AC/DC - Black Ice

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Thanx again AC/DC,

GARRY from Perth

Many many thx to Garry (for not snoring), Glenn and Burnsey for the great crack (blah blah blah nuclear power station), and Alex from London ('I know this place......'). And big thx to the band for what undoubtedly was the gig of the year for me.

Rab from Perth

As soon as I’d heard about the gig on the Crabsodyinblue website, I knew it was going to be something very special. I had seen some of the reviews from concerts around the world and they all said the same thing, the band sound as good as ever. They also told of a few surprises among the set list and how the shows had been ripped back to basics (the way an AC/DC show should be). So probably like everyone else, I just couldn’t wait for the gig (once I’d gone through the trauma of acquiring the confirmation email).

What I hadn’t given much thought to were the hours leading up to the show itself. From the moment I saw the Hammy Odeon, the event had a different feel to anything I’d experienced in a LONG time. We arrived at about 10:20am and I knew there would be a queue, but was amazed from what people told me, the times at which the “early birds” had got there. But it was when I actually got in the queue that it dawned on me what the main difference was about this one. Everybody there felt exactly the same that I did, about the day, the show and the band. When you go to gigs involving other bands there is an excitement and anticipation but most people are talking about recent gigs they’ve been to or of the albums they’ve just heard. They talk about the best band they’ve seen or memorable moments from all manner of shows they’ve been to. Today it seemed, people were only talking about AC/DC.

“What do you think they’ll start with?” “How many times have you seen them?” “When did you first see them?” “Do you reckon there’ll be any new stuff?”

It was obvious straight away that there were an awful lot of devout AC/DC fans there and the average age was about 35-40. These people had been with the band for a long time. We stood with a Scottish guy who had been a fan since “For those about ….” And he had met the band in a hotel years ago. This fella had seen most big artists and was a big fan of Dylan, but said that AC/DC were the best he’d seen and couldn’t wait for tonight. We saw a bunch of people from Spain who were taking photos of everything from the posters at the front to the security guy at the stage door. We met a group of eight German lads who had flown over for the gig, only seven had tickets! There were people all over the place with placards looking for spares. I spoke to quite a few people that day, and was amazed at how all of them regardless of age were so excited about the concert. I went to the gig with my cousin, another AC/DC nut, and he when I was getting the drinks in or ging to the boys room he was telling people how I’d first seen them with Bon Scott and been to every tour since at least once. On my return I was treated with a kind of reverence and consulted like some kind of authority on all things concerning the band.

Along with the excitement there was also an air of anxiousness brought about by the manner in which the gig was advertised and the mystery surrounding how seats would be allocated. I felt that people were not gonna relax until they got their wristband on! I heard several people speak of butterflies in the stomach when they got to the final stretch of the queue and saw many more puff their cheeks out just before going through the doors. The look on most peoples faces when they came out after getting their wristbands was the look of a “kid in a sweetshop”. I stood in the pub and became aware of a guy sat in the corner laughing at me. Apparently I had been standing there checking my wrist about every two minutes to see if the band was still there. He was laughing because his girlfriend had just told him off for doing the same.

I had promised myself that I wouldn’t drink too much so that I could savour he whole thing, but once we had got our tickets and wristbands we had seven hours to kill before the show. We spent nearly the whole day in pubs around Hammersmith and in the west end and by the time they got on stage, I was well on the way and well up for the gig.

