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It was a cold and windy evening outside the National Cultrual Centre (NDK) on October 4, when with rock and heavy metal fans descended on the venue eager to see one of the oldest and most influential rock bands in history.

Throngs of people sporting Iron Maiden, AC/DC and Metallica tops, leather jackets and denim, drank beer and hummed to the tunes of "Whiskey in the Jar". The atmosphere was friendly and festive, in spite of the cold breeze, everyone waiting in anticipation, sporting wicked grins on their faces.

"I can't wait to see them, I am an Iron Maiden fan and they are Steve Harris's fave band, and I cant wait to see where the twin guitar element came from," said one over enthusiastic and intoxicated fan inside the hall whilst sampling beer with his mates. "We are all heavy metal fans, and we've come here to pay our respects to Thin Lizzy, the legend".

The show kicked off with Jailbreak, and instantly a hard core element of the fans went ballistic. Large sections of the modest crowd - NDK Hall One was only two thirds full at best - remained on their seats, quietly watching. For a moment one would think this was not a rock concert but an upper class theatre performance. The sound engineers had done their homework, however, with the sound and accoustics of the venue being top notch.

Progressively, as the show went on - Waiting for an Alibi, Don't Believe a Word, Bad Reputation - more and more people got off their seats and congregated towards the front railings separating the VIP section. There was nothing extraordinary to their behaviour, having in mind this was a rock concert after all, but time and again they wore told by Sofia Music Enterprises stewards to "go back and sit down" which was rather annoying.

Englishman John Sykes and his American colleague Scott Gorham treated the Bulgarian faithful to some mesmerising guitar riffs and good old hard rock emanating from the band's illustrious past. The atmosphere slowly but gradually started heating up, with several tracks and a dozen pints of beer later, the fans in the venue becoming louder and more responsive. Still the VIP section and large swathes of fans in the Hall remained seated and dormant.

Veteran Tommy Aldridge then displayed his prowess with a five minute shattering drum solo, whereby the band went out once more and hit the stage with Suicide. The group's guitarist Scott Gorham has posted the following road report on the Thin Lizzy Live MySpace page:

"Landing at the airport in Bulgaria, I had no idea what to expect. I'm pretty ashamed of myself for not only having no knowledge of Sofia, but also not knowing anything of the country Bulgaria. This was our first time here and I was excited to find out about the country and about the rock fans who lived here. I found out I wouldn't be disappointed.

"The first thing you can't help notice is how friendly everyone is and any help you need is not a problem. Seems like everyone speaks good English and has a great sense of humor... Why haven't we been here before?

"I now know exactly where Bulgaria is on any world map, along with their largest city of Sofia. We had a great time and I hope more bands come to play for you, 'cause let's make no mistake here — SOFIA ROCKS!!!!"

I am not too sure about Sofia rocking, at least half of the people who went to the show did not. But Thin Lizzy certainly did so.

October 6 2008, Source: sofiaecho.com