Unpredictable Macy Gray plays in Athens tonight
The flood of international stars on the music front continues in July and is compensating, in advance, for the shortage of concerts scheduled in August as a result of the Athens Olympics. Next in line amid the local concert activity of late, which has included performances by PJ Harvey, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, as well as The Pixies and Peter Gabriel at the Rockwave Festival, is Macy Gray, the extremely popular British soul act who performs at the open-air Lycabettus Theater in Athens tonight. Gray emerged in 1999 with the debut album «On How Life Is,» which carried hit singles such as «I Try» and «Why Didn’t You Call Me.» The artist’s sensual and passionate vocal delivery began drawing fans immediately as reflected in the multi-platinum status of the debut album in the US. Gray was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best New Female Singer category. The artist’s follow-up album, «The Id,» which surfaced two years later, in 2001, was loaded with commercial promise, but the timing of the feel-good album’s release, a mere two weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA, proved detrimental for sales. Gray re-emerged solidly last year with a third album, «The Trouble With Being Myself,» which will make up the bulk of the repertoire tonight, the latest stop on Gray’s current world tour. She is full of surprises, as fans in London found out just a few nights ago. At the end of her regular set, the singer and band returned to a pitch-black stage for an encore. When the lights came on again, Gray was seated stark naked with her back to the audience for the evening’s final song. Tickets, subject to availability, are on sale on Metropolis music stores, Tickethouse, Rodon and the theater’s box office.
