I do not really know who is responsible for what in organizing this show but I do know that it was close to become a boring and a terribly exhausting event.

But let me start from the very beginning: after the usual and somehow necessary delay of one hour and a half, the Bulgarian folk-rock band Balkandji got on stage with high dynamics and with a demonstration of good musician skills. The guys were really devoted to showing music to the fans but somehow the crowd was seized by overflowing patriotism instead of joy for the music itself for example. And it was even worse when the next band’s performance was announced and the crowd was ready to even protest it, wanting Balkandji back. I hate situations like that one. It builds an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Anyway, around 9 p.m. the German folk-metal band Remember Twilight got on stage and actually amused people who danced and jumped with them. It was funny however what the member playing the clarinet looked like. He was nothing far from a waiter wearing a black shirt cornered in a long black skirt and besides that he was so much into his role of a fantasy character that people did not really take a serious view of the band as a whole.

So far so good. The intriguing part came there. It was Exciter to get on stage and maybe I duplicate a statement of mine but we have really been witnesses to some mixes of styles at concerts that are hard to believe. It is not a bad idea as a whole but happened so that in the lobby of “Blue Box” club there was something like a migration of people who wanted to see the old-school speed metal legends Exciter and people who wanted not but waited for the headliners impatiently. And it appeared that the true fans of Exciter that night were not so many. It is true that the whole crowd were waving hands and sometimes singing but hell!, this is speed metal at its best and the guys from the band had absolutely forgotten what static was and implored people to help them make this concert a kicking-ass one. But they did not receive and equal share. The moving people were few and the real, true fans of the 80s were few. Most people had simply come to see Haggard, that is all and that was a little boring.

Anyway, it was about 10 minutes to 1 a.m. and the crowd looked tired as hell. What contributed to the boredom was that when Haggard finally got on stage one by one, all the 18 of them, there came a technical problem. None of their instruments was ready to start, the singers were not hearing what they should, the violins and viola gave sound that was not what it should be. It was like half an hour and the soundcheck was still on. Someone had just forgotten to do his work and the musicians were apparently very disappointed. And I would like to thank them all for their support that night. Instead of giving up after this failed start, they did not even get enthusiastic but also made their best to entertain us, the people in the hall and devoted their night to us.

To me, that concert, that event started from that moment on. From the moment Haggard started to play their magic. These people are simply furore, nothing less. All of them are smiling, enjoying what they are doing and giving respect to the audience.

And at some point, the brain of the band, Asis Nasseri, together with the other guitarist and bassist went down in the crowd while playing their cult version of “Herr Mannelig” and were running and playing at the same time. It was fantastic how people did not know where to look at – at the rest of the performing musicians on stage or at the three guitarists running among them. Really nobody expected this and people were fascinated, the effect was terrific.

That is how the band saved the concert, a concert that finished a little before 3 a.m., a concert that exhausted all the crowd extremely much and that was close to become a boring show. At the end the atmosphere was totally different; the energy in people was back, all because of Haggard’s attitude.

One big “Bravo!” to bands like this one. Bands that look more like a good family, a band that can grant strength with music and sincerity. Even if it bears a name like Haggard!

Report:В Kiril GyudurovВ 

Photos: Victor Alexandrov

More photos are available in the GALLERY.