AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2010 - 2 days

Last meetings with the press for Angus & co in Sydney before the first 3 shows of the Australian Tour 2010... 2 days to go!

AUSTRALIAN TOUR - 4 days

AC/DC Abruzzo's Secretary General has just arrived in Australia after a stopover in Dubai to visit other friends from Abruzzo...

He met with the President in Sydney and now he's working on the final details of Project Australia. The Abruzzo team will leave for Melbourne on Wednesday to attend the kick off night of the AC/DC Australian Tour 2010!

AC/DC ABRUZZO in DUBAI

Waiting for the gigantic Rock'n'Roll train to reach Australia...

MONTEPULCIANO D'ABRUZZO

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo: A Wonderful Red Wine from the Region of Abruzzo

by Loren Sonkin

Heading due east from Rome lays the region of Abruzzo. This is a historically poor region whose people inhabit the hills and mountains so prevalent in the province. The people are proud and independent. They resemble the peoples of Italy’s southern regions in attitude and aptitude. Likewise the food and wine cultures reflect that lack of affluence centered on a hard working community. The hillsides are excellent for viticulture. The most popular red grape is the Montepulciano although many other grapes are grown here most notably Sangiovese. As an aside, there is no relation between the grape and the village of the same name in Tuscany, which is famous for its wine, Vin Nobile di Montepulciano (made from Sangiovese grapes.) White wine (not the subject of this article) is also made here. The Trebbiano grape is the most well known of the white varietals. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo are two of my favorite wines from Italy and wines and deserve more recognition.

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo was designated as a DOC in 1968. It covers most of Abruzzo ranging from Molise in the south, the Marche in the north and inland against the Apennines Mountains. The wines are at least 85% Montepulciano with Sangiovese permitted, but not required, at up to 15%. The Riservas need to be aged a minimum of two years before release, with at least 6 months of that in wood. In 1995 another DOC was created called Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane. This was a carved out subset of the larger zone. The chief differences are that the wines must be at least 90% Montepulciano and the Riservas are aged a minimum of 3 years before release. Unlike other areas of Italy where smaller zones of quality wines were carved from larger ones, this DOC’s wines are not appreciably better (or worse) than the larger zone.

The Montepulciano grape is quite prolific. The Montepulciano grape grows easily in Abruzzo. It is plump with high amounts of juice. In an area this poor, this has been a boon to farmers wishing to take advantage of high yields. Unlike most other varietals, this grape makes nice wine even when produced in large quantities. The grape has a deep purple and ruby color to its juice. It has lower acidity (especially for an Italian varietal) and mild sweeter tannins. The resulting wines tend to be softer and more accessible than Chianti or Nebbiolo for example. Accordingly, the young wines are nice pleasurable reds that go as well with food as without it. Almost all of the wines at the low end of the price spectrum (and many can be found for under $8) are enjoyable. At the same time, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo can age brilliantly especially in the hands of the right producers.

At the top of the list of quality producers is Emidio Pepe. The wines of Edoardo Valentini are a close second to Pepe. Valentini’s wines are usually even more expensive and difficult to locate than Pepe’s. Valentini also makes a Trebbiano d’Abruzzo (the white wine of this region) that is just stunning. There are other producers who make excellent Montepulciano d’Abruzzo’s that can be purchased without breaking the bank. The Masciarelli winery makes a basic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that is available for under $10. Other producers I have liked include Illuminati, Cataldi Madonna, Faraone, Umani Ronchi and Valle Reale (especially the San Calisto bottling). The fact of the matter is that I have never tasted a poor Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. The grape lends itself to making quality wines at every price point. If you see a bottle in the grocery store, try it. If you want to explore what the heights this grape can reach in the hands of a master producer, pick up a bottle from one of the above named producers. I think you will be happy.

What foods could you serve with these wines? As always, start by looking to the local foods that developed alongside the wines. Abruzzo is known for its pork products and lamb dishes. Both are excellent serving ideas with Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. Hot and spicy peppers are also used heavily in the local cuisine. Pasta in red sauce is ubiquitous, of course. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a soft wine, with just a hint of acidity and tannins that make it hard to miss with these or almost anything else at the dinner table.

Brian, Cliff and AC/DC Abruzzo's sommelier Stefano with a fine bottle of Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

From NEW ZEALAND...

