PHOTOGALLERY from Stade de France, Paris

PARIS STADE DE FRANCE COUNTDOWN!!!

Just a couple of hours from AC/DC's come back to Stade De France in Paris. Maybe this is going to be the last show in France of their career. Or maybe not... Maybe they are going to play an extra song tonight as they did in 2001. Or maybe not...

We're gonna find out very soon...

15 Jun Nice FR Parc des Sports Charles Ehrmann

Setlist:
Rock'n'Roll Train
Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
Back in Black
Big Jack
Dirty Deeds
Shot Down In Flames
Thunderstruck
Black Ice
The Jack (incl Angus strip)
Hells Bells
Shoot to Thrill
War Machine
High Voltage
You Shook Me All Night Long
TNT
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
Highway to Hell
For Those About To Rock

From the Secretary General's Private Journal

After the Donington MUDness, while the President was stuck in England due to previous commitments, I decided to fly to Nice, France by myself to attend my 42nd AC/DC show. Skipping Stuttgart was enough. There was no point in skipping another AC/DC concert!

The first thing I did in Nice was going to the Theatre de Verdures, a legendary place where AC/DC played the legendary concert in December 1979 with Bon. One of his last shows. I indulged some time imagining Bon on that small stage in front of a bunch of people....

Then I went to the Parc Des Sports. I got there just in time to see Slash play. Honestly, Slash looks a bit too fat for a rockstar, especially comparing to the old days. As for his set, as our Giggi De vito put it, "Slash has become a good Guns'n'Roses cover band".... But still, he is much better than The Answer... For some reasons I also associate Slash to Uncle Michel; not because of Michel's big belly maybe but because he told us the story of when Slash and him spent the night together in a hotel in Grand Rapids in 2000 before the opening night of the Stiff Upper Lip Tour… I guess he meant they spent the night together AT THE BAR of the hotel... At least I hope so... Not sure though... ehehehe

Anyway, the stadium was pretty small and intimate, despite the running track. Orangus and Mathieu, our PD friend from Marseillle were with me. I knew it would rain so I was prepared for the worse. And in fact it rained during the whole show. Light rain for the first half, then heavy rain for the second half. After Brisbane 2010 I got the confirmation that Angus just delivers his best solo performance during Let There Be rock under the rain. And tonight I was lucky enough to get to see the EPIC Angus'solo under the rain again!! FANTASTIC!

Brian was in very good shape too. For the occasion he wore sneakers. No boots as usual. I think the last time he wore sneakers was in Stockholm 2009, but I might be wrong. Maybe he didn't want to slip and fall off the stage like his friend Stevie Tyler did last year… AHAHAHAH

I loved the small changes in the Jack (longer intro) and in Dirty Deeds (delayed "you ain't got the guts" by Angus). I also liked the Nice crowd. Especially because there were a lot of Italian flags flying around, maybe because of the proximity with the italian border, maybe because Italy is still the world champion...

Anyway, now it's time to take my rock'n'roll TGV train to Paris. At the Stade De France gig the whole AC/DC Abruzzo's team will be there, including Andrea and Orangus. Maybe we won't get Ride On like in 2001 but afterall who cares about the setlist when you get AC/DC playing one of the greatest venues in the world?!?

Donington 2010 - The aftermath

We decided to stay in Donington for 2 extra days to recover from one of the most energetic shows and hyperactive crowds of the tour.

Now, despite the bruises and the dirty clothes and shoes, we are back in action in Nice for the first French show of the 2010 tour.
Some say it's going to rain heavily tonight... THUNDER!

Total chaos in the moshpit

90,000 people on the move

Donington GB Donington Park June 11, 2010

The Angus statue is back in England!

