This one's for Mal

We're nearing the holiday season, and POWER UP hit number one straight away in most countries, 1 month after AC/DC brought it to the world. I haven't been very active on the blog, because the most important messages are out there already, through a tremendous communication plan from the band (yeah! Zoom!) on the one hand, and laudatory reviews from fans on the other.  They were all right.  This (almost) was 2020 and the release of this album by my favorite band is about all I want to remember from it.

About souvenirs, November also marked the remembering of Malcolm.   I'd like to share this one thing, fan made, but straight from and to the heart.  Mal would have been proud.

Enjoy the holiday season - with Through The Mists Of Time as a soundtrack, and bang into the new year with the rest of the album.  Long live AC/DC.

#PWRUP the World !

Now the word is finally out, it's barely believable but we will get what we have been looking out for a very long time! 

• There will be a new AC/DC record!  With Power UP, AC/DC rises again from the ashes like a rock n roll phoenix, in a tribute to Malcolm, just like Black in Black, released 40 years ago was a tribute to Bon Scott.  Malcolm is in spirit all over the album as Angus recycled some of the many riffs he and Malcolm had put 'in a box'.
  
• Out 13 November, just in time to save the year! Angus' "Magic Cure"!
  
• Recorded in Vancouver at Brian Adam's Warehouse Studios
• Counting 12 tracks around 4 minutes each with already classic AC/DC titles - non of which have the word ROCK in the title:

            01. Realize    
            02. Rejection
            03. Shot In The Dark
            04. Through The Mists Of Time
            05. Kick You When You’re Down
            06. Witch’s Spell
            07. Demon Fire
            08. Wild Reputation
            09. No Man’s Land
            10. Systems Down
            11. Money Shot
            12. Code Red  

• First single is Shot in the Dark and was released this Wednesday (at 6 o'clock for Europeans.... of course, it needs to be dark still)!

1.  The classic lineup is back on the roll: Brian is back, Phil is back,  Cliff un-retired (how cool is that!), Stevie and Angus.  Well, Angus never left. 

2. Malcolm was always present but won't be heard playing on the album, according to Mike Fraser in a radio interview earlier today.  Angus returned to Australia, took a long break and then began poring through an extensive backlog of unreleased songs he’d written over the years with Malcolm. The majority of them come from the period preparing Black Ice in 2008 - when not playing video games. “There was a lot of great song ideas from that time,” Angus says. “At that time he said to me, ‘We’ll leave these songs for now. If we keep going, we’ll be overboard. We’ll get them on the next one.’ That always stuck with me. When I went through and listened to them, I said, ‘If I do anything in my life, I have to get these tracks down and get these tracks out.'”   So Malcolm's spirit keeps inspiring Angus.  What else!? Stevie does a great job, really, as he's able to get so close to Malcolm's signature style.

2. The first track from the album is called Shot in the Dark, as given away early by the hashtag creation on Twitter.  We got 30 seconds of the song and it hits you like a hammer.  The track will be released on Wednesday 6 am CET (for the early birds!) According to this car brand, track duration of Shot in the Dark is 4:20 (second 9 of this commercial):

3. After posters popping up worldwide (even in front of Angus's former shool in Sydney), a giant neon sign popped up today riverside London. It got removed 24h later.

Are You Ready ? Been too long, glad to be back.

Just when you almost wished that the earth would have stopped turning before this miserable year 2020 even started, it seems like we're going to blow the Covid19 virus out of our lungs while chanting to what will appear to be the first and most effective vaccine! Brought to you by the doctors of rock 'n roll AC/DC.  I don't know exactly what to expect, but the AC/DC mainframe just put their POWER / UP.  With one flick of the switch some new pictures appeared for a couple of hours on the official ACDC.COM website.  The neon light sputters and buzzes like an old cracker, but it's a good sign that soon the mighty AC/DC amps will be turned up high again!

 

I've been too long I'm glad to be back! Why it has been so quiet in this place?  It has always been our policy to only update the blog with official news, which unfortunately was very sad news.  Many rumors and Louie the Fly pictures have crossed the interwebs and airwaves ever since.  So although nothing is official, it's no longer a question of IF something will happen but WHEN.  As to exactly WHAT will happen, we are getting cues and hopefully we will know more pretty soon.  Posters with PWR/UP appear across lands all over the world.  The tension is unbearable but it will soon strike like a Shot in the Dark.  

 

Spoiler.  We've seen a recent album release (Tool's Fear Inoculum) with a video screen in its package. Will we see the improved version of the Backtracks Amp?  Or a contemporary version of the good old 90's Australian Boom Box? 

 

For sure, there's gonna be some rockin'....   Stay tuned as the story unfolds.

Update 30 September: great to see the guys are back!

