Monday, June 8, 2015

Letzigrund Stadium, Zurich, Switzerland 7 June 2015 - Night Report

Letzigrund Stadium, Zurich, Switzerland 7 June 2015

1. Rock or Bust
2. Shoot to Thrill
3. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
4. Back in Black
5. Play Ball
6. Dirty Deeds
7. Thunderstruck
8. High Voltage
9. Rock 'n ' Roll Train
10. Hells Bells
11. Baptism By Fire
12. Shook Me
13. Sin City
14. Shot Down in Flames
15. Have a Drink on Me
16. TNT
17. Rosie
18. Let There Be rock
19. Highway to Hell
20. For Those About to Rock

Final show of the first leg of the Rock or Bust European Tour. Our 12th show of the Rock or Bust Tour.

The show started at 8.05 pm, 10 minutes earlier than the official time (honestly, we didn't expect this from the Swiss!). Anyway, there were lots of sound problems as well as a major lights issue with the big spotlights which were not working at all. Basically from Rock'n'Roll Train onwards it became noticeable that something was wrong, as both Angus and Brian were basically performing in the dark. This was even more noticeable where the catwalk was used in Rosie, LTBR and FTATR.

Brian started slow, looking a bit tired, but then he recovered and finished well as usual. He was constantly touching his left ear and went to the sound tech a couple of times. Angus was playful as the previous night and improvised a very quick strip before High Voltage. He used the SG sunburst in Baptism by fire. He changed considerably the solos in LTBR.

The audience seemed a bit less active than two days ago, at least in the Front of Stage section.

It was another hot day in Zurich, probably the hottest of the tour so far. It started raining lightly during Highway to Hell and after the last shot of FTATR it started raining cats and dogs with lightings and thunders, for about 40 minutes. Everybody got pretty wet, except the band.

And now a 12 day well deserved break. See you in Germany!

Stay tuned for more exclusive material from the tour!







Saturday, June 6, 2015

Letzigrund Stadium, Zurich, Switzerland 5 June 2015 - Night Report



Letzigrund Stadium, Zurich, Switzerland 5 June 2015

1. Rock or Bust
2. Shoot to Thrill
3. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
4. Back in Black
5. Play Ball
6. Dirty Deeds
7. Thunderstruck
8. High Voltage
9. Rock 'n ' Roll Train
10. Hells Bells
11. Baptism By Fire
12. Shook Me
13. Sin City
14. Shot Down in Flames
15. Have a Drink on Me
16. TNT
17. Rosie
18. Let There Be rock
19. Highway to Hell
20. For Those About to Rock

After flying back to Barcelona for a day we reached Zurich for the first time. In 2009 we had to skip the Zurich indoor show as it was canceled/rescheduled due to "technical problems" so this was our first AC/DC show in Switzerland.

After the first impact with Zurich and its incredibly high prices (even AC/DC t-shirts cost about 15-20% more than the usual price in euros) and trying a few Swiss specialties such as chocolate, we got to the concert.

The Letzigrund stadium was quite small, probably the smallest of the tour after Arnhem. The show started at 8.15pm instead of the 10pm of the Spanish shows so we got the first AC/DC show with most of the performance with daylight.

The crowd was not too bad, definitely better than the typical German crowd but nowhere near the Southern European crowds such as the Spanish, the French and the Italians...

It was pretty hot tonight. Angus dropped his jacket even before his cap (never happened before) and quickly took his shirt off... There were lots of noticeable sound problems tonight. Some were technical (e.g. High Voltage) some were because of mistakes (e.g. Shot Down in Flames or Sin City). Anyway the band played overall very well. Brian's voice sounds OK and the mood seems to be high as well (Angus was so playful that he couldn't resist the temptation of wearing sunglasses thrown on stage during Let There Be Rock). Brian said "Malcolm Young" instead of the usual "Malcolm!" during High Voltage.

For the record about one hour after the show we got a thunderstorm with lightnings and heavy rain. Orangus told us that it will rain on Sunday...

Here's some pictures and videos from tonight. For more please visit our Facebook and Youtube pages.











