Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden, 19 July 2015 - AC/DC ABRUZZO REPORT

Stockholm 19 July, 3pm

Phone call

Stefano D'Abruzzo: Orangus, where are you? In which museum are you?

Orangus: No museum today. I need food. Help me find some steamed rice.

Solna, Sweden, 19 July 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

We have lots of memories in Stockholm. It was that where we met Brian and Cliff and ended spending two hours with them in 2009...

We couldn't miss this show. Stefano D'Abruzzo flew in from London and joined Orangus for his 26th show in a row.

Wine and Rock'n'Roll

Stefano's Report:

Cloudy grey day in Stockholm. The city centre is almost empty. All the best gourmet restaurants are closed in summer. What a shame! I have my lunch at Vapiano.

Lots of scalpers around and for the first time non official t-shirt sellers all over the place. Orangus and I agree to meet at 7pm at the central train station. He arrives with a 20 minute delay, on foot, with his inseparable GPS device. He looks in good shape but he lost some weight from Belgium, He complains about the Chinese food he had to eat. He will have digestion problems... His breakfast consisted of three pieces of apple pie.

in the metro Orangus befriends other Swedish fans. They look at him with curiosity and interest. A bit puzzled maybe.

We get to the venue. It's an indoor arena, it reminds me of the London O2 arena. We enter 15 minutes before the beginning of the show, Orangus' style. Before AC/DC, 3 Rolling Stones songs are played: Lets spend the night together, Jumping Jack Flash and I don't remember the last one.

We are in the "Orangus zone" pretty far from the stage, but in the Front of Stage section. Orangus is pretty determined to reach 100 AC/DC shows by the end of the US tour...

The concert starts 3 minutes earlier. Of course Orangus notices it and tells me. The Swedish audience is calm and collected. Not much alcohol, to my surprise. Of course no moshpit nor pogo.

Angus starts pretty fast and energetic. Brian looks a bit tired, his voice seems less powerful than usual. 

Orangus starts his tribal jumping dance, bare chested. The Swedes look at him in shock. He continues for the whole show. I filmed him during YSMANL and will share the video later on. Best songs of the concert: Sin City, Rock n Roll train, High Voltage. Angus is covered in sweat (more than usual) during LTBR. 

You could tell the band is a bit tired. The break after Warsaw will be good for them.

During FTATR I realize this is my last European show...

When going back to the station Orangus would complain about Swedish museum. He also tells me secret stories of some of his women worldwide...

My flight back to London will take me back to work. On the agend a wine tasting by Emidio Pepe, one of my favourite wine producers.


The Orangus Travel Diary - 26th show in a row

I just meet some Swedish girls and I am too busy for a report... 

Orangus' new friends

Oslo, Norway, 17 July 2015 - The Orangus' Travel Diary

Stranger at a train station: -Do you believe in Jesus?

Orangus: - No, I believe in AC/DC.

Orangus: 25 AC/DC shows in a row!

Oslo, Norway, 17 July 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


Last time AC/DC played Oslo on 30 May 2010 there was an unexpected change in the setlist with the band closing the show with Highway to Hell instead of For Those About to Rock. A pretty rare gem for "concert collectors" like us...

After more than 5 years the greatest band in the world is back in Norway for another big dose of rock'n'roll for our Scandinavian friends.

Oslo, Norway, 17 July 2015 - The Orangus' Travel Diary

Orangus before the Oslo show

Orangus after the Oslo show

Oslo is a really nice city. After all Norway is the richest European country. Just like Abruzzo is the richest African country. The front of stage section was not open tonight, just like in Germany. But instead of receiving a wristband they would mark you with a red magic marker, like cattle. The FOS was almost empty so I could jump as much as I wanted without getting disturbed by others. 

Brian was in good shape. He skipped the first lyrics of TNT and he looked a bit tired, particularly in Shot Down in Flames. Actually the whole band seemed a bit tired between Hell's Bells and YSMANL. Angus changed the second solo during LTBR, on the amps, one of the best solos of the tour. By the way, today he was wearing his brown suit with a green cap and a green tie.

