Do you know the feeling you get, when you’ve noticed that there’s only one band playing the show, the band you want to see, and then all of a sudden a support band which you have never heard of, or have the energy to check out, gets stuck on the billing as well?
Yeah, that’s how we felt when unknown to us Gus G. got announced as support of Jesper Binzer in Pumpehuset. But what the hell, we were there, and so were they, so why not give it a shot, right?

“Let’s get you warmed up!”
- Dennis Ward (bass/vocals)

Ok, let’s get this straight right off the bat - we both had to eat those thoughts pretty damn quick when the solo project trio took the stage! The band opened with the instrumental Fearless, and Gus G. (the man, from now on we’ll call the band “the band” for simplicity’s sake) was all fired up, and showed off his ungodly speed and skill on the strings, as well as his unending supply of standing metal poses. I was taken aback, I was confused, I was run over - but most importantly, I liked what I saw and heard!
Besides Gus G., the band held a couple of prominent live musicians - on bass and vocals, we had Dennis Ward (Unisonic, Pink Cream 69), and on drums, Felix Bohnke (Edguy)! How’s that for an all-star line-up? And just to get this straight, besides this solo project Gus G. can be found in Greek power metal band Firewind, and he was guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne between 2009-2017!
How guys like these ended up as an unknown support band for Jesper Binzer is a bit of a mystery, but one I’m now happy we were presented with, because I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this for the world.

“We need your hands again, get them up!”
- Konstantinos ‘Gus G.’ Karamitroudis (guitar)

Back to the show though. As I said, I was wondering what it all meant, when the band opened with an instrumental song. It was clear for all to see, that this was about letting Gus G. shine in what he does best, but did that mean that everything he did was instrumental? Would this be one long show of guitar wankery, pardon my French?
Nope, already in the second song, the band shifted gear - this song had a more regular build, with still leaving plenty of space for Gus G. to show off his playfulness. Even though Ward works with one of my all-time favourite metal vocalists, Michael Kiske, in Unisonic, it turned out that he had some pretty good pipes of his own, delivering a nice and rock gritty voice, with a splash of blues in it. Bohnke was just bonkers, simple as that - what that man can’t do with a set of drums, well, it’s quite unimaginable. Nothing, I suppose, there’s nothing he can’t do.

Gus G. - “The timing seems to be a bit off. This side is good, but that side is a bit behind.”
Ward - “There’s more beer on that side.”

The evening here at Pumpehuset was sold out, but even though not everyone had shown up for the support, there were still a good many people who got to enjoy this band as well. Whether or not more had had the same experience as us is impossible to say, but it didn’t take the band a long time to win the Copenhagen crowd over. People were intently listening and watching during the songs, and although the band wasn’t well-known enough (yet) to incite spontaneous sing along’s, the audience was ready and more than willing to shout “hey” along with the band, when they asked for it. After a bit of this, our throats were warmed up enough to even sing a bit - for the final song, Ward instructed us in the phrase “I am the fire”, and after sorting out some timing issues (see comment above) the band seemed well-pleased with the response they got.

So, the band was here. We were here. We gave them a shot. They gave us one hell of a surprise, and an even better show - one concert would not be able to contain this, but more on that later…

Setlist:

Fearless
My Will Be Done
Burn
Brand New Revolution
Letting Go
Mr. Manson
Money For Nothing (Dire Straits cover)
I Am The Fire