Kaliakra Rock Fest Part 1

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This year I finally managed to go to the Kaliakra Rock Fest, and so far it has been quite the experience. It is probably THE hard rock event in Bulgaria (no offense to the newer Lovech Rock Fest, but it is more oriented to a softer rock imo, and has yet to show it is more than a one-year event). The groups that we tend to get are what we here call the Dinosaurs of Rock - old, loud and big. Hey, fine with me.

The first evening, on the day before yesterday, we had Motley Crue (on their Saints of Los Angeles tour) with Lauren Harris as a warmup act. Harris was ok, but nothing special imo - just ok music that I could enjoy, but I would not bother going to a concert for. Me and my friends spent the first part of his concert having beer and sausages (the (in)famous Bulgarian kebapche) anyway. Motley Crew themselves were good, but apart from the titular song of their new album I can not say I was all that impressed. Don't get me wrong, they sound good, and Saints of LA is downright great - I hummed it most of the day yesterday - but overall their music sounded a bit generic as well.

The second day, however, things picked up. It wasn't just the music, either - there were a lot more people, and while the first day there was ample space at the back of the football pitch the concert was held, yesterday it was packed. I came a bit late (thanks to the infamous Bulgarian kebapche) and missed some of the first opening act by Edguy, but they sounded better than Harris imo, and were definitely enjoyable. Then came... well, technically it was the second warmup act, but it's kinda hard to call Blind Guardian an opening act to anybody. Let me start with this - I am not a fan of theirs, as their music is way too loud for me. However, once you get past the "Ow my &^&#@!@ ears!" stage, there is definitely a reason why so many people swear by them. I wonder if my bad luck in finding a beer - I spent half of their act waiting in line - wasn't actually a blessing in disguise. Their music is definitely easier on the ears from a safe distance, after all.

A little less than half an hour after Blind Guardian left the stage we got the main event - the Scorpions. Well, let's just say it was worth it, and this will probably be the biggest event of the three days. The music was awesome - they mostly put on their older tracks, which I am thankful for - and the crowd loved it. I'm pretty sure that on some of "Wind of Change" the audience outsang Meine, amplifiers or no (and for the record, the sound system was quite good). It was a great concert, and if it comes out at Youtube - which I am fairly certain will happen soon - it will be worth a look. The only bad thing about it was that it had to end. Sigh...

Anyway, tonight we have Dream Theatre. Let's see what they can do to top this.