|
"YOU
really mustn't!" I hiccupped to the owner when
the third overflowing Kamikaze cocktail shaker
was slammed on our table. My Spanish
friend
Carolina
was
spending her last night on planet
Athens
and
going to her favourite bar was a must.
Co-owner Stathis Papaioannou was clearly moved
by her year-long devotion to his popular
Psyrri locale and wished to make this a night
to remember. But the way it was going, with
shot after shot named after the Japanese word
for suicide (of the brain cells) this could
very likely become a night to involuntarily
forget, in frightening black-out style. So
when the famous words "just say no!" finally
flashed hypnotically in front of my eyes I put
down my umpteenth half-finished treat, gulped
down some iced water, and took out my notebook
in an effort to occupy my mind with a
practical recovery-mission: work.
concept
Freestyle.
Now here's a word that was purposely pounded
into my brain by Papaioannou (maybe he thought
it necessary to repeat things over and over
again following the generous provision of the
bar's liquid assets) during our conversation.
Now as a bar-reviewer I should probably be
street-smart enough to just respond to this
with "Oh! I see!" but, I have to confess, my
trend-ological knowledge is pretty limited, so
my reaction was "er... please kindly define".
But that's just the point, "freestyle" is a
term describing a concept without any
particular definition, and that's just how
Astron wants it.
The
decor, I am told, changes every two months or
so, and change occurs in DJ-style as well.
This freedom of thought suits a place where
you can sit down with a cold beer on the
pavement outside, in true island-style, and
chat with other friendly and kefatoi
customers, or dance to trance inside, music
vibrating through your veins. The current
decor, by London-based Elena Kanagi, is a
mixture of (intentionally?) kitsch Greek
(technicolour-painted photographs of scenes
such as a beach sunset or the Acropolis
glowering with back-lighting) and zingy-fresh
seaside bar. But Papaioannou, who runs the bar
with Panayiotis Takou, reveals that it will
soon be undergoing metamorphosis, with the
addition of more bar-stools and tables
outside, and some secret alterations
within.
crowd
Like
all the best places, Astron hosts a crowd
varying in age and style. You'll get your
uber-trendy young lads in their
three-quarter-length jeans and fitted black
T-shirts (I'm not complaining), bronzed
and glossed young ladies in strapless dresses,
dreamy actors staring out into the distance,
beer-bellied gentlemen playing with their
worry-beads, polished yuppies and other
fresh-faced professionals. It's quite a common
sight to see strangers chatting to each other
and introducing one another to new worlds or
ideas. While I interview Papaioannou, Carolina
& co sneakily go inside "to get some
water", and when I'm about to print their
pictures on milk-cartons I venture inside to
find them dancing away with a group of
"writers", one of whom has a black strip of
beard down his chin which he confesses to me
he spends "an excruciating amount of time and
concentration shaving into perfection" every
two days. You learn something new every day.
Especially here, it appears.
When I
pass outside Astron on a Saturday night in a
frantic search for a sedate ouzeri I am
astounded by the massive increase in people;
so much so that you have to gently push your
way through. Perhaps weekdays are preferable
visiting-times for the trend-ological
weaklings among us.
music & events
Astron's
DJs change like the weather, but there are a
few regulars such as Jimmy Lazarides from
ENERGY radio (105,5 FM), Maddy Jo, DJ Yianni
and Jimmy. Music is (you guessed it)
freestyle, meaning trance, ambient,
progressive house, disco house and funk. The
bar promises to host the hottest mid-summer
event when it closes for its seasonal break at
the end of July. "There will be lots of white
balloons everywhere, mime artists and drag
show performers satirising international
celebrities!" enthuses Papaioannou. There will
also be live saxophone (Papaioannou is an avid
jazz fanatic) and improvisational
bongo-banging along to funky DJ-ed rhythms.
Due to party-pooper neighbours with their
fingers ready to dial 100, the party will be
mainly confined inside, but not spilling out
onto the streets in genuine celebratory style
is a near impossibility. Let's see if it lives
up to the party of the month I couldn't
bring myself to depart from earlier this
month, where much dancing and fun was had by
all, in a defiantly gleeful fight against the
stifling heat.
top drink
I took
the freestyle-type liberty to decide which is
this night-spot's top drink. It has to be the
kamikaze shot, which, despite its sometimes
nasty reputation, was particularly refreshing,
light and zingy here:
(for a
shaker)
2
ounces vodka
1 ounce
Cointreau
1 ounce
fresh lemon juice (mix in some lime if
available)
ice
Shake
well before abuse.
Astron,
3 Taki St, Psyrri. Tel: 6977 469
356.
|
