AC/DC STADE VELODROME, Marseille, France 13 May 2016 - PHOTO REPORT

Still thankful to Angus for playing IF YOU WANT BLOOD YOU'VE GOT IT here's a few photos from this great night in Marseille!

More photos on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/matteo.abruzzo

AC/DC STADE VELODROME, Marseille, France 13 May 2016 - REPORT

SETLIST

    Rock or Bust
    Shoot to Thrill
    Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
    Back in Black
    Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder
    Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
    Rock 'n' Roll Damnation 
    Thunderstruck
    High Voltage
    Rock 'n' Roll Train
    Hells Bells
    Given the Dog a Bone 
    If You Want Blood (You've Got it)   
    Sin City
    You Shook Me All Night Long
    Shot Down in Flames
    Have a Drink on Me
    T.N.T.
    Whole Lotta Rosie
    Let There Be Rock 

Encore

    Highway to Hell
    Riff Raff 
    For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

We got what you want
And you got the lust
If you want blood, you got it

Like in 2009 the Nouveau Stade Vélodrome of Marseille was completely packed. 60,000 people gathered from all over France (and beyond) to see what is likely to be the last show of AC/DC in France. We knew perfectly well that the French audience is one of the best in the world, along and this was confirmed from the very first song.

Axl was still on his "wheel throne" despite the rumors saying he would stand in Marseille. He had some hesitations on Rock or Bust and at the beginning of Thunderstruck. Overall he sang well like in the previous two shows. He is pushing his voice to the limits and he is doing a great job, as a singer. We don't know if he will be able to sing so well also when standing. Most probably he will pay the price at the end of the AC/DC tour when it's time to go back to G'n'R anyway.

Voice aside, we still have problems in accepting the wheelchair (a major turn off at a rock show) and his constant wardrobe changes. Not to mention the lame comments in between the songs, like he had to explain the meaning of the songs to an audience who grew up with AC/DC... 

From Shoot To Thrill onward, French fans went crazy especially in the moshpit, which reminded us of Bercy 25 and 27 February 2009 or the second night of Bercy. Angus seemed to feed himself with the audience energy and put on an amazing performance. You could see he really enjoyed the show.

The highlight of the night was If You Want Blood (You've got it), a total surprise. I mean we knew that the band had rehearsed it, also in the past, but honestly we didn't expect it. When Stevie started one of Malcolm's most powerful riffs we couldn't believe our ears. The rest was history. AC/DC was playing If You Want Blood, again after 13 years. Last time was Hammersmith 2003...

Axl did a pretty good job on the song, more Bon Style, with two super high pitch long screams. But Angus just stole the show especially during the final part of the song when he went back and forth on the catwalk,  looking down to the crowd first to his right than to his left. He smiled looking at us and at the audience jumping like crazy. This was a true gem and something which help proving Angus' bet on Axl might be right.

In the end 23 songs were played. Among 82 shows I saw I never had such a long setlist. Now it would be nice to hear more rare songs such as Touch Too Much and Gimme a Bullet but honestly we can't complain so far, despite the wheelchair and the wardrobe changing of Axl.

Our faith in Angus is stronger now after the Marseille show. In Angus We Trust! See you in Belgium!

 

SEVILLE, ESTADIO LA CARTUJA 10 May 2016 - Report

 

Second triumphant gun salute for Axl (and his white leather jacket)

SETLIST

    Rock or Bust
    Shoot to Thrill
    Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
    Back in Black
    Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder
    Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
    Rock 'n' Roll Damnation 
    Thunderstruck
    High Voltage
    Rock 'n' Roll Train
    Hells Bells
    Given the Dog a Bone
    Sin City
    You Shook Me All Night Long
    Shot Down in Flames
    Have a Drink on Me
    T.N.T.
    Whole Lotta Rosie
    Let There Be Rock 

Encore

    Highway to Hell
    Riff Raff 
    For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

Almost 6 years ago AC/DC played the last but one show with Malcolm at this stadium in Seville, Spain. A very special show with one of the best and wildest and hottest crowds in Europe.