The band started and I couldn’t believe how good they sounded and it was obvious that again everybody felt the same as me. The place was erupting. After the first song the band let the crowd go for a bit before starting the next number and this was when Beano started motioning to somebody offstage to have a look out front. All through the gig he seemed astounded at the reaction of the audience and the whole band seemed to spark off of it. I’ve seen them go through the motions a few times but not only have they gone back to their roots with a stripped down show, but they seem to be enjoying it the way they used to as well. However, I regret now having seen the set lists from other gigs because after every song I was waiting for “Gone shootin’” (my all time favourite), and when I realised it wasn’t gonna get played disappointment set in. “if you want blood” and “’Damnation” were fantastic but because I’ve seen them so many times the rest of it was standard AC/DC stuff. Still superb, but I expected something different and expected more than an hour and a half. I wen thome disappointed. Two days later I saw on the Crabsodyinblue site that Beano had been ill and I felt relieved that we hadn’t been sold short by the lads but gutted that I hadn’t savoured what was a great gig when I look back on it. Angus is now just starting to show after all these years that he hasn’t got the physical energy of his yester-years but sounds as good as ever. Beano despite ill health sounded great and has the enthusiasm of somebody just starting out. AC/DC have always had the best rythmn section in the business and tonight sounded as tight as a ducks arse. Is it possible that the reason why the band sound better and are enjoying it more, is the return of Phil Rudd?

I could wax lyrical for ages about this band, I’ve been a massive fan for twenty five years and I’d rather see them on a bad night than anybody else on a good ‘un.

Review by azel

Quickly followed were classic hits one after another "Back in Black" , "Stiff Upper Lip" , "Dirty Deeds" , "Thunderstruck". For the first time in many years the band launched into "Rock n Roll Damnation" from the Powerage album for the first time on British soil for many years. The atmosphere in the Carling Apollo was electric , to see AC/DC play in a small venue is something not to be missed.

Following "Hard as a Rock" , Brian got the crowd going with the opening verse of "The Jack" , before making a sharp exit , as the band carried on with the crowd singing the words to the Jack. Well it just wouldn't be the same without singing the Jack would it !. Although Brian's brief disappearance at the time seemed a little strange I was learn later that Brian had been a little under the weather that week to say the least , and the fact that he was on stage at all , never mind the fact he was sounding better than he has done in previous years speaks absolutely volumes for the man. Not to be undone the famous Angus striptease was performed to the "The Jack" , a newer choice of song to perform the strip to , but great to see, and keeping to the script the Union Jack boxer shorts were there for all the crowd to see.

Slowly the AC/DC bell was lowered for Hells Bells , this time with no Tarzan style swinging from Brian from underneath the bell. Much to my delight the next track was "If you want blood" , it was a sheer delight to hear again live a Bon era track that is not regularly played live in recent years. Yes it was animal living in the humun zoo of the Carling Apollo as the crowd went crazy not only during If you want blood but also the Thunderous chants of Oi Oi Oi at the start of TNT.

Well it was real handy that Brian knew the next track and so did the crowd , although not everyone's favourite track , You Shook me all night long is one track that everyone knows the words too.

Stipped down without the huge inflatable doll that normally accompanies "Whole Lotta Rosie" , the band were rocking the house down. Although personally I still think you can't beat a Glasgow crowd for the famous Angus chant at the beginning of the song , but Hammersmith gave it a good try.

Then came Light, Sound, Drums, guitar as the band played the final number before a brief break in the proceedings. But it don't stop there , back came the boys with Angus wearing the horns as they launched into Highway to Hell. At the this point I turned to my friend and said I doubt if they had the cannons with them for the next song. How wrong could I be. Slowly from the back of the stage appeared two cannons either side of the band. The sight of all the waved hands in the air during For those about to Rock , and the cry from the crowd of FIRE , as the cannons fired in a small venue , causing a deafing sound was unbelievable.

Although at first when I looked back at the gig , I was slighly dis-appointed at not hearing Gone Shootin or What's next to the moon , it was only later that I heard the reason these songs were omitted from the set list. Not only had AC/DC pulled of a fantastic gig , Brian had performed despite illness and against the wishes of the doctors , which simply speaks volumes for the man. Many a band half the age of AC/DC and half the talent would cancel a show when the singer takes ill , but Not AC/DC , Brian Johnson just couldn't let the fans down and simply.

Brian Johnson we Salute you , AC/DC We Salute you.

