Although it sounds cliche, the evening of April 17, 2007 shall be definitely remembered by these 4000 fans in the completely sold-out Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, who came to witness the second visit of Blackmore's Night in Bulgaria (and first date of their current Europe by Moonlight Tour 2007.

We simply cannot say anything negative about the concert of Ritchie Blackmore (acoustic and electric guitars), Candice Nigth (vocals, flute) and their "band of minstrels". Perfect sound, beautiful light show, perfectly fitting stage decors with castle walls, green plants and straw, brilliant musicianship by all professionals on stage, Candice's marvelous singing... No, there really can't be anyone who's left the show unsatisfied, no matter whether a fan of Blackmore's Night's magic mixture of Renaissance music and folk rock, or of Ritchie's former bands, Deep Purple and Rainbow.

Those who came to hear and see Blackmore's Night were more than happy due to these two hours of mainly acoustic performances of songs off the group's five studio albums - starting with "Play, Minstrel, Play", "Under a Violet Moon ", "Home Again", "World of Stone", passing through instrumental pieces like "Minstrel Hall" and "Durch den Wald zum Bach Haus", going on with interpretations of Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust", Rainbow's "Ariel" and Joan Osbourne's "St. Teresa" (as an encore), the latter two cuts performed by Ritchie on his legendary electric guitar, which, on the other hand, caused furore among...

...those who came to hear and see not Blackmore's Night, but just Deep Purple's former guitar player. They should be more than happy, too, having in mind the fact that Mr. Blackmore offered them not only the evergreens "Soldier of Fortune" and "Child in Time" during the first half of the concert, but also two of the encores - the total 70's rock smash hits "Smoke on the Water" and "Black Night".

Of course, we shouldn't forget the immense role played by Ritchie and Candice's five minstrels - the sisters with angel-like voices Madeline and Nancy Posner, drummer Squire Malcolm, bass player Baron St. James (who debuted on stage with the band last night), and especially the keyboard virtuoso Bard David, whose perfection left a solid part of the audience speechless.

Yes, although it sounds cliche, the evening of April 17, 2007 shall be definitely remembered...

Words: Nicki Vassilev.

Photos: Vassil Hristov / mp3.bg.

More photos from the concert can be viewed in our Gallery.