Tuesday night was the tour opening show for AC/DC's Black Ice tour (there was a secret pre-show two nights before for a small group of contest winners...but this was the first shoudl you could buy tickets for). Mindy and I made the two hour drive out there to welcome the boys back after 8 years away. Of course, we left in plenty of time, 4:30 for the 7:30 show...and it was lucky we did as the drive ended up taking 3 hours due to ridiculous amounts of traffic. I have to think there was an accident somewhere up ahead but it must have cleared by the time we got there. For a while, I was going crazy, wondering if we might be late...but as it turns out, we were OK.
Avoiding the opening band, we instead enjoyed the atmosphere outside the venue and hit the t-shirt vendors. I bought a couple of shirts, Mindy got one for herself and we bought shirts for Naomi and Fiona as well. Additionally, 3 sets of AC/DC glowing devil horns were purchased...for Mindy and the girls (as I had a set from their last tour).
Our seats were amazing. By far the closest I have ever been to a top act like this. We were in the lower section, just to the left of the floor, 6 rows back. Literally, 15m to the front of the stage and right under the speaker bank. The band's arrival was announced with a small cartoon video, launching into an explosion on the stage and the riff of Rock N Roll Train. I found this on youtube which was taken at the show we attended...but from much further back than where we were! :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAsBGbHpmKg
The concert was fantastic. They played 5 songs from Black Ice and I was very happy about this as I think it is one of their best albums - Rock N Roll Train; Big Jack; Black Ice; War Machine and Anything Goes. They also played a nice selection of classics, the highlights for me being Dirty Deeds; TNT; Let There Be Rock; Highway To Hell and of course For Those About To Rock, complete with cannons.
Their new stage prop was a huge train that blew smoke during Hell's Bells and spat fire during TNT...but unfortunately this melted the inflatable "Rosie" from the secret show a few days before, so Rosie was just a "beautiful" digital image during her song. I would say that the only problem was the crowd - they were not as crazy as past AC/DC crowds, I guess this is what you get for going to small town PA for a show. We both had a great time (yes, Mindy too)...and now I cannot wait until their Charlotte concert on December 18!!!!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Black Ice
This morning was the first day of release of AC/DC's new album - "Black Ice". It was being sold exclusively at Wal-Mart in the USA but fortunately there was a Wal-Mart near to my work and Naomi's school.
We hit the place at 7:45 and went straight back to the CD/DVD department, expecting to see a display selling the CD. Nothing was in sight. So I went to the AC/DC section of the CDs...still no Black Ice. I was about ready to go postal...but I asked an employee and was directed to the AC/DC section at the front of the store. I missed this when I came in as it is effectively behind you when you go through the door, but they are certainly doing a good job of promotion. Huge AC/DC signs, t-shirts, all of their CDs, DVDs and of course a huge rack of Black Ice CDs. Presented with a choice of red (standard); yellow or white (limited edition) lettering, I let Naomi make the decision. She chose white because "it looks like ice". Kind of logical I guess.
Heard a great quote from Angus Young about the meaning of their song "Rock N Roll Train"..."I think it’s based ‘round a train. You know, like a rock n roll kind of train. Something a bit different.". Classic stuff - Spinal Tap could not have said it any better themselves!
Oh yeah - and the CD is GREAT.
We hit the place at 7:45 and went straight back to the CD/DVD department, expecting to see a display selling the CD. Nothing was in sight. So I went to the AC/DC section of the CDs...still no Black Ice. I was about ready to go postal...but I asked an employee and was directed to the AC/DC section at the front of the store. I missed this when I came in as it is effectively behind you when you go through the door, but they are certainly doing a good job of promotion. Huge AC/DC signs, t-shirts, all of their CDs, DVDs and of course a huge rack of Black Ice CDs. Presented with a choice of red (standard); yellow or white (limited edition) lettering, I let Naomi make the decision. She chose white because "it looks like ice". Kind of logical I guess.
Heard a great quote from Angus Young about the meaning of their song "Rock N Roll Train"..."I think it’s based ‘round a train. You know, like a rock n roll kind of train. Something a bit different.". Classic stuff - Spinal Tap could not have said it any better themselves!
