AC/DC Abruzzo: Today, we're with one of the greatest AC/DC Belgian fans that AC/DC Abruzzo had the pleasure to meet in Antwerp. Phil is our special guest for today. Phil, your blog Bedlam in Belgium (acdcbelgium.blogspot.com/) is definitely one of the reference points for all the Belgian fans as well as for some international die hard crazy fans like us. Can you tell us when and why you decided to create a blog?
Hi Abruzzesi! I created my blog in August 2008, in great anticipation of the long awaited new world tour. Last encounter was the Hammersmith gig in 2003, after the amazing shows with the Rolling Stones in Germany. I was browsing the internet for my favourite band and found out that the only existing Belgian fan site (http://www.ac-dc.cc/) hadn’t been updated since 2006. Belgian fans sure had both the need and right to remain up to date about their number 1 band! That’s when the idea of creating a Bedlam in Belgium blog came about. I was surprised by the massive interest from fans all over the world: at first I hoped to reach an audience of some hundred die hard fans and now already more than 5000 unique Belgian visitors came to check the site: incredible!
But you’re also very active on other boards?
Yes, of course: you can find me posting around on the official AC/DC forum and on ACDCROCKS.com.
We met in Antwerp for the 6th gig of the indoor tour. From what you were wearing it looked like either you had played truant that day or you had been preparing yourself for a long time for that concert?
Hèhè… indeed, I was wearing my schoolboy uniform, neatly unpacked and ironed, ready to hit the road and see some AC/DC shows. I was wearing it on the public transport in the Antwerp city center, where most elder ladies were in complete shock but I reassured them humming the following phrase: “don’t you struggle, don’t you fight, don’t you worry, ‘cause it’s your turn tonight”. Then the bus driver wanted to report me to the school’s headmaster. But I told him “My friends are gonna be there too”. I also brought my inflatable SG (very convenient when travelling by public transport: instantly inflatable and ready for action) to duckwalk all the way to the front row
And by the way you ended up on the big screens during TNT. Do you think that was the reason why the screens stopped working after a few minutes?? AH AH AH
All of a sudden I heard a lot of girls scream. That’s when I realised that I was on the big screen. Seriously, if I would also have flashed my sixpack to the camera, the screens would have instantly stopped working.
As we all remember the second show in Antwerp didn’t take place, unfortunately. We were surprised about how calm and relaxed the Belgians were when they learned the news of Brian having the flu. Had this happened in Paris they would have probably brought back to action the guillottine. Not to mention Italy...
Yeah, this was a very unfortunate night. The concert organisation managed fairly well to alert fans that were already on the road by messages on traffic signs, radio stations and internet. I was disappointed myself, but Brian had told us that he had a soar throat the day before the 1st show. We had witnessed that first show and I was blown away by the amount of energy he could put into that show (as all the boys did). I understood that going that deep would not facilitate speedy recovery. And I knew from the Hammersmith gig in 2003 that even when Brian would be seriously ill (he just came out of hospital the day of the show), he would still get on stage. I am convinced that the band has tried to get on until the very last moment. Hence probably the late announcement at the venue. My buddies (together we are called the 3 Angi – from the latin plural of 1 Angus) and myself went for a cool pool party instead, and indeed comforted ourselves with some delicious Belgian beers and loud music. The Rotterdam show 1 week later made us totally forget. And the other fans: they get a new chance to see them in Amstedam! Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win.
So I understand you met and talked to Brian the day before the show. Congratulations! Did you also meet the other boys?
Yes, we managed to meet the band briefly the day before the show and of course it was a surreal eye to eye encounter! We thanked Angus and the boys politely for being such a great and influential musicians. Their down to earth approach of the boys was most striking: I believe that's totally rock&roll and deserves eternal respect.
Unfortunately our paths didn't cross again after Antwerp. But you met other fans! Tell us something about the other shows you saw and the diehard fans you met
I was able to meet with Wildheart from the AC/DC forum at the Antwerp gig and we also met Carole from Canada in Holland, along with some crazy Dutch fans. It is übercool to meet like-minded folks from around the globe. I hope to meet some more folks on the next gigs.
