Sofia, Bulgaria - Media Reviews

Jurassic hard rock, Balkan style By Svetlana Guineva

If what follows next appears to be a spiteful gutting of a concert foretold, please forgive me, you humble readers and devoted hard rock fans. I am pissed off. And what seems even more aggravating is the fact that I cannot find anybody to blame. It is nobody's fault. British bands Whitesnake and Def Leppard were scheduled to perform at the Akademik stadium in the evening of July 4. The Snake is in Bulgaria for a fourth gig, whereas the Leppards are joining in for a first time.

What was supposed to happen: at 7pm Toma Zdravkov, the winner of this-year's Music Idol, was going to warm up the crowd with a half hour of selected heavy classics, at 8 pm Whitesnake should have been on, followed an hour and a half later by Def Leppard. Simple math, is it not? While the stadium was still filling in, Toma hopped about the stage, under the sound of the first metal accords. The randomly assembled band that accompanied him hit the first notes of AC/DC Highway to Hell and Toma began to sing, or rather scream.

Now, dude, I really liked you on that Music Idol show, you are driven, you seem to have a lot of potential and charisma. But, seriously, HANDS OFF that classic tune, because it is disrespectful, it is offensive to my gentle hearing, let alone the fact that you are annoying a die-hard AC/DC junkie such as myself. PLEASE. Stick to whatever you can sing, whatever it is suited for your vocal parameters. It is not your fault.

Anyway, that was just the beginning. I waited for so long. Technicians lingered about the stage for what seemed an eternity. For the longest time nothing happened, only the queues for draft beer grew longer and more impatient. People, it seemed, wanted to drink. And how would they not? Bursting out of the powerful speakers, Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus gave a nightmarish feel to the scene. Like when in your dream you are looking for one place, and suddenly, you get lost and enter some vast emptiness for no particular reason. I mean, I like Depeche Mode, but who cares?

Then someone got a hold of the microphone and announced that there would be a significant delay though the concert will happen as planned. While trying to pass the Macedonia-Bulgaria border, the trucks carrying the bands' technical equipment have been stuck for three hours because of power failure, a voice said. An earlier rainstorm had done the damage. So, really, it is nobody's fault.

Whitesnake will come out no later than 11 pm, the voice assured the roaring crowd.

I sat there and tried to remember why I wanted to come to this concert in the first place. It was some kind of sick nostalgia that sneaked upon me and made me do it. I saw myself back in my college days, hanging out at one of those so dear to my heart parties when friends played the guitars, the rest of us sang, and I was desperately trying to figure out "Is this love that I'm feeling?"

At 11 pm, Whitesnake did come out and the raspy voice of David Coverdale managed to sooth the crowd as if it was some loving lullaby. Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City and Here I Go Again, the stadium was packed, does it matter how many people sang along as one, how many people jumped to their feet as a tribute to a special moment reminiscent of the songs, or Coverdale? I applauded the audience for putting so much heart into it. It began to rain. I saw Coverdale's white teeth flicker in the dark. The staff ran around in attempt to cover the equipment, because at some point the stage drowned in water. No comment was made between the songs, but I could feel how the singer's strained nerves radiated through the microphone. The people stood there, some covered their heads with bigger nylon sheets, some unfolded umbrellas, but the bulk just soaked the rain.

After exactly one hour, Whitesnake stopped playing, and left the wet stage escorted by anaemic applauses. No emotion, no call for an encore, just the rainy silence underlining great disappointment. But whose fault is it? Another 40 minutes had to pass for switching equipment, preparing for Def Leppard, and sound check.

The band came out, and despite the fact that calm settled over the crowd as well as many people just left, it brought cheerful mood. Def Leppard were friendly, soulful, gave it their all, played and sang with passion, talked to the audience, apologising for not speaking Bulgarian. I almost felt bad that every new song they performed sounded almost identical with the preceding one, with the exception of their well-recognised hits such as Love Bites and Let's Get Rocked. The frontman Joe Elliott warmly thanked the audience for sticking around and for being such loyal fans, which was nice. But hey, at 2 am, amid chilling wind, rain and pain in the back from sitting forever in one position, little seemed comforting. Nevermind. It is nobody's fault.

By Sofia Echo 2008.

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By Ivaylo Alexandrov

Rain, Love & Rock'n'Roll with WHITESNAKE & DEF LEPPARD

For Def Leppard there remained the hard job to keep the fire started by Coverdale, Aldrich & Co., and this after 40 minutes waiting under the pouring rain. But the people, already drenched enough, seemed like they didn't pay attention to the flowing ditches on their backs. And when, shortly after the Leppards exploded for the first time on Bulgarian soil, Joe Elliot showed commitment to the audience and a middle finger to the clouds. Rock and roll, that's it!

Even though lighter, softer and later (in fact, it was already was the 5th of July), Def Leppard received an enthusiastic welcome from their fans. And they returned it back, performing a fresh (and wet) bouquet of some of their most beloved songs. "Rocket", "Animal", "Love Bites" and the great "Hysteria" were the pearls out of the 1987 album of the same name. A little worse sound compared to the killer one of Whitesnake (the fault of which was of the rain), but fans and band ignored the inconveniences and the conditions for an hour and a half of dances. And when everything ended with the anthems "Rock of Ages" and "Let's Get Rocked", tired and soaking, the melomans who stayed under the flood of water, emotions and rock and roll left bearing in their hearts the authentic memory of unforgettable experience. Tests? Yes. And rock and roll!

By Tangra Mega Rock 2008.

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