Thursday, June 4, 2015

Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid 2 June 2015 - REPORT

Angus never stops!

Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid 2 June 2015

1. Rock or Bust
2. Shoot to Thrill
3. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
4. Back in Black
5. Play Ball
6. Dirty Deeds
7. Thunderstruck
8. High Voltage
9. Rock 'n ' Roll Train
10. Hells Bells
11. Baptism By Fire
12. Shook Me
13. Sin City
14. Shot Down in Flames
15. Have a Drink on Me
16. TNT
17. Rosie
18. Let There Be rock
19. Highway to Hell
20. For Those About to Rock

Final show of the mini Spanish tour! Will it be the last show in Spain for AC/DC? Only time will tell... We can say this audience definitely deserves more AC/DC, maybe next year...

For the first time in this tour, we saw the show from the seats instead of the standing section. Although we think this goes against the entire idea of rock'n'roll we didn't have much choice this time. The positive thing is that we got to see lots of small details which were hard to notice from the standing area, especially when jumping and screaming!

Maybe we were influenced by this new view point, but the overall performance of the band appeared to be better than the previous too nights, including Brian's voice. We also watched some of the footage on the screen and, despite the low cost tour production, we think the new DVD will look great.

The show was sold out. It was very hard to find a free spot in the stadium as you can see from the pictures. It was so packed that going to the toilet or to the bar would take half an hour.

As for the audience, the crowd in the standing section actually looked less active than the previous show. No much jumping or moving, especially if compared with Paris Stade de France or with the the indoor shows of 2009 (but that was just another league). In our humble opinion the "pista" was not up to the "Spanish standards", both when observing it from the pista itself (where we were on 31 May) and from the seats last night.

But apart from these small details AC/DC left Spain with three terrific shows which will remain engraved in the history of rock'n'roll forever. Next stop will be Zurich for another two memorable shows!

FROM COACHELLA TO MADRID

Honestly, after 5 years, it has been quite hard for us to get back to the AC/DC tour "motel/hotel lifestyle" taking planes, driving cars, sleeping in different beds every night but we are still determined to keep going to as many live shows as possible. It won't be easy and it will take a lot of resources, both financial and time. But we love AC/DC and we don't like to make excuses. Especially those excuses that have become so popular among some fans saying that AC/DC is not AC/DC anymore without Phil Rudd or Malcolm Young and don't deserve dedication anymore. After seeing 10 shows, from Coachella to Madrid, we are actually convinced that seeing AC/DC live is still one of the best things that you can get in this life.

Ride on!








SHOOT TO THRILL




THUNDERSTRUCK

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid 31 May 2015 - Report




Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid 31 May 2015

1. Rock or Bust
2. Shoot to Thrill
3. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
4. Back in Black
5. Play Ball
6. Dirty Deeds
7. Thunderstruck
8. High Voltage
9. Rock 'n ' Roll Train
10. Hells Bells
11. Baptism By Fire
12. Shook Me
13. Sin City
14. Shot Down in Flames
15. Have a Drink on Me
16. TNT
17. Rosie
18. Let There Be rock
19. Highway to Hell
20. For Those About to Rock

AC/DC is back in Madrid in front of one of the best rock audiences in the world! Another unforgettable night for rock'n'roll and the history of AC/DC and Spain.

Again, not even one single ticket was available at the box office and, unlike Germany and France it was very difficult to find tickets outside the Stadium. The concert started at 10pm, like in Barcelona and until a few minutes before the show Spanish fans were still outside with their "boteillon" and home made street cocktails! Real party animals!

Excellent performance of the band with just a few minor "noticeable mistakes" (e.g. Shoot To Thrill). Brian's voice was slightly better than in Barcelona and Angus delivered the same super performance, in intensity, energy and passion. For the second time in this tour (excluding Coachella) he finished the show without shirt (Madrid's temperature has been quite high up to 40°C).

The other protagonist of the night was the crowd. A "Champions' League" crowd jumping and screaming like crazy for the whole show in a totally packed stadium. Although for us the best audience of the show was still Paris 26 May 2015, the Spanish crowd deserves credits, also for their kindness, friendliness and warmth.