After Lisbon, the new AC/DC with Axl Rose conquers Seville, the Spanish audience and media. The show is enjoyable for "mainstream" fans who want to have a good time at a classic rock'n'roll show. AC/DC Music and Angus are too powerful. The fact that the singer is Axl Rose confined on a wheel chair is just a detail for the majority. Angus was right, the tour could not be cancelled because too many fans want to see AC/DC, even for the first (and probably last time).

The audience was loud and very warm and from Shoot To Thrill to For Those About to Rock you could see lots of people jumping like crazy. We were pretty impressed.

Setlist was the same as in Lisbon. Despite Axl's voice is excellent it looks Angus doesn't want to take any risk in adding other songs (like Touch Too Much and Gimme a Bullet which were rehearsed). Or maybe not yet. We are still convinced Rock'n'Roll Train (even if played better than Lisbon) should be dropped, as well as High Voltage which is not as effective as with Brian. Well, the entire setlist should be changed but it is clear this will never happened so let's stick to the positive things.

Rock'n'Roll Damnation is pure bliss to our ears. Not to mention Riff Raff. Angus played with great intensity, even more than Lisbon. You can tell there is a special bond with the Spanish crowd, like in Madrid or Barcelona last year. Let There Be Rock performance and solos were amazing. For Those About to Rock sounds as good as the cv.

Axl's voice is in perfect working order after two shows. Listening to the first 2, 3 songs we had the impression it had suffered after the first show, but in fact it was still very powerful. There are rumours saying Axl will be standing in Marseille, but we seriously doubt he will be able to walk or run as he should when performing on stage.

Nice wardrobe change for Axl before Highway to Hell. White leather jacket, pretty stylish. Also, a brand new pair of sunglasses.

See you in Marseille, maybe our last show.

Spanish irony about the current situation

LISBON, PASEO DE ALGES 7 May 2016 - OFFICIAL REPORT

“I got patches, on the patches, of my old blues band,
Well they used to be blues, when they were abused,
When they were unclean…..

Oh, it ain’t no fun, now they’re all millionaires,
No it ain’t no fun, I don’t care what they say,
Now they’re all fucking millionaires….”

Louie - AC/DC fan - 229 AC/DC shows seen

DISCLAIMER:
If you are a hard core AC/DC fan, saw 20+ AC/DC shows and/or you are going through an identity crisis following AC/DC’s hiring of Axl Rose, please stop reading this post now. Your crisis might get worse.

:)

Rock’n Roll Damnation

You know it. For us it all started at Hammersmith, London on 23 October 2003. AC/DC played a one night only gig at the Odeon Theatre for only 5,000 fans. It was there that we felt the rock’n’roll essence of AC/DC. A pub band, simple and straightforward, who could play the most powerful live rockn’roll show in the world, anywhere, in a small theater as well as in a stadium.

That was the beginning of our Rock'n’Roll Damnation…Each hard core AC/DC fan remembers the beginning of his R'n'R Damnation.

Almost 13 years later, on 7 May 2016 after seeing over 80 AC/DC shows around the world, always chasing and trying to feel that rock’n’roll again, we ended up hearing Rock’n’Roll Damnation live one more time. But it wasn’t Brian Johnson singing. Instead Axl Rose was on stage, sitting on a chair, singing the lyrics of this great song with Angus playing next to him, Chris Slade on the drums, Stevie Young on rhythm guitar... Back to the Future.

“Life is a bitch"
- Alan aka The Rock’n’Roll Nonno

We met Alan, the Rock’n’Roll Nonno, companion of many of our trips around the world during the Black Ice tour, at the AC/DC's rehearsals on Friday. He has seen over 140 AC/DC shows. Rock’n’Roll Nonno was stoic, a bit melancholic, but optimistic as usual. “Remember Matteo, you support the team, not the players”.