Thanks guys for your continuous flow of in depth field reporting from all over Europe! Next stop: Paris, France! Hope to see you there up front! POWA!!!
Ciao!
Thank you Phillo. It was a real pleasure having you here with us. See you soon on the road and keep on rockin'!
And now, after the interview series, last but not least, the setlist from Athens!!!!! You thought we were going to skip that.... Eh eh eh eh... NO F*£$IN' WAY!
Olympiastadion
Braianno e Angusso
With our good friends of AC/DC Italia!
LEIPZIG, GERMANY ZENTRALSTADIUM 13 MAY 2009
SETLIST
1. Rock'n'roll Train
2. Hell ain't a bad place to be
3. Back in Black
4. Big Jack
5. Dirty Deeds
6. Shot Down in Flames
7. Thunderstruck
8. Black Ice
9. The Jack
10. Hell's Bells
11. Shoot to Thrill
12. War Machine
13. Dog Eat Dog
14. Anything Goes
15. You Shook Me All Night Long
16. TNT
17. Whole Lotta Rosie
18. Let there be Rock
19. Highway to Hell
20. For Those About to Rock
AC/DC ABRUZZO OFFICIAL REPORT
We went to Leipzig just like we did in Wilkes Barre and Oslo to be the "first to hear it". And we were the first again. Dog Eat Dog was added to the setlist. Are we happy? We have mixed feelings. We love this song but it isn't Riff Raff, Live Wire or If You Want Blood. . And unless something major happens in Munich AC/DC Abruzzo will skip many shows of the open air tour. As you know we are not very fond of Stadium shows: we believe that the shows for the real fans were the ones in the small arenas. And we were there. Stadium shows are, generally speaking, for regular "mainstream" audience. For those people who maybe only know Highway To Hell or Thnderstruck. The band (read Malcolm) is aware of that and probably this is the reason why they don't bother adding "rare" songs each night. In fact yesterday in the Zeltralstadium, 90% of people seemed not to care too much about Dog Eat Dog... As long as they hear HTH, TNT, ROSIE, YSMANL they're happy. So the band will give it to them. Fair enough. The other 10% of people will have to wait for the next show in Circus Krone or Roseland Balroom... But we might be wrong...
So different venue. Different crowd. Different atmosphere. Apart from very few changes. The stage was very similar to the 2001 one. You saw the pics. Same train. Nothing special afterall. It looked like AC/DC wanted to give those "fans" who couldn't get a ticket for the indoor tour the opportunity to see them. Or maybe they just wanted to cut costs as much as possible and maximise profit... Or maybe they're just lazy...We actually have problems in understanding this... Differences: Dog Eat Dog added, Let There Be Rock you will see some confettis flying in the air and different catwalk-end and final solo, fireworks at the end, much louder 21-gun salute.
The band performed well but you could tell that they were not mastering the bigger stage perfectly (especially the catwalk). Our impression was that until DOG EAT DOG they were going a bit slow and cumbersome. But this might be due to our fear of not having any setlist change. After Dog Eat Dog they looked more energetic... Especially Angus. Brian fucked up quite clearly on War Machine but then totally redeemed himself with Dog Eat Dog. Not his best performance of this song but pretty good.
The German crowd was not bad but not great either. The 1-liter personalised AC/DC beer pitcher made its appearance again (last time we saw it was in March in Germany). We must mention a major fuck up by the organisers/promoter who wrote "Front of Stage" on the fan club tickets but didn't allow entrance to the front of stage section to all the people with a Front of Stage ticket!! They basically applied a first come first served policy to the FOS section. So AC/DC Abruzzo also had to witness an entertaining but useless fight between German fans and security guys before the show near the barriers. The Germans are not hotblooded as the Italians or the French but this time they seemed to be quite pissed off about this fan club thing.
OK guys. See you in "rainy" Munich.
AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation - Episode 7 from AC/DC Rock n Roll Fannation on Vimeo.
