Monday, June 8, 2009

BARCELONA! CAMPEONES DEL ROCK!!!

This just in from our special correspondants:

Backdoor man: "Amazing show! After having seen so many indoor shows I wouldn't have never believed I could see Angus playing with such energy in a stadium too! The show was much better than in Germany. Crazy crowd. Very good sound. But the band!? Oh my God! It actually remembered me of the show in Palau St.Jordi in March, when Brian was totally on fire and Angus played like the destiny of the planet depended on it! The first 2 songs he used the catwalk immediately and you could see from his face he was really serious about giving the audience the best performance he could. Brian got so carried away by the power of rock'n'roll that at a certain point during the encores he JUMPED OFF the stage, while wearing a Barcelona FC shirt and started to interact with the audience (see photo) like the great rocker he is. Just Amazing!! We felt rock'n'roll!!"
Complete report, pics and videos from the Backdoor Man exclusively for AC/DC Abruzzo coming soon... More exclusive material will be sent to ACDC-Italia.com.
Orangus: "Really bad acoustics again. Definitely not one of their best concert! By the way the other day quotation about the bocce (who also means boobs in Italian) was by Toscanini not Paganini! Ignorants..,"


CRAZY AUDIENCE

BRAIANNO ON FIRE

Brian "Lu Mattarill"

Saturday, June 6, 2009

MADRID, JUNE 5 2009 Estadio Vicente Calderón

From our correspondant:

Worst concert of the open air tour. Concert starts after 10pm. Problems with the PA system during the entire show. Angus' guitar not audible at times. A lot of rain and wind. Awful acoustics. The Great Musician Niccolo Paganini, aka the Devil's Violin, used to say: "Open air is good only for playing bocce"! The Spanish audience didn't care and went crazy anyways. Nice girls on the screens during The Jack but unfortunately no boobs flashing this time. Ciao

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





UPDATE!!! 

From "Enthusiastic" AlexMadrid

I don't agree in any way with this review. If this has been the worst show, I can't imagine how can it be the best. I was in the pit on the left side and there wasn't any PA problem. In fact, the sound was far better than I expected being an open air stadium. The "lot of rain" has been a bit of light but constant rain during Thunderstruck to The Jack. And that was all. 50.000 souls filled the third biggest spanish stadium to the top. The Highway to Hell chorus must have been heared in the other side of the city. Highlights was Shot Down In Flames,You Shook Me All Night Long and TNT. In the bad side, Black Ice songs gets the audience very cold, leaving apart Anything Goes. Particullary Black Ice must be removed from the set-list as soon as possible. Apart form this, everybody left the show extremely happy.

Friday, June 5, 2009

ORANGUS' JAILBREAK!!!

BREAKING NEWS!!! We received a text message from our correspondant Orangus saying that he managed to escape from his kidnappers! He's now safe and sound near the Calderon Stadium in Madrid and he will attend tonight's show for us!!! We deny all allegations of having paid any ransom or complied with the kidnappers' requests.

Tonight we will celebrate Orangus' Jailbreak with a big plate of GUITAR SPAGHETTI (Spaghetti alla chitarra) while waiting for the new setlist to arrive. GUITAR SPAGHETTI is the most delicious Rock'n'Roll food specialty from Abruzzo (together with ARROSTICINI). Brian would be proud of us! 

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Lisbon Alvalade Stadium June 3, 2009

AC/DC Abruzzo had several friends and friends of friends attending this gig in Portugal yesterday night. But instead of contacting them after the show we preferred to practice our extrasensory perception skills and tried to guess the complete setlist and .
Here are the results of this ESP exercise:

Amazing show! The band is in excellent shape. Especially Angus. Red uniform and tie for him! Highlight of the night: Rosie, Highway to Hell and TNT. Great venue (about 40,000 people). The Portuguese audience was probably one of the warmest audience of the entire open air tour (together with the Athens one). 

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




Wednesday, June 3, 2009

ABRUZZO GIG CANCELLED!!!