Review by Glenn Robertson

Enrique Diaz

Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be
Back in Black
Stiff Upper Lip
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Thunderstruck
Rock N Roll Damnation
Hard As A Rock
The Jack
Hell Bells
If You Want Blood
TNT
You Shook Me All Night Long
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
Highway to Hell
For Those About To Rock

Review - BillyRamone (and taken from Rising Power

Pierre Dieterle

I ARRIVED ABOUT 2.30 PM IT WAS BEDLAM OUTSIDE,I PARKED UP AND SURVEYED THE SITUATION,WORSE THAN EXPECTED THERE WAS NOBODY SELLING ANYWHERE.

I DECIDED TO STAND BY THE TUBE EXIT HOPING TO CATCH SOMEBODY WITH A SPARE TICKET.AFTER FOUR HOURS & CHATTING TO SIMILAR LATE THIRTIES HOPEFULLS IT LOOKED LIKE I WAS GOING HOME.

AS I WALKED BACK TOWARDS MY CAR I NOTICED THE QUEUE FOR THE FIRST TIME ALL DAY WAS GETTING SMALLER.A VERY FAINT FLICKER OF LIGHT BUT I DECIDED TO JOIN THE END AND TAKE MY CHANCES,SURELY SOMEBODY WITH TICKETS COULD'NT MAKE IT, FLU,CAR BROKE DOWN,TRAFFIC PROBLEMS,BROKEN LIMBS! MAYBE THEY MIGHT SELL WHATS NOT BEEN CLAIMED.

WHILST IN THE QUEUE A FEW OF THE FACES I'D BEEN TALKING TOO EARLIER SPOTTED ME,INITIALLY ASKING IF I'D GOT LUCKY, BUT THEN JOINING ME IN MY QUEST.

WE GOT TO THE BOX OFFICE WINDOWS ABOUT 7.45 PM AT WHICH POINT THEY PULLED THE SHUTTERS DOWN. FAILURE.

WE HUNG AROUND FOR TEN MINUTES WHEN SUDDENLY THE SHUTTERS OPENED AND UNBELIVEBLY THEY STARTED SELLING. BY NOW A SMALL CROWD HAD GATHERED BY THE DOORS AND THEY ALL GOT IN AS WELL! INCREDIBLE,I COULD'AV TURNED UP AT 8 PM AND WALKED IN!

FROM THERE I WENT INTO THE HALL AND ENDED UP 4 FEET FROM THE STAGE.THE GIG, WELL WHAT CAN YOU SAY FANTASTIC PERFORMANCE, YOU COULD SEE THEY LOVED THE 'SMALL' VENUE. HIGHLIGHT FOR ME 'IF YOU WANT BLOOD' AWESOME.

WELL WORTH THE EFFORT I'M ESPECIALLY PLEASED FOR MY SCOUSE FRIEND IN THE QUEUE,HE DROVE DOWN FROM LIVERPOOL WITHOUT A TICKET THAT MORNING,HE WAS DRIVING BACK AFTERWARDS AND WAS DUE IN EDINBURGH AT 9 NEXT MORNING!

NOT MUCH OF A REVIEW I KNOW BUT I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE APPEAL OF THIS FANTASTIC BAND.

FOR THOSE WHO ROCKED,I SALUTE YOU.

Maxime Boon

Pictures online at http://www.manulu.de/stonebreaker

Review and pictures by STONEBREAKER

One little story from the concert:

"When I was queing for the wristbands a desperate Argentinian approached the line asking for a ticket. A scottish guy who was standing next to me said that he had a spare on and would sell it to him. The Argentinian was sort of suspicous and asked about the price. Twenty pounds was all the Scotsman was aking for!!!

I could not believe it but it was true. The Argentinian got the ticket and was absolutely stunnend since he'd expected a price of about 200 pounds. I think this is real fan esteam. The Scotsman did not want to make money out of it. And he made a fanatic fan absolutely happy. I was really impressed!

Story by by STONEBREAKER

Russell Taylor

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