“Did you just say Guns’n’ROLEX, Angus? I kinda like it!” 
Axl Rose on BBC 6 May 2016

It must have been a nightmare for Angus Young. Having to look for a guest vocalist to replace Brian and avoid the “legal entanglements” and make happy the 700,000 European fans who bought tickets to see AC/DC in Summer. In just a few weeks.

The only possible solution to complete the tour seemed to be Axl Rose, volunteering for the cause of rock’n’roll. Or for personal/professional validation. Or maybe just for the money.


LISBON, PASEO DE ALGES 7 May 2016 

Let’s stick to the report.

SETLIST

    Rock or Bust
    Shoot to Thrill
    Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
    Back in Black
    Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder
    Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
    Rock 'n' Roll Damnation 
    Thunderstruck
    High Voltage
    Rock 'n' Roll Train
    Hells Bells
    Given the Dog a Bone
    Sin City
    You Shook Me All Night Long
    Shot Down in Flames
    Have a Drink on Me
    T.N.T.
    Whole Lotta Rosie
    Let There Be Rock 

Encore

    Highway to Hell
    Riff Raff 
    For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

(Stormy May Day) 

Yesterday we were at Passeo de Alges, near Lisbon, to witness the historic first concert of AC/DC with guest singer Axl Rose, from Guns’n’Rolex.

It is difficult to write a fans concert report of AC/DC with Axl Rose after seeing so many concerts with Brian. We have mixed feelings and they will not go away anytime soon. We are partial to Brian, and prejudiced against Axl Rose. We already explained that. We feel angry and frustrated.

It rained heavily for entire day in Lisbon but it stopped just a few minutes before 9, just in time for the "moment of truth".

Rock'n'Roll Chair

The Portuguese audience is there for AC/DC, apparently younger than usual. It’s cold and windy. And there are puddles everywhere.

The show kicks off at 9.15pm. Usual intro video. Pyro. Angus comes on stage wearing the Portuguese flag colors (green cap/tie, red suit). Axl Rose walks to his position. The “baroque” Dave Grohl’s throne is gone and it’s replaced by a more simple dentist chair.

Rock or Bust is still the first song in the setlist. Angus is energetic as usual, but he looks a bit “lost” when going back and forth, towards the chair, around the chair, next to the chair. The familiar moves on stage with Brian are all gone.

Axl’s powerful voice is at its best. In tune. Perfect, some might say. With his foot injury he doesn’t need to run anymore to entertain the audience so all drops of energy can be channeled into his powerful high pitch screaming.

Shoot To Thrill is faster than usual. Maybe too fast. Axl appears super focused and professional. He snake-dances a little bit on the chair while Angus heads towards the chair like a torpedo.

“It turned into a nice sunny day. Nice to meet you”.

Hell Ain’t Bad a Place to Be and then one of the most iconic Brian Johnson’s era song: Back in Black. Axl does a good job, although it’s almost impossible for us to accept that this song can be sung by someone other than Brian.

Got Rock’n’Roll Thunder then “a business song”, as Axl puts it. It’s Dirty Dees Done Dirt Cheap. Some doubts on Angus’ solo just before the “but you ain’t got the guts” which is now sang by Axl instead of Angus.

The gem of the night, Rock’n’Roll Damnation is introduced with an anecdote by Axl about the record company asking AC/DC to play it for the first time using a plane during an AC/DC concert… (apparently told by Angus to him). Storytelling aside, we enjoyed the song.

Thunderstruck was OK. High Voltage, on the contrary, was a flop. At least to our taste. It cannot even be compared to the intensity and the power of Brian’s version, especially during the last tour, starting from Arnhem, when Brian was on fire, jumping, screaming and playing with the audience. The part with the interaction with the audience was pretty flat and boring. 

Rock’n’Roll Train should be taken out of the setlist immediately. We didn’t like at all the way Axl sang it. We really hope it will be replaced with Touch Too Much or Gimme a Bullet! They rehearsed them, they should play them.