Oh yeah - and the CD is GREAT.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Nice Weekend
After a week of colder temperatures, things have picked up nicely late in the week and into the weekend. We Saturday doing inside stuff (cleaning, basically) in and around a birthday party for one of Naomi's friends from school. Sunday was spent going on a fishing trip with some friends for the day. The kids had a fun time but did not get close to catching anything. Naomi had fun playing with the different lures in the tackle box and Fiona enjoyed collecting shells and rocks. Alongside all of this, I have been watching the baseball playoffs along with the Australia v India cricket, so lack of sleep is an issue right now. The nice temperatures are expect to get even better over the next few days before leaving us in the downward spiral of winter.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Madonna
I learned something on the weekend. There are two kinds of guys who attend Madonna concerts - those who are there with a wife/girlfriend, and gay men! For the record - I was attending with Mindy! Perhaps I should not have been surprised by this, but I expected plenty of guys in category 1...I just had not idea how big she was in the gay community. There was quite the range of outfits as well - fishnet body suits, outrageous hair styles etc. For the concert, it was quite a good thing - they were clearly enjoying this live-clubbing experience and were much more energetic than most of her female fans.
Our seats were actually very good. We were directly to the side of the stage, so at times we were looking at her from behind, but we were very close, only about 15 rows from the stage so we were in the middle of things and got a good view, especially when she was on our side of the stage. Not that I am a fan of her music but I have to say I enjoyed the show quite a bit. The coordination of the dancing, props, costume changes etc were of the level of a Broadway show and I can only imagine the level of rehearsal and back-stage management that has to go on to make it work so seamlessly. Mindy really enjoyed the night, which was a relief after her less-than-enthusiastic reception to me getting the tickets. She assured me that this was just due to her having ad a rough day and was genuinely excited and had a great time...but I (of course) will still remind her of this from time to time :-).
Now it is a matter of detoxing from this pop experience and getting ready for AC/DC in a few weeks. I am amazingly keen for this show and also their album release. Their 2nd single from the album "War Machine" has just been released and it is a great song, much better than "Rock 'n' Roll Train" I feel. I have been listening to AC/DC radio on Sirius (24x7 commercial free AC/DC music), and they periodically play the new songs. Due to my radio allowing me to skip back, this morning (much to the complaints of Naomi), we listened to "War Machine" about 6 times! I am hoping that the new album will contain another few gems, perhaps another "Ballbreaker"??
In other news, we did download a couple of ringtones for Mindy to use on her phone. An Indigo Girls song for most people...but for me, whenever I call, her phone loudly proclaims "I don't want anybody else. When I think about you I touch myself.". I am hoping to catch her in a group of people when I call!
Our seats were actually very good. We were directly to the side of the stage, so at times we were looking at her from behind, but we were very close, only about 15 rows from the stage so we were in the middle of things and got a good view, especially when she was on our side of the stage. Not that I am a fan of her music but I have to say I enjoyed the show quite a bit. The coordination of the dancing, props, costume changes etc were of the level of a Broadway show and I can only imagine the level of rehearsal and back-stage management that has to go on to make it work so seamlessly. Mindy really enjoyed the night, which was a relief after her less-than-enthusiastic reception to me getting the tickets. She assured me that this was just due to her having ad a rough day and was genuinely excited and had a great time...but I (of course) will still remind her of this from time to time :-).
Now it is a matter of detoxing from this pop experience and getting ready for AC/DC in a few weeks. I am amazingly keen for this show and also their album release. Their 2nd single from the album "War Machine" has just been released and it is a great song, much better than "Rock 'n' Roll Train" I feel. I have been listening to AC/DC radio on Sirius (24x7 commercial free AC/DC music), and they periodically play the new songs. Due to my radio allowing me to skip back, this morning (much to the complaints of Naomi), we listened to "War Machine" about 6 times! I am hoping that the new album will contain another few gems, perhaps another "Ballbreaker"??
In other news, we did download a couple of ringtones for Mindy to use on her phone. An Indigo Girls song for most people...but for me, whenever I call, her phone loudly proclaims "I don't want anybody else. When I think about you I touch myself.". I am hoping to catch her in a group of people when I call!
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