Green cap and brown jacket for Angus

Let There Be Rock!

Norwegian friend of Orangus promoting our book

ROSKILDE, DENMARK 15 July 2015

-What's your name?

-Orangus

-Where are you?

-Near an AC/DC concert

-What's the date today?

-I don't know

Roskilde, Denmark, 15 July 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

With Matteo Abruzzo and Stefano D'Abruzzo out of the game, paying the consequences of their 17 AC/DC shows, the only Abruzzo man who can afford to be still on the road is Orangus...

THE ORANGUS' DIARY - 24th concert in a row

From Essen in Germany I had to take several trains to get to Copenhagen. it was a nightmare. I had to take 4 trains and all of them were delayed. I had to change connections and then one hour by boat. But I made it to Copenhagen safe and sound. Some people complain about Italian trains. I prefer to complain only about Italian people... Don't take trains in Germany.

I started losing awareness of the reality, sleeping in youth hostels, waking up in different countries and eating apple pies, the only suitable food for this lifestyle and for my food allergies. Good! That's rockn'roll.

I spent the whole day of the show in Copenhagen, contemplating the beauty of the little mermaid (although I don't like women exposing their breast in public) and a couple of local museums. I made a quick Skype call to Stefano in London just to check the quality of the Museum wifi connection. 

Scandinavian beauty

Italian beauty (in a museum before an AC/DC show)

On my way to Roskilde the first train stopped after 1 km. There was a mechanical failure with an another train on the same line. I lost almost an hour. But I got to the venue while Vintage Trouble were still playing, earlier than usual.

Inside there was a large FOS section where I could enjoy the show and jump as much as I liked, and comfortably. 

The show started well then there was a problem with the beginning of High Voltage (as usual), maybe it was because of Angus. Then we got the best Rock'n'Roll train of the whole tour. And from that moment there was a crescendo. Top performance.

Ironically, In the audience there were more colored people than in all the 81 AC/DC shows I've seen in my life. Interesting. But the crowd was a disaster. People were sleepy almost for the entire show. I can't believe these are the heirs of the glorious Vikings. Too much feminism, gay rights and woman emancipation CENSORED - CENSORED - CENSORED. The only crazy fan jumping for two hours was me, an heir of the glorious Longobards, Orangus!

IMOLA 2015 - The Aftermath 

7 days from the Imola show... A night which 92,000 Italian fans will not forget easily...

Angus on fire

IMOLA: The aftermath + Gelsenkirchen Report (Orangus' Travel Diary)

Imola: Rock'n'Roll Marathon

We have to admit we didn't expect such a large and excited crowd in Imola last week. We received messages and photos of friends who had been queuing up at the venue from 8 o'clock in the morning! The dedication of Italian fans was unprecedented in this tour! We are not talking about people who wanted to make it to the pit. We are talking about the majority of the audience (92,000 people officially confirmed) who was filling up the venue many hours before the beginning of the show... Another peculiarity was the fans' age: never seen so many teenagers and youngsters in their early 20's at an AC/DC show during this tour... There is hope for the future!

The Next Generation of fans

After surviving the big organization mess at the end of the Imola show (traffic jams until early morning, people stuck in never ending lines etc) Matteo Abruzzo made it back to Abruzzo. Stefano D'Abruzzo went back to London. But Orangus kept hitting the road in his legendary voyage around Europe and made it to Gelsenkirchen for his 23rd AC/DC concert in a row. He was there with Francesco Marche, another new entry in the exclusive club of hard core crazy AC/DC fans...

Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, 12 July 2015 - THE ORANGUS' DIARY

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

The only flight I found was arriving at 4pm from Milan and the only free hotel room was in Essen. So I landed in Weeze, took the train to Essen, checked in, took another train to Gelsenkirchen. I was at the venue at 7.30. I was in the arena around 8 as I had to take care of some business before. It was a covered arena, very nice venue, but the acoustics were not satisfactory for those on the seats. Brian looked pretty tired but it was another great show. Francesco said he liked this show more than Imola. The venue of course was better. Now I have to run to catch the trains to Copenaghen...