Just a few hours before the first show of the Stadium tour in Leipzig, AC/DC ABRUZZO decided to inaugurate its "Interviews with the Hardcore Fans" series. We met many of them during our international rock'n'roll journey, from Wilkes Barre, USA to Birmingham, UK and we have been impressed by their dedication, passion and energy. But the most interesting thing for us, from Wilkes Barres onwards, was to have met those hardcore fans who had been confined in a limbo that lasted for 5 years (or 8 if they didn't attend any European show in 2003) before having the chance to see the band on stage again. Some of them are legendary figures who travelled almost anywhere to see the band since the Bon Scott era, others are just regular forum posters who had never seen the band live before. What they have in common is their genuine passion for AC/DC and their willingness and commitment to see them live in concert as many times as possible during the BLACK ICE World Tour. Enjoy!
FIRST INTERVIEW: GOZONE!
Today, we're with one of the biggest fans of AC/DC that AC/DC Abruzzo had the pleasure to meet in Wilkes Barre for the private gig. Marc, aka as GOZONE. Our special guest for today.
AC/DC ABRUZZO: Gozone, you're definetely one of the most active fans on several boards, especially acdcpower.net where most of the hardcore fans has kept discussing matters related to AC/DC, often in a very "colurful and emphatic" way beyond the bounds of what is normally considered "politically correct". Please tell us about your passion for AC/DC and your role on ACDCpower forum.
GOZONE: Well, it is funny that you mentioned acdcpower.net! I found that website because I was looking for somewhere to share my passion of AC/DC with other fans. At first, it was a little rough there, as you know, that site is not for the weak! There are many great fans on there and I enjoy reading about concert reviews, album reviews, rare recordings, etc, etc. You could say that I am not a “politically correct” poster there. I state my honest opinion and try to be “real”. There have been some battles on the message board. Just to name a few of the poster, Kirk, Zoid, Wheels, Toxictwin (you), Meanstreak, HoneyRoll, Cali not Cooool, Jimmy, Shoot, Shocker, AT/LE, etc, etc…..all of these people and many others are die hard fans that contribute to the forum daily. Yes, I will admit that it is fun to start “stuff” on that site but it is all in good fun. I have learned so much about AC/DC by reading that board. I really enjoy talking about rare or lesser known songs by AC/DC. I am not a big fan of the “hits” by any means. One of my favorite albums is Ballbreaker, many people there think I am crazy. You will see me at concerts wearing my Ballbreaker t-shirt! That album is so underrated. It is pure sleazy rock at its best. The bluesy groove on that album is great, thanks to the return of Phil Rudd. One of my favorite songs ever is, Cover You in Oil. I also enjoy listening to Powerage, what a great bluesy feel on that album as well. I am very happy with the Black Ice album, Big Jack, Smash n Grab, Spoilin, Decibel are my faves on that album. I think that the song, Stormy May Day could have been EPIC, if they including a bluesy Angus solo.
AC/DC ABRUZZO: We met in Wilkes Barre for that historic show. You told us that you were seeing more than one shows? How did it go?
GOZONE: Yes, it was great to meet you in Wilkes. I had a great time meeting such great fans. Check out the pic of me and toxic. I drove 8 hours to see that show and bought a ticket off of a fan from
AC/DC ABRUZZO: Is it true that you met the band and that you have a special friendship with Phil Rudd?
GOZONE: Yes, me and Phil know each other…LOL…nah, I met him once outside of the hotel in suburban
AC/DC ABRUZZO: Gozone, they told us that you have actually Italian ancenstors. It wouldn't be surprising that your greatgrandmother was from Abruzzo?
GOZONE: Yes, I have family in
AC/DC ABRUZZO:Thank you Gozone. Hopefully, we'll meet soon on the road!
GOZONE: Well, I hope that we can meet during this tour. I think that they will be back to the
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ Big grazie to Yanno and Riccardo!!! :-) |
Feb 11, 2010 Melbourne Etihad Stadium 
