surely remain unforgettable!
As an epilogue, we can only give our congratulations for the organization of the festival over the years to Kyttaro, to Rory Gallagher Greece, to Simos Pavlidis, Anna Gikas and to all who supported the Shadow Play Festival over time. Rory on!

To remember the journey from the beginning to the end, we present a collection of Shadow Play Festival's posters from 2012 to 2014.

Video: Evart.gr

• Shadow Play Festival Vol.6 @ Κύτταρο
• Ο Δημήτρης Μπάκουλης στο Ρυθμό Stage