Although the center of the attention was the sitting guest singer, Stevie and Cliff seemed to be giving a stronger and more solid contribution to the background vocals. Stevie, beside that, looks like he’s into Malcolm’s character more than ever. Even his moves and looks seem to reflect more and more those of his uncle. Very good stuff.

Hell’s Bells, another “proprietary” song by Brian, was “abused” by Axl. No offense to Axl, he sounded great, but for fans like us it’s just too painful to witness this "rape"… Anyway, the notes were hit, the mainstream audience was happy, Brian’s hard core fans got even more depressed. The bell tolled a bit more sadly than usual in Lisbon...

We heard Given the Dog A Bone for the first time and we liked it a lot. Powerful song, much better than Dog Eat Dog, which was rehearsed the day before. It should stay in the set so that Dog Eat Dog can stay out. At the end Axl tells some of his admirers from the first row to stop chanting Axl Axl Axl, and chant Angus, Angus Angus… We saw girls sending kisses to Axl... Disgusting...

Sin City. The “musical experts” who claim the vocal superiority of Axl over Brian say it was sung better. We don’t know as we are not expert and we think that in Rock’n’Roll there is more than vocal perfection. In fact since Coachella 2015, we learned to love Brian’s version. Same goes for Have a Drink on Me. Maybe this one should be dropped too out of respect for Brian.

You Shook Me All Night Long, another Brian Jonhson’s song… :(

Shot Down in Flames AKA “the Story of my life” as put it by Axl Rose. TNT. Whole Lotta Rosie (we already digested Axl’s version thanks to the youtube videos)

On the other hand, Let There Be Rock, was a pleasant surprise as we found it suitable for Axl’s voice. The mega scream after “And the singer turned and he said to the crowd. Let there be Roooooooooock” was unbelievably powerful. Nice. For the rest of the song Angus took over completely and gave us another lesson of rock’n’roll mastery, while Axl went somewhere backstage for the whole duration of the solo.

Highway to Hell, another punch in the stomach. Then, Riff Raff, the “surprise” of the night. Very powerful.

For Those About to Rock, another classic from the Brian’s era…

The show is over… Axl thanks the audience next to his chair. He walks backstage. The audience is happy chanting the usual "Olè, Olè, Olè. Olè, Olè"

Bottom Line

We are a bit disappointed because our expectations were not met. There should have been more changes in the setlist, to begin with. In general, except for High Voltage, we think it would be more suitable to stick to Bon’s material and leave out Brian’s songs as much as possible, to avoid any “karaoke feelings”.

Also, there was almost no chemistry between Angus and Axl (well the poor guy is confined to a "hospital/dentist chair". What can we expect?). Oh yes, the chair, a total disaster. Having the lead singer of a band like AC/DC, with the most energetic songs and the most hyperactive guitarist in the history of rock’n’roll sitting down during a live concert is a real contradiction in terms. We know it’s Force Majeure, but to us, it ruins the whole experience. We really hated this and we hope he can stand up soon (and run from left to the right of the stage like during Use Your Illusion tour. Oh yeah!)

The way Axl speaks to the audience. The “Angus Angus Angus” cheerleading was pretty lame too honestly. Also the change of sunglasses makes us feel there might some wardrobe changing too in the future...

Bright side

They taught us that if you want to be successful in life you always have to be optimistic and positive. Then let’s say that yesterday’s concert was a success. Not a triumph, but a success. At least no bottle was thrown on stage (and we hope that no bottle will be thrown on stage during the tour).

Truth of the matter, despite everything, we still got AC/DC. We still got Angus and his duckwalk. We still got the Hell’s Bell, the thunders, the fireworks and the flashing devil’s horns. We got our vacation from work, our cheap Ryanair flights, hotels, warm up parties, and beers. We got Riff Raff and R'nR' Damnation. It's a good, it's just the first concert after all. Things will be better soon!

