The music of the Greek bands Old House Playground and Dustbowl flooded the crowded Planet Music, a live stage club in the center of Athens on an April night. The difference in sound which swung from country-rockabilly to alternative excited the fans that danced and sang along with the bands.

Old House Playground opened the evening with Ain’t gonna rain today, from their debut album, The Whore and the Dog. The fans savored their drinks and music, which made a great combination. “They played very well, even though the singer was sick with fever,” said Jenny Kapatai, who sings professionally. “What I also enjoyed was Conor’s bass, which has never sounded so good.” 

Tryfon Lazos, the band’s singer, stayed on stage for over an hour to please the audience, despite a 39 degree temperature. “I had to stay on stage because people paid money in order to watch us,” he explained. “And the band is my life, so I couldn’t cancel the show, because I didn’t want to disappoint the rest of the band. So I enjoyed it even though there were moments when I felt ready to faint because of the fever.”

Dustbowl continued the show with their rockabilly-country tunes. The singer’s microphone was redolent of Elvis’s, as were their outfits and hair cuts. The fans’ bodies waved rockabilly and their heads turned left and right to the rhythms.

But some of them didn’t enjoy the band.

“I prefer to listen to this music by an original 50s or 60s singer or band, like Johnny Cash,” said Evagelos Vasilakos, a guitarist who was in the crowd. “I think there are other Greek bands, such as the Bullets, that play better rockabilly than Dustbowl.”

But most of the people left Planet Music seemingly satisfied, as the bands, which started playing two years ago, had performed a nice show. “They both played well, although they had nothing in common in terms of style of music,” said one fan.