I am sitting and watching the blank document and before my eyes are still the Moog synthesizer and the blond keyboarder before it. I am attempting to write but I wish I could paint sounds. I have never seen such a concert so far. One of the ones who put the start of the progressive rock pulled out such sounds and whelmed the thousand spectators with such an electronic-keyboard explosion that all my hairs stood up and some of then even turned grey. And let me tell from the beginning – Keith Emerson plays with an excellent band. The four musicians work thus as if they are together from decades. And they play as for the last time.

This what we became witnesses to on 7th of September in the Ancient Theater, was a pure-blooded, pounding and buzzing progressive rock concert, emerged from the early 70’s to show us where in fact the style appeared and why its creators have reserved a lot of pages in the music books.

“Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends.” The show really has no end. I don’t see how all this audio-visual fairy-scene will come out of my mind in the next days. Staggering compositions played not just by brilliant musicians but from people who are so deep into the music that long ago she flows not only from their instruments. The music was in the moves of Keith’s body, the straddling position of Marc, in every hit of Tony, in the absorbed look of Travis. The band actually is not a support band. It is full-blooded line-up of four genius instrumentalists and the soon to be released album will be the studio proof for this.

The duet Keith Emerson and Marc Bonilla is a miniature explosion on the stage. Them two complete so smooth and with such an ease despite the bigger part of the live repertoire is of the legendary British trio Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The singer and guitarist puts such a vivid push of his performance that in some point one can realize that new reincarnation of ELP is not needed now. His voice sounds wonderful live, he reproduces amazingly the passages of Greg Lake and in the other songs he demonstrates style, talent and attitude. He owns great manner of playing, changing the lead lines with Keith all the time. The two of them talk, smile, play, producing dialogue on every level.

The classic “Tarkus”; joyful cheers from the crowd; rack and roll rhythms from the keys and the guitar; light play with the main melody of the Tarantino’s masterpiece “Pulp Fiction”; stunning atonal proto-metal from the insanely heavy live “The Barbarian” and leading to arrhythmia screams from the synthesizers. Like in the old records – cables, keys, oscilloscope, a wall of equipment as if emerged from control board of a spaceship from “Blake's 7”. The moog was there to blow heads. And it blew them. In a psychedelic prog rock trip with initial station the Ancient Theater. An authentic synthesizer; a classic piano; Keith plays also on concertina and Tony Pia exploded in the most reasonable drum solo I’ve seen from many years.

Such a cannonade of sounds, such an expressionistically played music and 130 minutes passed as like for a time for one cigarette. The four smiling musicians left the stage to meet the more patient fans for short talks, pictures and autographs as though they were seeing us off personally and to express their admiration of the old Plovdiv. “Is it even possible not to love this place?”, exclaimed Marc at the exit. And when some hours later in my head still are the pictures of THIS exhibition, I can honestly recognize that I am a “Lucky Man”.

Report: Ivaylo Alexandrov

Photos: Victor Alexandrov

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