Donington, Donington Park, June, 11 2010

Setlist:
Rock'n'Roll Train
Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
Back in Black
Big Jack
Dirty Deeds
Shot Down In Flames
Thunderstruck
Black Ice
The Jack (incl Angus strip)
Hells Bells
Shoot to Thrill
War Machine
High Voltage
You Shook Me All Night Long
TNT
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
Highway to Hell
For Those About To Rock

HOW TO SURVIVE IN THE DONINGTON MOSHPIT by AC/DC Abruzzo

-Make sure your shoes laces are tied with double knot

-Put your mobile phone and valuables in a pocket with a zip.

-Avoid bags and don't wear any accessories. You'll lose them.

-Use your camera at your own risk.

-Drink fruit juice in tetra bricks (bought previously) and/or ask regularly for water to security staff near the barrier during the show

-Always scream louder than your neighbor

AC/DC ABRUZZO OFFICIAL REPORT

One thing was quite clear before the show. AC/DC were not playing the Download festival. AC/DC were playing DONINGTON. This was the main reason why they had their own stage and their name wasn't mentioned on the official festival program or on the offical t-shirts. Basically, AC/DC didn't really want their name associated to the Download festival, probably because it has little to do with the old Monsters of Rock spirit or maybe because they don't like playing festival anymore… But we love AC/DC also for their stubborn rock'n'roll attitude.

Historic fan Looy had warned us that this was more a festival of weird pop people hanging around in fancy carnival dresses and of wannabe models/actresses in fashion boots. He was right. But this was our only chance to finally see AC/DC in this legendary venue. And we couldn't miss it for anything in the world!

We got in pretty late, we didn't care too much about the other bands. During this tour we developed a sincere rock'n'roll monogamy for AC/DC (and only a few exceptions can be made). The crowd was immense, endless, divided almost equally around the 3 stages (AC/DC had brought their own stage). All sort of people around. 3, maybe 4 generations. Lots of fathers and children, which was really cool. We went straight to our position, on Malcolm's side.

The crowd in the moshpit: well, a typical English crowd (with litres of beer in their body, well before the show). The pogo started at 8.10 pm, 20 minutes before the boys were due on stage. And from then it was a crescendo. When the video intro started, we were going left and right pushed by the crowd. And it was a lot of jumping and pushing, and some crowd surfing too! It was pretty challenging even for experienced people like us. The last time we saw such a "hyperactive" crowd was in Glasgow in 2009 (excluding Argentina, of course, which is just another league). The real surprise was that these "crowd waves" didn't stop with Black Ice, as they normally did in the past in the hottest European venues. But they continued 'till the Jack! Unbelievable! Some people were falling (but promptly helped by others) and all sorts of objects were flyng, from t-shirts to shoes (lots of shoes...). But in the end that is rock'n'roll and all this chaos is definitely is part of the AC/DC-Donington experience (watch the 1991 DVD if you don't believe us!). We did have a real good time, jumping, singing, falling down and being pushed to the left and to the right while our favourite band was playing etc.

The boys were in very good shape. Just perfect for Donington. One of their best performances in Europe 2010. Especially Brian who has been just fantastic in the last few shows. Hats' off to the boys!The catwalk looked a bit lower than usual and we liked that. From what we saw from our spot the ocean of people was endless. They say approximately 90,000 people.

Well, we can say to our children that we were In Doningon in 2010 to see AC/DC. Now we get some rest. Next show is going to be Nice. See you there and FORZA ITALIA!

PHOTOS from Donington

Fantastic show and fantastic crowd. The 80,000 people who were at the Donington Park were blessed with one night of pure rock'n'roll which will remain forever in the history of live rock music.

Here's a few photos. Official report with more pics and videos tomorrow.

DONINGTOOOOOON!!!!!

AC/DC Abruzzo arrived in Nottigham at 4am after a long drive on the Motorway to Hell from London (on the wrong side of the street!). Our office will be based here for the next three days. We had our "rockstars breakfast" a couple of hours ago and now we are preparing ourselves to go to Donington and attend this historic rock'n'roll event. History will repeat itself tonight. AC/DC will be making history again! And this time we will be part of history too!