Dark Side

We don’t have Brian. And probably we will never have him back. This is painful for us. But maybe  only 5-10% of all the tour ticket holders care about this. 90-95% don’t, and Angus/AC/DC knows it. And we don’t blame him for this choice. AC/DC is a corporation and has also corporate responsibility, towards his employees and contractors as well as towards its clients/customers (i.e. the promoters and the fans). We don’t blame AC/DC for this. Seriously, we don’t. Why should we?

We have Axl. A motivated professional with an exceptional CV (at least until 1994) who is “willing to help”, with the perfect pipes for AC/DC. He is now behaving professionally and he is always on time. And It will get better and better, show after show.

The End

After Lisbon we got the impression that it's getting closer. Ironically, some fans say from the 70's say they should have stopped at Hammersmith in 2003. Black Ice was just an encore. Rock or Bust, totally unnecessary... We don't believe that and we are grateful to Angus for this tour. We will "stick around" till the end anyway, when time arrives.

See you in Seville!

Paseo Maritimo de Alges, Lisbon, Portugal 7 May 2016 - NIGHT REPORT

 Pro shot video from tonight show


First ACDC show with Axl Rose is over. No comment for tonight. Too much rain. Too many mixed feelings. Tomorrow we will post our report.

Here you will find the first batch of videos from the the show (exclusive from AC/DC Abruzzo).

AC/DC ABRUZZO YOUTUBE CHANNEL

UPDATE FROM LISBON - Soundcheck Lisbon 6 May 2016

For those of you who find it difficult to sleep tonight like us here's the full list of songs performed during the soundcheck in Lisbon (and our "biased" first impression on Axl's versions).

GOT SOME ROCK'N'ROLL THUNDER (acceptable)
ROCK'N'ROLL DAMNATION (It would be great to hear it again. Last time was at Hammersmith in 2003!)
BACK IN BLACK (Thumbs down, we don't like the way Axl sang it)
THUNDERSTRUCK (acceptable despite a few mistakes)
HELL AIN'T A BAD PLACE TO BE (acceptable)
HIGH VOLTAGE (we don't like it at all! We hope they drop it from the setlist)
HELL'S BELLS (tolerable)
DOG EAT DOG (acceptable)

Here's some audio extracts from the soundcheck. Good night from Lisbon. Tomorrow it's the big day...

What Brian once told us about Axl Rose...

AC/DC's new lineup (and it's not photoshop) from Blitz.sapo.pt

It has been a painful month for many AC/DC fans. First the cancellation of the final shows of the US tour, the shocking news of Brian's health issues and AC/DC's willingness to get a "guest singer". Then, the announcement of Axl Rose as vocalist, a surprising decision which is still difficult to accept for many, especially for some hard core fans.

Brian has been the respected vocalist of AC/DC for 36 years, since Back in Black, one of AC/DC's masterpieces and most successful albums. Many think he hasn't been treated fairly by the band who replaced him in a matter of weeks after a couple of unfriendly press releases on acdc.com.

After reading Brian's "official" announcement (and unofficial comments by his friend Jim Breuer) it has become a possibility that the relationship with Angus and the other decision makers in AC/DC got damaged irreversibly, in some way.

Today, after Angus and Cliff just released a short interview explaining Brian clarifying the situation.



Probably we will never know the whole truth. But these are some of the elements of this equation that we know for sure.

Brian's hearing

Brian had a serious hearing problem on his left hear. We had noticed this since Coachella when we met him for the first time last year. He confirmed it to us in Paris and Zurich, last year. Many fans complained that Brian was very reserved and often avoided meeting fans during this tour (unlike in the past). We always said that for us Brian was a hero during the Rock or Bust Tour considering this health issue which was making his performing on stage more challenging for him.

Brian wanted to stop

Well, we were almost sure the tour would end in Australia. At least we were told so and it sounded reasonable, considering Malcolm was not there and Brian was not in ideal shape. Plus there was the "Phil Rudd" situation...

Brian had been mentioning the "40 concerts ONLY for the next tour" well before the announcement of Rock or Bust. During the Black Ice Tour he had complained a lot about the stress and the fatigue of being on stage every two night for 2 hours, doing things a 30-year old singer does. We never took him too seriously because we know he loves to complain about work, just like Italians do.