Surprisingly no complete video of HIGH VOLTAGE has surfaced yet... This is the only video available so far...



Are we obsessed with this song? Yes we are... :D Also because it showed how easy it would be for AC/DC to add some old gems like High Voltage to the setlist...

PRO SHOT VIDEO CLIP OF ROCK'N'ROLL TRAIN

Angus, New Zealand January 2010

AUSTRALIAN HIGH VOLTAGE ROCK'N'ROLL + GRAMMY

"All you gotta do is plug me into HIGH
I SAID HIGH
HIGH VOLTAGE ROCK'N'ROLL"

In the last few days there's been extensive coverage of the New Zealand shows even here in Australia. The greatest rock'n'roll band in the world is approaching their homeland for a historic 11-dates tour... Apparently the demand for tickets has been 4 times that of 2001.

We personally can't wait to hear High Voltage played live in Melbourne. It's such a classic and iconic song from the Bon Scott era... It's a shame the band decided to drop Dog Eat Dog but we heard that this wasn't one of Brian's favourite songs to sing. Anyway we are really impressed with the amazing job Brian does on High Voltage, at least listening to the few recordings circulating so far...

10 more days and we'll get our rock'n'roll fix...



GRAMMY 2010

Just for the record, AC/DC just won their first Grammy for War Machine as Best Rock Performance of 2010. But we don't know if this is good news or bad news.

HIGH VOLTAGE LIVE - FIRST CLIP

Now we have pretty definitive proof that it wasn't collective hallucination. AC/DC did change the setlist and they really played HIGH VOLTAGE yesterday night in Wellington!!!!
We did get goosebumps listening to the new live version of this AC/DC classic....
Brian does an incredibly good job on this (showing that he can still sing this type of songs). Also we love Phil's heavy drumming style, Malcolm and Cliff's background vocals and Angus' solo... We can't wait to hear this in Australia!!!

HIGH VOLTAGE ROCK'N'ROLL IN NEW ZEALAND!!

Wellington, NZ Westpac Stadium
Jan 28, 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

This time due to budget limitations we were not in New Zealand and we can't confirm this setlist as 100% accurate. But it is totally compatible with what we have heard early on from our reliable sources.

We can't wait to hear HIGH VOLTAGE live in Australia!!!!

PROVERB OF THE MONTH + RECIPES + SETLIST CHANGE

"Gire e riggire, lu porche àrriv à lu pire"

ITALIAN: Gira che ti rigira il maiale finisce sempre legato al suo palo
ENGLISH: Eventually the pig will always end up tied back to the pole*
*The pig was usually tied to a pole in Abruzzo farms. The Abruzzo pig breed is very hyperactive and lacks discipline.

There are different interpretations for this traditional saying from the rural culture of the region of Abruzzo. The most common one is that nobody can escape his destiny. Good or bad. Another one is that you need discipline and strong work ethics if you want to achieve your aims.

LA PORCHETTA

Considering the protagonist of this month's proverb, the Abruzzo's pig, worshiped in all its forms, we will now take the opportunity to mention another food specialty of our beloved region (apparently even Brian loves it). THE PORCHETTA!! This tasty mouthwatering specialty originally from the Lazio region is also very popular in Abruzzo and it reaches the pinnacle of taste in the Campli area. Especially in the form of the "porchetta sandwitch". This delicious variety of pork meat with its subtly fragrant flavor derived from the rosemary, fennel and sage is so juicy and tender then it melts in your mouth. It's one of the most tasty and famous rock'n'roll food specialties of our region together with Arrosticini and Guitar Spaghetti.


And now, after the cultural lesson on Italian food and culture, let's go back to business and rock'n'roll.

SETLIST CHANGE:

Yesterday, AC/DC rehearsed a new song in Wellington which was not on the setlist. This DOES NOT MEAN that the song will be played tonight at the first Wellington show for sure. It might be played on the second night or later on in the tour just like it happened in Oslo, when the boys rehearsed Shot Down in Flames and then decided to play it in Stokholm... Or they might just drop it like Gone Shootin' at the Hammersmith show (they had rehearsed it the previous day). Of course, we don't want this to happen and it would be nice to hear If You Want Blood again. Some bagpipes on stage would be nice too... :-P
In the meantime BUON APPETITO!