words byВ Vassil Varbanov, photo: Dankisha

A Dream Theater show is a unique and unusual experience! In a sense, you know exactly what will happen i.e. the band will be impeccable and if the sound quality is on the same level they are, then the punters will go away at the end, feeling that they've witnessed something extraordinary and inimitable, a killer demonstration of playing skills combined with a strong stage presence and dynamic show.

To summarize:
1. The sound quality at Kaliakra Rock Fest has long stopped being an issue.
2. In this day and age, seconds after the concert's end, someone will have already posted a relevant setlist on the Internet. Setlists rarely change from gig to gig on the same tour. In other words, tonight the band will play what they played last night, which they'll most likely repeat tomorrow night too.

So, bearing this in mind, we're all set for Day 3 of Kaliakra Rock Fest 2009! There are, however some question marks hovering over the imminent Dream Theater/Cynic show, those being:
1. Will DT vocalist James LaBrie deliver the goods, as the quality of his performances have been the only point of contention (if any at all) on the current tour.
2. How do Cynic really sound live? After all, no one in this part of the world has ever seen them perform in the flesh, although everyone has great respect for the two albums they've managed to record.
3. What will tonight's attendance be?

As a matter of fact, out of the 7 acts to grace the Kaliakra 2009 stage, only two are playing here for the very first time, those being Motley Crue and – CYNIC.

I absolutely refuse to even try to ascertain roughly how many people attended the last night of the festival! The stadium's capacity varies, while the ticket sales info provided by the promoters must always be taken with a pinch of salt.В  The best I can do is to say that the Dream Theater/Cynic show drew about 15% more than Motley Crue/Lauren Harris and approximately 30% less than the Scorpions/Blinf Guardian/Edguy concert.
There's one prize individual missing tonight though. The larger-than-life and ever more popular (not only in our website's forum, but also in the local police books) Castaneda calls us at 4 p.m. to announce that he's "avin it" in some town he doesn't even know the name of and that he has no intention of joining us tonight. Quite how he's managed to fund this particular night out is beyond us, as we're well aware that he's already spunked all his cash on endless rivers of alcohol, but we'll think of saving his arse later - we have a gig to go to first.
It's not all bad news either, as me and D look forward to a night of trouble-free adventures. You see, sometimes Castaneda can be a bloody pain in the neck and that's putting it mildly. I now begin to understand why some bands split up after living in close quarters with each other for too long.
So off we go!

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Martin Stoyanov of Joker MediaВ summarizes Kaliakra Rock Fest for the mediaВ 

Once inside the stadium, I'm taken aback by the variety of Dream Theater t-shorts on display in the crowd. Other merch items being flaunted include DT scarves and shower caps. We stop at the "Manowar" mobile hot dog stand and the rather overweight Samoan vendor seems dejected - today's sales are nothing special, whereas yesterday he made an absolute killing.В  I refrain from telling him tomorrow will be even worse.
We see a few Odd Crew t-shirts and promptly follow the people wearing them to find, to our delight, that it isn't the actual band wearing their own merch.В  Not that we wouldn't be happy to see them, but this is evidence that the word has been spreading and we look forward to seeing them perform at Spirit Of Burgas 2009 in five weeks time.

Cynic come on at exactly 8:15 p.m. in front of about 2500 progressive metal fans.В  There are more people rolling about on the grass further back. One of them is heard explaining that "two of those guys from Cynic played on some Death albums."

Cynic's music needs to be listened to carefully. Thus it's no sacrilege if you sit down and just absorb.В  Just....listen...carefully. For Cynic are true maestros.В В 

Paul Massvidal

The amazing instrumental piece ‘Textures’ makes me drift towards the front. I don't see anyone in the crowd playing air-guitar, but I do notice a rather bulky fella playing air-doublebass!!! And, to be fair, there's definitely a jazz vibe to Cynic's otherwise heavy music. Onstage, guitarist Tymon keeps wiping his instrument with a towel. He must get sweaty palms or something, because the heat isn't that bad.  He's one of the new additions to the band, with a formidable reputation.

