Raul Midón blew the caps off of our heads when he took us in the wonderland of his music. He swirled us up like a tornado with the first sound that came from his guitar in Sofia Live Club. The guest stopped by on his way from Amsterdam to New York with Reel Feel.The event was first heated with Funkusion and Makora. The contemporary Nat “King” Cole, as they call him, spontaneously appeared on stages, said “How are you doin’?” and the audience went nuts. The chain reaction of the acoustic prodigy began with the tender Mystery Girl from the album State of Mind. The club is packed. Everybody is gazing at the genius. The listeners’ enchantment continued with Moment to Moment. As soon as the piece ends, there comes a wave of ecstasy and loud applause, which suddenly cease. At once, everything around us is in a tint of blue- we hear the first chords of Suddenly, with a brilliant improvisation of the “trumpet”, bongos, and guitarMidón takes a sip of water and cracks us up with a story about some DJ, who asked him to make a house song together. A genre, which according to Raul, has an exceptional rhythm and “It’s full of lyrics man!”The club echoes with a crisp “check it out”..What could be the next surprise, we all wonder. Some local colossi are around- Hilda Kazasian, Funky, Zhivko Petrov, Jivko Petrov, Milen Kukosharov… We also catch a glimpse of Kostantin Wladigeroff, who together with Alexander and Ekaterina Wladigeroff and the virtuoso Stoyan Yankoulov- Stundji, performed twice at the Bulgarian festival in Canada last month.An intro ala Richard Bona triggers yet another explosion from State of Mind- Sunshine. Before we realize it, we find ourselves in Brazil. We flew there with Everyone Deserves a Second Chance, a song from Midón’s current album- Synthesis.And yet another jolly story takes us in the world saturated with the smell of cannabis, the world of reggae. Behind me I hear somebody shout “You’re legendary!” The audience burst into laughter and in just seconds, everybody is swaying to the rhythm of Invisible Chains, also from Synthesis. Now, with Bonnie’s Song we’re somewhere among blue waves. Without a single thought, the sea devours us with the sorrow of the next song- When You Call My Name. The fanatic shrill of a lady, “I love youuuu!” echoes in the club as the tune of Waited All My Life begins.>Like in a dream, Raul jumps to the hectic About You.The audience is in ecstasy, but towards the end, the song is interrupted with a completely contrasting improvisation.Yes! Finally! We hear the piece most of us are here for- State of Mind.Hysteria prevails as a result of Raul Midón’s stupendous, syncopated solos. An odd Balkan character blurts out a “What’s happening with you, man?!” But I turn my back to him to face the master of the acoustic. The piece is over as if in a few seconds, and the club bursts with applause and cheering. Raul humbly replies with a “Thank you.” The spotlights come off. The stage, together with the guest, is suffused with darkness. But we, the fans, did not give up so easily! The crowd did not take a break before the genius came for an encore. A starry background and Midón’s angelic voice, which presents us with Expressions of Love for the final.