We didn't pay too much attention when he told us in Zurich that that "the boys can continue with someone else, if they want to continue. I am quitting after this tour". How could AC/DC continue without Brian? We just laughed.

Angus didn't want to stop

This was also clear during the tour. Angus has been unbelievably energetic on stage and off stage. Without Malcolm next to him he had to fill in for him and for his charisma, and we are sure this has been pretty challenging and stressful. He confirmed to us several times, including during our cigarette with him in Zurich that he would keep playing but the future of the tour was up to Brian and his voice... After this tour, well that's probably the end of AC/DC.

Axl Rose's Voice

From the latest G'N'R concerts in America and the audio recordings of the studio rehearsals of AC/DC in Lisbon it appears that Axl's voice could fit perfectly in AC/DC's music. Vocally and musically, it has been said that it can reach the same tone/high pitch that Brian used to have in the 1980's. Never underestimate Angus as a musician!

According to BBC, Axl supposedly volunteered for the position as soon as he knew that Brian could not continue. From our sources he was eager and honored to play for one of his heroes, Angus Young and always behaved very professionally with AC/DC.

Maybe the voice will fit in but his persona, culture and style... not really. Worst case scenario we will just close our eyes and listen.

What Brian once told us about Axl Rose...

In Brian's statement Axl's name is not mentioned, and we think it was not by chance. Brian is a real gentleman and classy person, always kind and available to fans. Humble but always professional, on stage and off stage. Those who have met him know how much he can make you feel important and leave you with memories that would last forever.

Not exactly the same can be said about Axl Rose. In Stockholm in 2009 we spent 2 hours drinking with Brian and Cliff. After all the usual stories about rock'n'roll, sports cars, food and girls, the name of Axl came out during one of Brian's stories. Brian was telling us about Steven Tyler, a friend of his (and of AC/DC's) who had relapsed in that period (2007-2009) plus he had fallen off stage during a show. After speaking in very good terms about Steven, Brian told us about an incident backstage with AXL when they got into a fight (apparently physical) saying that he had an aggressive and dislikable attitude, completely different from a nice guy like Steven or Slash, another friend of his. Despite the drinks we clearly recall this "fight incident" story and now, after 6 years we suspect that seeing Axl in AC/DC would not even be the most pleasant thing to remember for Brian.

With Brian in Stockholm

We will miss Brian

No doubt here. But nothing we can do, as fans. We grew up with Brian and for us Brian was AC/DC, as much as Angus and Malcolm. Irreplaceable. But for those who have been closer to the band, especially in the last tours the idea that Brian could be replaced one day was not an impossibility or a contradiction in terms. We will miss Brian.


1 day to the Lisbon show

Angus must know what he is doing and we are still willing to support him as we trust him, despite the fact that there are many things we didn't like in this whole story. It's a big leap of faith. One more day and we'll see...

New AC/DC Official Photo published yesterday

UPDATE FROM LISBON

The band inspected the stage yesterday as you can see in our exclusive video below. Axl can walk but most probably he will sit on a chair (apparently not the Dave Grohl's throne).

Two days ago the band rehearsed in a Lisbon studio for several hours. According to our sources, beside the usual setlist (minus Playball and Baptism By Fire) they rehearsed also these songs, among others:

If You Want Blood
What's Next to the Moon
Gimme a Bullet
Touch Too Much (!!!)

IN ANGUS WE TRUST

Is this the end of AC/DC?

Almost 4 days have passed since this surreal announcement: Axl Rose will be touring with AC/DC for the remaining 22 shows of the Rock or Bust tour.

For us, as fans, it was like a punch in the stomach, a real powerful punch. And it took us 4 days to start "breathing" well again, calm down and reflect on this situation rationally. We didn't want our judgment to be clouded by the anger and hate that we have felt deep inside so we had to wait.