INTERVIEW WITH ROSS "THE BOSS" YOUNG

Photo by Scott Segrue

AC/DC Abruzzo had the opportunity and the pleasure to interview Ross Young, Malcolm’s son, a good friend of ours. Here’s the complete interview, exclusive for our blog.

-Today we have a very special guest with us. Ross Young aka as “Ross the Boss”. Hi Ross, how are you doing? It’s a pleasure to see you again. And thank you for accepting our interview

You’re my friends Abruzzo! It’s always a pleasure for me to help you out with your great blog!

-Thank you Ross! During this tour we shared some good moments together: from Ireland in Summer 2009 to Australia in 2010. And now again in Europe.

Yes, I’ve been traveling with my dad and the band for more than a year. After Europe we went back to North America and then South America. Then Australia, the US again and now back to Europe. I guess it’s more than 100 shows for me….

-WOW! Which was your favourite country and why? Any funny story while being on the road?

My favorite place is Argentina. The people there are so warm and kind. And the girls so good-looking! I really had a good time there. I loved it! But of course I like North America, with Canada and the States. And Italy too. Gorgeous girls over there...

-Let’s talk about you relationship with your father. How is it to be the son of Malcolm Young’s, the founder and the leader of AC/DC, the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world?

It’s a very normal relationship. Just normal hanging out. We do simple things like watching a movie or talking about my girlfriends… He gives me good advice. Dad is dad. He doesn’t come out a lot to pubs like I do…. But from the stories he told me, when he was younger he really enjoyed partying with friends and girls…

Malcolm and Ross in Milan in 2009

-WOW. What about these stories from the early days? Has he ever told you anything about partying with Bon Scott for example?

Of course, he always tells me about Bon. He was a great guy, with lots of tattoes and always having fun and always surrounded by women. He even told me the whole story about Rosie and when Bon met her… She was really a fat woman! But Bon didn’t care too much… He loved all women… Ahahaha

-Ahahah! And what about the other members of the band?

My dad always says that Brian and Angus get a lot of attention but Phil and Cliff should get more credit for what they’ve been doing. Brian is really a great guy, and also a funny guy. He makes lots of jokes. We always have a good time together. Cliff is great too. He always goes to pubs with Brian and has a few drinks. Phil doesn’t talk much. He’s very quiet. But he’s a good guy. He loves fast cars. I think he has a Ferrari… He also told me some stories about him and Bon having a good time together…. Angus is a good guy. He loves smoking cigarettes and drinking tea.

- Yes. We remember he was very happy when we gave him some special tea from Japan in Madrid last year.... But how was growing up in the Young family with so many rockstars?

This might sound unrealistic but it was totally normal. Of course sometimes you get to meet famous people or attend some important events with the band and the other family mambers. But the family is the family.

-What about the other rockstars that you’ve met?

My favorite is Steven Tyler. Really a nice guy. Also Slash. He’s very cool. And the drummer from the Rolling Stones. What’s his name? Yeah, Charlie Watts…

-Ross, we know about your passion for karaoke and we know that your favourite song to sing is TNT, especially this verse: “Women to the left of me and women to the right”. Can you tell us why?

My father always tells me I have to be a player with girls. And being on tour is just perfect because I always get to meet new people and women… Only in Argentina I met 6 girls... And I love when girls compete for me… AHAHAAHH

We in AC/DC Abruzzo we believe that there’s a lot to learn from your rockstar attitude when it comes to women. But we also know that now you have a steady girlfriend. Right?

Right. Her name is Alisa and she’s from California. Actually, she’s half Italian. She’s stunning. I’ll see her soon in Europe at one of the next shows.

Thank you Ross!! See you soon on the road.

It was a pleasure. See you soon! And please say hello to K.K. and the Kosp. I love reading about those guys and their pick-up techniques... AHAHAHAHAHAHA

AC/DC Abruzzo's President and Ross with the Italian team official shirt