High Voltage remains our favourite song in the set. This tour we particularly enjoy Shot Down in Flames and Hell's Bells pretty much, as much as the new entries Sin City and Have a Drink on Me. Rock'n'Roll Train brings back a lot of memories too...

Tomorrow another big dose of rock'n'roll tomorrow in Madrid. NO BULL!














Saturday, May 30, 2015

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona 29 May 2015 - Night Report

God and His guitar

Estadi Olímpic, Barcelona 29 May 2015

1. Rock or Bust
2. Shoot to Thrill
3. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
4. Back in Black
5. Play Ball
6. Dirty Deeds
7. Thunderstruck
8. High Voltage
9. Rock 'n ' Roll Train
10. Hells Bells
11. Baptism By Fire
12. Shook Me
13. Sin City
14. Shot Down in Flames
15. Have a Drink on Me
16. TNT
17. Rosie
18. Let There Be rock
19. Highway to Hell
20. For Those About to Rock

Tonight AC/DC came back to Spain after Bilbao 2010, the last show of the Black Ice Tour (and the last show with Malcolm...) The Barcelona crowd was great but still not as good as the French one. Still you could tell they were pretty "hungry for AC/DC" after AC/DC with a lot of jumping, singing etc... We can't wait to see the Madrid crowd.

The stage for this concert looked smaller, just like in Arnhem, with less distance between stage and first row. Maybe they have a smaller setup for smaller venues, like the Barcelona Stadium (which officially can hold up to 57,000 people). For the first time this tour it was pretty tough to find tickets outside, even from scalpers...

The boys were in very good shape after the 3 days off. Brian started a bit slow, then he went on fire as usual. And Angus, he was particularly inspired tonight. And he really went the extra mile. Amazing performance! Check out our videos on youtube.

Our favourite song of this tour is High Voltage. At minute 4:02 Brian pays homage to Malcolm.

The SG Sunburst was used tonight for Dirty Deeds.

At the end of the show we met old friends and other fans from the Black Ice Tour, from El Rana to Phillo from Belgium.

Another memorable day for Rock'n'Roll lovers... See you in Madrid



Angus'solo



High Voltage 


Rock ' n ' Roll Damnation

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Stade de France, Paris 26 May 2015 - Part 2

                                                      



We just arrived in Barcelona to get ready for the first Spanish gig with one of the best rock audience in the world.

We can't stop thinking about the amazing Paris nights... What a great dose of pure rock'n'roll...

Here's a couple of our videos from the "Fosse Debout" aka "Pelouse Or" of the legendary Stade de France. A lit bit shaky, but I guess you can understand the reason why...

ROCK'N'ROLL!












Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Stade France, Paris 26 May 2015 - Night Report - CHAPEAU!



Hats off to the French crowd! Tonight was even better than 23 May! The stadium was packed again with French fans hungry for AC/DC!

We watched the show in the Pelouse Or section, Ciff's side. The audience was absolutely fantastic there! Same level as Bercy 2009. A lot of fun just a few meter from the greatest band in the world! Crowdsurfing and pogo at its best!

The sight of the Stade de France with it's 78,000 people was amazing with official and non official devils' horns flashing everywhere.

The band looked again in great shape despite some normal sign of fatigue. Angus, the best.











Sunday, May 24, 2015

Stade France, Paris 23 May 2015 - Night Report


What a show tonight! Definitely the best audience and venue of the tour so far. The French know how to rock, especially at an AC/DC concert. Of course, it wasn't as good as a small venue like Bercy but still much better than Holland and Germany. The crowd was singing loud, jumping and there was also a small "pogo section" (where we were of course). We knew that and we also know the Spanish crowd will be even better but Paris is always special...

The band's performance was great as usual tonight but comparing to the previous two shows we attended the band looked a bit tired, especially Brian. Apparently there were a couple of technical problems with the sound (Baptism by Fire), and this affected Brian.

Angus was just incredible tonight, especially in the second half. We can always see the extra work he puts into each show now that he is the only leader...