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

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

ABRUZZO PROVERB OF THE MONTH

"Li cos' allungh divent' scirp..."

ITA. "Le cose lunghe diventano serpenti"

ENG. (litteral translation) "Long things become snakes"

Here's another modern abruzzese version of the "Carpe Diem" (Seize the day) philosohy. However in this proverb the stress is put on the negative consequences that excessive procrastination can have on the pursuit of people's objectives in life.

Vienna, Ernst-Happel Stadium, May 24, 2009

Unfortunately, AC/DC Abruzzo has lost contact with his correspondent from the road. The last message received from him was from the Munich HIGHEND trade fair, special event for audiophiles which Lorenzo (aka Orangus) was attending in Germany 2 days ago. Reportedly, the last thing that he was seen doing was listenening to a copy of Black Ice with a 350,000 Euros HI-FI equipment... A reward is offered to anyone who provide information to help us find him. We need his reports for the rest of the open air leg!

Although we don't have any inside info about yesterday's show in Vienna, for some unknown reason we feel quite confident about the fact that AC/DC kept the same setlist of the previous shows... If we get some extra info you'll be the first to know.

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

Hockenheimring, Formula 1 Racing Track, May 22, 2009

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

Report by Lorenzo, AC/DC Abruzzo's correspondant on the road.
Again the band seemed to get better in the second half of the concert. Best version of Dog Eat Dog so far. YSMANL and TNT highlights of the night. The crowd was really loud during TNT. Great version of Let There Be Rock. Bad acoustics in the Hockenheimring, bu we knew that from the 2003 show with the Stones. During The Jack no "boob flashing" like in the Cologne show, During Rosie Brian let the crowd sing several parts of the song. Lots of people tried to jump over the barriers dividing the crowd but most of them were caught by the staff...
Ciao.

INTRO + ROCK'N'ROLL TRAIN



IF YOU WANT BLOOD



Ooops, that was in 2003! :-(

AMARCORD: STOCKHOLM

AMARCORD meas "I remember" in several Italian dialects, including the Abruzzese! We will use the title of this Fellini's movie for a new series of entries regarding the cities we've visited, the people we've met and the things that we've seen during our AC/DC European tour! We hope you enjoy this retrospective rock'n'roll journey through Europe with AC/DC and AC/DC Abruzzo!!!

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".

Cologne Stadion, 19 May 2009

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

This just in (from AC/DC Abruzzo's correspondant on the road). The Cologne gig was apparently the best show so far of the stadium tour. It rained for several hours but that didn't stop the band at all. Several banners in the audience to wish Phil a happy birthday. Still a lot of confusion with FOS tickets. Access to the FOS was at staff's dicretion. Brian skipped the first verse of Shoot To Thrill. Highlight of the night was the Jack, also thanks to two ladies who flashed their boobs when they were on the big screens! More to come. See you in Hockenheim.

Nice video from Gelsenkirchen

TICKETS FOR MARSEILLE AND PARIS ON SALE AGAIN

Some more tickets were released for sale for the French shows. Including Pelouse or. Here's the link:

http://billetterie.gdp.fr/index2.php

The French shows will kick ass! So don't miss them!!