Unbelievable!! The Abruzzo secrete private gig in Città Sant'Angelo was officially cancelled because of "technical difficulties". No more explanation! Just like the Zurich show!! Reportedly, the promoters, who allegedly booked the band for this special event, had to fly to Israel (joining the Rumanian scammers) to avoid the fury of the people who were prepared to see the band play like at the Stadio Comunale!!

However, it's our duty to report that this secret-private gig might just be the result of a collective hallucination due to the stress caused by AC/DC's repetitive setlist to diehard fans...

Anyway, AC/DC Abruzzo decided to seek help and comfort by visiting our spiritual rock'n'roll guide: Rocco 'n' Rollo, the quintessential Abruzzo rocker, who was headlining a rock festival in Silvi Paese the same night (CABAROCK Festival-May 31 and June 1). Unfortunately, his show was also cancelled because of the heavy rains that ravaged the Abruzzo coast that night! It's true: sometimes when it rains, it pours.



But we kept our positive attitude and then decided to go for a wild "RUSTELLATA" (an overdose of ARROSTICINI, the most famous Abruzzo's specialty) to ease the pain and forget this negative chain of events. We had nightmares the whole night (arrosticini are pretty heavy and not easy to digest, just like Malcolm's decision not to change the setlist).


The really positive thing about the night was that we managed to meet the mysterious "backdoor man" who was allegedly the one responsible for the disappearance of Lorenzo aka Orangus. He proved his innocence and showed his genuine and sincere passion for rock'n'roll. We like him. After tough negiotiations we managed to ink a deal with him: he will be our exclusive correspondent for 3 shows (Barcelona, Marseille and Paris). As for Orangus, if you read this please get in touch! We are seriously worried!



Last but not least AC/DC Abruzzo wants to thank Stonebreaker for the beautiful pics he sent us from the German shows. We knew Stonebreaker from Hammersmith 2003. The amazing photos that have been circulating in the internet in the last few years from that memorable night were taken by him. AC/DC Abruzzo salutes you!
Arpurtetem a uilches barres...



ANGUS IN LONDON IN 2003!



GERMANY 2009




More pics here:

For Hockenheim:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/t-klick/sets/72157618736842538/

For Gelsenkirchen:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/t-klick/sets/72157618920472877/

Sunday, May 31, 2009

SCOOP!!! ANGUS AND MALCOLM TALKING ABOUT THE SETLIST!!!!

AC/DC Abruzzo has found a short but very interesting video in our archives showing a short conversation between the Brothers Young on stage in Munich (May 15) before Dog Eat Dog. Thanks to AC/DC Abruzzo's cutting edge technology and expertise we managed to decode Angus and Malcolm's body language and lips movements and we are now able to reveal the content of this shocking conversation. 


 

WE ARE UNDER SHOCK!!! Considering Malcolm's attitude the possibilities of any setlist change for this tour seem very slim... Umbelievable... Our experts are still working on other possible interpretations of this video. We'll keep you posted!|


Happy Birthday to Andrea, vice president and co-founder of the AC/DC Abruzzo project and now also member of AC/DC Italia staff. BUON COMPLEANNO!













AND NOW OFF TO THE PRIVATE GIG!! YEAH!!!

Friday, May 29, 2009

INTERVIEW WITH THE FANS: PHILLO

As you know AC/DC ABRUZZO decided to create the "Interviews with the Hardcore Fans" series. We met many of them during our international rock'n'roll journey, from Wilkes Barre, USA to the Open Air Summer tour in Europe 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, even since the Bon Scott era, others are just regular forum posters who had never seen the band live before this tour. 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!

PHIL (for us: Phillo)


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!


Athens, OAKA Stadium May 28, 2009

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

Thursday, May 28, 2009

BELGRADE, Partizan Stadium, May 26, 2009

AC/DC Abruzzo waited more than usual before posting the SETLIST from the last show because we had to make sure that the rumours AC/DC had played Touch Too Much, Riff Raff and Live Wire after being threatened by some angry diehard fans were totally false. Still no news about our lost correspondant...

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