Orangus

Imola, Italy 9 July 2015 - NIGHT REPORT

Imola, Italy 9 July 2015 - NIGHT REPORT

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 Italy for the biggest concert in this country ever! More than 90,000 people! It was a special day for AC/DC fans as it was Bon's birthday and Phil's judgment day (which didn't go too well).

The venue, Autodromo Enzo Ferrari, was one of the worst of the tour so far. The organization was not as good as in other countries but still OK considering the Italian standards. The concert started at 9.15. Angus in blue/violet and blue cap. Brian speaking a bit Italian in between the songs. The audience was divided by barriers, we were in the FOS mosh pit as usual, which was quite good. 70-80% of the people was in their 20's early 30's. Definitely the youngest audience we have encountered so far. We couldn't actually see the end of the crowd...

It was pretty hot and maybe this affected the band's performance a little bit. Angus and Brian were in great shape. Angus seemed to enjoy the warmth of the Italian audience, which was singing and screaming pretty loud. Brian made a noticeable error in High Voltage. Angus almost stopped playing in FTATR. On the other hand, Sin City, Shot Down in Flames and Have a Drink on Me were played extremely well. Very intense. The crowd went crazy during TNT and Rosie. During LTBR Angus spent a few extra minutes on the catwalk.

In the end it was a great night for Italy and for all Italian AC/DC fans! Next stop: Germany!

 

HIGHWAY TO HELL - VIDEO Check out the other exclusive videos on our youtube channel!

Dessel, Belgium 6 July 2015

Bedlam in Belgium

Dessel, Belgium 6 July 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. Sin City
13. Shook Me
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

Our rock'n'roll trip to Dessel starts at 8.55 with the Eurostar "Rock'n'Roll" train London-Brussels, in company of legendary Orangus, with 20 AC/DC in a row under his belt in this tour...

We end up going to the Brussels airport to rent a car (no car available from the train station). We hit the road towards Dessel. Short stop at our hotel and then back in the moshpit ready for another show and with London Wembley still in our head (and in our legs)...

The venue is a big plain just in the middle of the woods, with a lot of dust and happy beer drinkers. Actually this is one of the venues with the highest number of people drinking (and pissing) everywhere.... Typical "rock festival environment", with lots of tipsy to wasted people...

The show begins at 9.45pm. Angus wears his brown suit (with blue hat, not full brown like in Munich!). He looks a bit tired, if compared to Wembley. (And so are we, after 2 hours of Wembley moshpit...). He duckwalks less than usual but he is focused and energetic.

Brian is on fire again (just check out our videos.) He jumps and screams like crazy. His voice is actually getting better show by show. High Voltage again, is one of the best songs of the setlist. This time is longer than the usual one... The band fucks up after Baptism by Fire, when Stevie starts You Shook Me (following the usual setlist) but Angus goes in the Sin City riff. The band follows Angus, of course. YSMANL will be played afterwards.

About 50,000 people were there but the moshpit was not like in London and we could see fights breaking out constantly among drunk people and sober people. Fights between drunk people would generally end up in people becoming friends and hugging. Fights between drunk people and sober could end up badly. Maybe this was the situation only in the first rows...  Lots of crowdsurfers as well...

And next will be IMOLA for the biggest AC/DC concert in Italy ever (90,000 people)!!! The big news is that the Imola mayor has just passed a special bill forbidding the sale of alcoholic beverages 500 m of radius from the venue... Have a drink on me?


EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS + VIDEOS

Wembley Stadium, London, England 4 July 2015

For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

Wembley Stadium, London, England 4 July 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

What a fantastic night for Rock'n'Roll! A concert which will not be easily forgotten by anyone attending the Wembley show, from the hard core fan to the first timer. Fantastic venue, fantastic crowd, fantastic performance!

