AC/DC ABRUZZO BLOG - AMARCORD WILKES BARRE

Those who were there cannot easily forget what happened one year ago in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. And probably they never will. This small town, virtually in the middle of nowhere ,will remain forever in the hearts of the very few fans who gathered from all over the world to witness the historic comeback of AC/DC.

AC/DC Abruzzo's staff had made the promise just after the legendary gig at the Hammersmith Theatre in London on October 2003 to go anywhere AC/DC had decided to play the next show. That powerful rendering of If you Want Blood (You've got it) that night had just blown us away....

We had to wait for 5 years but we kept our word. As soon as the dates of the Black Ice World tour came out we secured our seats for the firs date of the tour Wilkes Barre using the first of a long list of Fan Club memberships. We didn't even know where this place was, somewhere on the East Coast for sure, but we put our faith in the Gods of Rock...

The real deal was the 1st night of the World Tour. We had to be the first to hear all the songs but then the rumours of a secret/private show, just a few days before the official kick off of the Black Ice tour caught our attention. Obviously we had to be there... We didn't win any contest but we did our duty of fans implementing our "Impossible is Nothing policy": we anticipated our flight, spent some time in NYC (we were actually there for the official release of the album on Oct 20), did some networking and finally got the confirmation that the "secret/private gig" (called "Dress Rehersal") was going to take place in Wilkes Barre. So Andrea and Matteo moved to Pennsylvania earlier, got to Scranton (and that's when it was decided to establish Project AC/DC Abruzzo) and then moved to Wilkes Barre where Marco from AC/DC Italia joined the party.

The day before the show Wilkes Barre looked like a Mecca for AC/DC fans. We could actually see all these AC/DC t-shirts. It really felt good. Then, when we started meeting people that we had met at the Hammersmith Theatre in 2003 (and I'm talking about the exclusive Soundcheck the previous day) the we understood that Wilkes Barre was going to be heaven on earth for us. It was going to be the final reward for those fans who had stood through thick and thin for 5 years waiting for AC/DC's comeback...

We had done our duty: we were in front of the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes Barre there on October 26, 2008 for AC/DC's come back BUT... WITHOUT TICKETS!!! Actually passes... How did we manage to get them? Well, maybe it was a fluke, maybe something else. As a matter of fact it was thanks to this interview...

See the crazy Italians (4 mins in)

Actually the interview was longer with lots of Italian spoken (including some jokes). Then when the interviewer asked the question: "How did you guys get tickets for the show?" and got the blunt answer "We don't have tickets for the show" the poor guy was shocked. People who came from Italy to the US for a show without tickets. We still remember his face. But we didn't win any contest, acdc.com didn't think we were worth to be rewarded with tickets so what were we supposed to do? Sit down and cry? Instead we took the bull by the horns, just like our ancestors used to do in the Abruzzo countryside, and improvised a desperate ticket hunt. But it was easier than expected. The rest is history... We were in.

The secret gig was something really special. In the same league of London 2003. That's for sure. Since the very first second when the R'n'R Train intro video was on the screens until the final "I salute you" by Brian, we felt that Rock'n'roll was back.... We had been actually the first in the world to have seen the boys back on stage for the first time in 5 years... And seeing Angus playing with his white shirt sleeve rolled up really had no price... We met lots of cool fans. Old friends and new friends from Us and back in Europe...

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Wilkes Barre, Wachovia Arena October 26, 2008

Rock 'n' Roll train

Hell ain't a bad place to be

Back in black

Dirty deeds

Thunderstruck

Hells bells

You shook me all night long

TNT

Black Ice

Whole lotta Rosie

Let there be rock

Highway to hell

For those about to rock

Then it came the first night of the World Tour. The OFFICIAL comeback of AC/DC for "mainstream" audience. Obviously we couldn't miss that either. And on the same day we had to witness one of the heaviest snowfall we could remember while driving back from NYC to Wilkes Barre. This time instead of the 2000 crazy fans from all over the world, as Brian had been kidding about, the previous night there was a real crowd. And it was a real Rock show! Angus had changed uniform and pace. The setlist was complete this time and we were the first in the world to hear Big Jack and Anything Goes!

After Wilkes Barre Marco and Andrea kept going for a few more dates in the States. The next step for Matteo and Stefano was going to be Europe, GA arenas, our home turf....

Wilkes Barre, Wachovia Arena October 28, 2008

Rock & Roll Train

Hell Ain't a Bad Place To be

Back In Black

Big Jack

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap

Thunderstruck

Black Ice

The Jack

Hells Bells

War Machine

Anything Goes

You Shook Me all night long

TNT

Whole lotta Rosie

Let There Be Rock

- encore-

Highway To Hell

For Those About To Rock

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