Honestly, we never believed the Axl-AC/DC rumors in the last 5 weeks. Not even after the TMZ picture appeared online. It was too much. It was against the history and the values of AC/DC. It was against common sense. It was just impossible. But we were proven wrong. Life can be unpredictable. Or maybe we were too naive.

TMZ  photos

For many fans like us Angus' choice is just too difficult to understand. Axl represents a different music culture, different style, different work ethics, different career. Beside that, there are too many infamous "psycho acts", on stage and offstage in Mr. Rose's CV which prevent us from agreeing with this choice.

Most hard core AC/DC fans are prejudiced against Axl Rose. And we have the right to be for what he has done in the past. Axl Rose is the guy who destroyed Guns'n'Roses, picked up fights with fans and photographers, arrived late for shows, cancelled concerts with no reasons, published only one album in 20 year of "activity". How could he deserve to become the lead singer of the greatest rock band in the world??

AC/DC fans have all the rights to be prejudiced against Axl and question Angus' choice, including his decision to join Guns'n'Roses on stage in Coachella just after the official announcement to play Riff Raff and Rosie. Many hard core fans already sold their tickets. Some of them are so upset and disappointed they consider AC/DC as officially "dead". AC/DC Italia, which has been online for 13 years, officially stopped its activity on the same day the announcement was made.We don't blame them and we respect their choice.

"What would Malcolm and Bon think of Axl?" - Question asked by all fans

What about us in AC/DC Abruzzo? Our history as AC/DC fans does not go back to the 70's or to the early '80s like many hard core fans. However, who followed us in the last 8 years on this blog know that our relationship with AC/DC has been pretty intense. During the Black Ice tour we lived the "rock'n'roll" AC/DC lifestyle following the band almost everywhere. We saw over 100 shows combined, traveled the world, spent time with hard core fans, with the band, with their families etc. We managed this tour blog and published two photobooks .

Despite our prejudices against Axl and against Sony/Angus' decision, it is basically impossible for us to deny our love and loyalty for AC/DC now, especially in this difficult time.  It would not be fair, for what AC/DC has represented for us and for how it changed and enriched our lives. We must give Angus the benefit of the doubt.

And at the moment Angus is AC/DC. And we will support Angus in this decision, although we don't understand it and we don't agree with it... We will do it because of his 40+ year history of successes that AC/DC has had, including when they had to overcome major challenges. Besides, from the way we know Angus, and we must trust him, even beyond rationality. It would not be fair and honest to him.

It will be a leap of faith. And we are willing to take it.

Of course, it is clear that we all miss important pieces of information in this story. About Sony's role, the dollars involved, about the fines to pay in case of cancellation, about what Malcolm really told Angus when discussing the future of the band before being hospitalized, about Axl Rose himself (who maybe want to use this opportunity to redeem himself as a rocker). About "Brian's situation" (who has proven to be a real gentleman with fans and Angus/Cliff with his official statement, and about whom we will make a separate post).

We are sure the legal agreement between Axl and AC/DC must be made up of hundreds of pages, as the risks involved in such a partnership are huge. Even if Axl behaves professionally, he will likely receive insults from angry AC/DC fans onstage and offstage. The way he will respond to such hostile behaviour and the way he will behave will also determine whether Angus was right or wrong.

This is a bet. A risky bet for Angus and AC/DC, and like all bets you can win or lose. Everybody knows Angus is taking a big chance. If he fails, AC/DC's reputation and legacy will be affected irreversibly. If he succeeds then it was another challenge faced successfully for him and for AC/DC. If he makes Axl Rose accepted by AC/DC fans, then "the almighty Angus" would make the impossible possible.

How? Maybe... Taming Axl Rose's personality and getting the best of his voice, changing setlists every night with lots of old gems (Money Talks, If You Want Blood, Riff Raff etc), giving 110% on stage every single concert...

What else? We don't know. We are not Angus Young, we are just fans....

But we will stand next to Angus in Lisbon. Time will tell the rest.

IN ANGUS WE TRUST