AC/DC Abruzzo Amarcord series continues with Stockholm, Sweden. The second city of the 2009 European tour.
STOCKHOLM FEBRUARY 19-25, 2009
This was the first city of the European tour where AC/DC would play 2 concerts in a row. As some of you already know the two shows in Stockholm were not originally in our agenda. Mainly because we couldn't get any tickets during the presale. They just sold out too fast (11 minutes I think). Obviously, this did not stop us and the fact that AC/DC were playing the Globe Arena, one the best European venues, motivated us to fly to Sweden from Norway to make an attempt to find tickets. The weather was again very unfriendly (-6 °C) and we found snow all over the place. The first night, Feb 20, was even colder than Oslo! The ticket hunt under the snow, which lasted several hours, was one of the most difficult of the entire tour. But we were very lucky and we found a way to get tickets for both shows without paying ridiculous prices and without dealing with scalpers.
We spent 5 days in the Scandinavian capital. Obviously, the highlight of our Swedish adventure was the 2-hour meet and greet with Brian and Cliff. What happened during the M&G might provide enough material to write an entire book (maybe we'll write it one day)! Brian and Cliff are incredible persons with such a profound humanity that would amaze anyone. We will treasure this experience for the rest of our lives. We shared this unforgettable evening with Marco and Gabriele of AC/DC Italia with whom we had teamworked very effectively since the Wilkes Barre show. It was a pity we could not do more shows together during the indoor tour but unfortunately they had work commitments to respect. Besides, they already did 9 dates in the US.
The shows were great. Shot Down in flames was played for the first time and we met lots of fans as well as new and old friends. You'll find the reports in the February entries of our blog.
STOCKHOLM - Tourist Information by AC/DC Abruzzo
Stockholm is one of the most interesting capitals the Secretary General and the President have visited during their world travels. Apart from the polar weather, which is probably the main problem in winter, the city gave us the impression to offer a very good lifestyle, even for Italians who have very high standards (maybe too high!). Great public services, good food (especially seafood and salmon), lively nightlife, very friendly and sociable people. We hang out mainly in the Stureplan area, between Norrmalm and Östermalm with lots of nice bars and clubs. Check out Riche (nice supper club), Cafe Opera, Spy Bar (especially during the weekend). People dress really well in bars and clubs, almost like in Italy or France. Interestingly, we saw many people sitting outside bars, chatting and drinking with blankets on them (with freezing cold weather!!). Unthinkable in other countries! A lot of alcohol is consumed here like in Oslo, but people seem to be not "stoned" like in Norway. Chewing tobacco is very popular. We also loved the architecture and the countless varieties of Viking's horns that we saw while walking in the streets!
According to the local people we talked to, Stockholm is wonderful in summer when the weather is good. It definitely goes on the top 5 of AC/DC Abruzzo list of "Best European cities".