Wembley crowd yesterday- Photo from Facebook

The stadium was filled to the brim. It was an impressive sight! We don't know the official capacity, maybe 70,000, 80,000 90,000... Tickets on the black market were the most expensive of the whole tour which proved that the English fans were really hungry for an AC/DC concert and would have paid anything to see them live again after 5 years!

Bottom line, it was an amazing crowd! As amazing as Paris Stade de France, or maybe even more. From the last seat on the higher level to the first rows in front of the stage, in the "moshpit"...

Ah... the moshpit...  For us it was like going back in time! Yesterday night we were just a few meters from the stage and we got exactly the same feelings we had that night in the Hammersmith theatre in October 2003. Just in the middle of a crazy jumping crowd ready to rock with the live music of the best rock band in the world! From the first chord to the last one. Same energy, same music, same hard core fans... (some of them were actually wearing an Hammersmith 2003 t-shirt).

The band's performance was excellent. There was a mistake by Brian at the beginning of Shoot To Thrill but after a few seconds everything was fixed. Even super heroes like Brian can make mistake. But what he's doing during this tour, despite everything, the sound problems etc, is absolutely remarkable and we are most grateful for all his efforts. Angus was impeccable in every move. His leadership gets more evident every night. The rest of the band was also very inspired, including Stevie and Chris who had relatives and family attending the show.

Thunderstruck was definitely one of the highlights of the night. Also Sin City, Have a Drink on Me and TNT, with the crowd screaming pretty loud. The finale with For Those About to Rock and the fireworks was epic!

We didn't take many photos for obvious reasons but we still have more material to upload from the Wembley show so stay tuned.

Tomorrow morning we'll be on the Rock'n'Roll train to: DESSEL!

Super Brian

ANGUS YOUNG - Impeccable as usual

Mr Thunderstruck

Happy fans after the show

ROCK OR BUST LIVE

Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland 1 July 2015 - REPORT

Playful schoolboy Angus playing guitar with a beer bottle during LTBR...

Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland 1 July 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

The Dublin show went even beyond our expectations and made it to the AC/DC Abruzzo Top 3 shows, according to AC/DC Abruzzo (1st one is Paris 26/5, 2nd is Arnhem 5/5). As you know if you've been reading our blog during the Black Ice Tour our "rating" is the result of a combination of band's performance, crowd and venue.

The Venue: The Aviva stadium is in the middle of the city, in a residential area. The seating sections are almost vertical to the pitch making it an "intimate stadium", even if its capacity is 55,000 people. The acoustics in the pitch seemed to be better than Glasgow and Berlin. The atmosphere and the "roaring" of the crowd was even louder!

The Crowd: We were surprised by the fact that 30 minutes before the show almost one third of the stadium was still empty. But they explained to us that Irish people love spending their time in the pub until the very last minute before a show. Anyway, the stadium got filled up everywhere and the sight was amazing. Believe it or not, people on most seating sections were actually standing, jumping and singing during the concert. Big thumbs up to the Irish crowd!

Band's performance: What to say here? We were in the front of stage section. Never been so close to the stage before on this tour, and in a comfortable position considering that that section, for some security reason, was not full at all. Bottom line we were so close to the band it almost felt like an indoor show from 2009. And seeing the band up close, so focused and energetic, it was a blast! Looking at Angus singing lines from Sin City while duckwalking or playing his guitar using a bottle of beer thrown by someone in the audience as a guitar slide was just priceless. Not to mention Brian's voice and his constant jumping and dancing until the very last minute. He even improvised a traditional Irish Dance making eye contact with a young boy staying on the shoulder of his father in the first rows, right side.  The boy will not forget that easily... Brian was so hyperactive that while he was not going back and forth, he was even jogging on the spot.... Chris seemed very accurate yesterday and from our position we could also appreciate the highest professionalism and passion that both Stevie and Cliff are putting in each show. For those about to Rock we salute you!

Next stop LONDON WEMBLEY!

BRIAN'S IRISH DANCE

ANGUS AND THE BEER BOTTLE SOLO

Angus picks up the bottle

Angus empties the bottle

Angus plays a killer solo with the bottle

EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL CLICK HERE