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Tymon

Paul Masvidal communicates with the audience in a quiet, almost inaudible voice. There are no rock'n'roll cliches or rallying calls here. Masvidal prefers to concentrate on his performance. Cynic's set is met with approval and respect.В 

Sean Reinert

В As a series of fusion instrumentals from the PA fill the evening air, more and more people flock to the front, in anticipation of tonight's headline act. Nice to finally meet some of your Facebook "friends" in the flesh. Tomorrow you can all trade and compare photos.В  Dream Theater's management has imposed firm restrictions on all photographers in the pit - snap away all you want, but only during the opening 15 mins of the show! After that - get lost! TV crews have it even worse...There are spotters onstage, looking out for fans who may be equipped with professional cameras. Those should be promptly dealt with by security. Dream Theater want full artistic control you see.

It's a real paradox that, for a group of their stature, DT haven't really excelled that much in the sales department. They've released a full 10 albums in the US and the sales total out of that is somewhere in the vicinity of 2 million. Their most successful album is 1992's ‘Images and Words’, which achieved gold status (500 000 units sold). I mean, those guys are practically legends and yet not one of their albums has been certified platinum.  They HAVE sold 8 million copies of their product (albums, DVD's and live albums) worldwide, which must mean they're an acquired taste. In comparison, Motley Crue have enjoyed multi-platinum status for a number of years. This must mean that the Bulgarian audience is somewhat "intellectual", as DT are much bigger than the Crue around here. 
I see kids between 9-12 years old at the front. Guess this must be a very safe, but nonetheless very exciting gig. The crowd tonight is incredibly diverse. I overhear a group of girls behind me talking about "next term at the music academy."В  And, yes, there ARE some bespectacled nerds at the front too, the intellectual type.

Nothing wrong with that, we're not in public school anymore and we're way past calling anyone wearing glasses "four-eyes":...or are we? Fuck's sake, DT's drummer wears specs too!В  John Petrucci will always impress with his guitar virtuosity...Tonight he also makes a big impression (mainly on the security guys) with his glowing muscles.В 
In fact, all that I've recounted has yet to happen.

Dream Theater's instruments are still draped in black as me and a friend discuss the improbability of a King's X gig in Bulgaria. Then the theme from Hitchcock's "Psycho" begins to stab out at us from the PA and we agree that DT should really be using "Star Wars" as an intro, since they're definitely musicians from another planet. Darkness descneds upon the stage...When the lights come back on they reveal the band - ready to rip our fucking heads off!
В The sound is top notch! Portnoy's double bass volley throws me back a couple of yards. That guy can even play standing up. No sign of James LaBrie for the first three minutes, but then he storms the stage and kills off any doubts anyone might have had about his singing ability. We already know we're in for a blinding gig!В 

Portnoy chucks some drumsticks at the audience - I duck, as I don't want to have my eye taken out and be forced to adopt a Proclaimers image.В 
Anyway, I've always liked ‘Hollow Years’ and this rendition is nothing short of brilliant.  The crowd go apeshit and the band are in fine spirits. The encore is long and no one wants it to ever end. But end it does and we're then comforted by the promise that DT will come our way again.  Let's hope so.

Wow, that's it, the festival's over! Kaliakra Rock Fest 2009 has been a resounding success! Time to check my phone - oh wow, SIX missed calls from Castaneda! I decide to give him a call, only to be greeted by threats that I'd better not put his picture on the Net! He sounds well drunk and must have realized he's become a bit of a celebrity thanks to these live reports, so he's pushing his luck, the cheeky bastard. They're all the same really - give 'em an inch and they'll take a yard!В 

Anyway, that's all...for now...I'm too drunk and tired to write any more. Thanks for reading - if you got through all that, then you're my hero. Now send me some cash, bitch!

GALLERY