Remembering and celebrating the life of Malcolm - 1 year

Ride On

Thank you Malcolm Young (6 January 1953 - 18 November 2017)

Today it is with deep heartfelt sadness that AC/DC has to announce the passing of Malcolm Young.

Malcolm, along with Angus, was the founder and creator of AC/DC.

With enormous dedication and commitment he was the driving force behind the band.

As a guitarist, songwriter and visionary he was a perfectionist and a unique man.

He always stuck to his guns and did and said exactly what he wanted.

He took great pride in all that he endeavored.

His loyalty to the fans was unsurpassed.

As his brother it is hard to express in words what he has meant to me during my life, the bond we had was unique and very special.

He leaves behind an enormous legacy that will live on forever.

Malcolm, job well done.

(Message by Angus Young on acdc.com)

Rock or Bust Tour Report: London Olympic Stadium 04-06-2016

Here is the report of my final AC/DC show.  At least for this tour.  At least for this leg of the tour.

I must say it was the perfect show in perfect company - thank you the Belgian Crew - for our farewells.  But you never know.  From a very good source we know that "this rolling train is difficult to stop".  The AC/DC machine can't impossibly call it quits.  The legacy rolls on.  

On our way to the stadium, we crossed the bagpipe player and a dedicated Young Food Truck: we knew we were on the right track! 

Once into the newly refurbished stadion, that otherwise reminded us of the Wembley Arena, we admired colorful beauty and discovered a dedicated front of stage zone, which was way more comfortable than last year in Wembley, where no separation in the ground field had the effect of 35 botox needles on our body once the show was over. 

 Less pressure front of stage this year, but still quite tight in the tribune!

Thumbs up to Brian

It was a pleasure to see Tylor Bryant and the Shakedown again.  I appreciate their style - excellent warm up stuff.

Angus was wearing a West Ham United colored tie for the occasion, then hanging it in Axl Rose bandana style to his waist:

The setlist was predictable but with Axl duckwalking around on stage, the show felt much more lively than in Werchter.  The band was visibly having fun on stage and was ON FIRE.  We recall Axl smiling, Stevie being interviewed on-stage by Axl on how he liked the show and Angus making hipwaist moves I don't recall seeing before.  Thank you AC/DC - wel'll meet again - WE SALUTE YOU.

And you ....ask me bout the clothes I wear....?  Well yeah.  I thought Axl was hinting on Touch Too Much, while the audience kept asking what exactly the ducktape on his t-shirt was hiding.  You can still get yours on domrebel.com if you want to find out for yourself.

 

New Overdose Magazine issue available for pre-order

Order Here

To celebrate over 40 years of rock'n'roll a group of fans from all over the world have gathered together to create the first international AC/DC fanzine: Overdose.  Overdose offers readers exclusive interviews, eye-witness accounts and never before heard snippets and stories from the band's eventful four decades on the road.
We have been impressed by the first issue, that also covered our Bedlam in Belgium story.  The editors include heaps of testimonials from AC/DC's rich touring and recording history.  Great stuff!

The second issue is available for pre-order now, simply click the order link above or click here to get a sneak preview of this issue's content.  Brian is starring on the cover, not forgotten yet.  

Rock Or Bust Tour Report Werchter 16-05-2016

Long live AC/DC

There you go.  My first AC/DC show with Axl is history.  Despite the fact that I fully trust and respect Angus choice, the anticipation was high and with mixed emotions, bearing two questions in mind: how painful the seperation with Brian's voice and so familiar personality on the one hand, and how Axl would fit the bunch I've always known since seeing AC/DC live for the first time at the age of 12 (Donnington VHS).  For those who haven't been (or brought their tickets back): Belgium got a great show!

Werchter, Belgium

"Pretty lame audience" before the show, according to an AC/DC official searching the front of stage for early duckwalkers to film.  He should have taken his camera to the bar instead!  It was a typical day off, and so Belgians are a little more - let's say - at ease and relaxed, enjoying a few beers and getting used to the festival atmosphere after a long winter season.  With beers being more important to the nation's survival, front of stage bracelets were only slowly liquidated, allowing latecomers to be still part of the inner feast well after 5 pm. 

Black Box Revelation & Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown

We got two more than worthy starters for this medium rare meal.  BBR brought a very decent wall of sound  with high quality PA, complete whitchcraft seen the amount of analogue pedals Jan uses on stage! 

Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown are a discovery.  Lovely style: blues rock 'n roll as we like it.  We recall the Muddy Waters cover.  But I'm sure some of the tunes will be dialed up from memory next time we see them.

Axl 

From a wardrobe point of view, the fit is quite difficult.  Axl's glam rock clothing heavily contrasts the vestimentary soberness of the rest of the gang.  But let's be fair, after all, this ain't Vogue magazine: Axl did a great job!    And even came in a coat with a big Scottish flag on tthe back.  No sign of arrogant attitude as feared by many - pretty low key, both humble and respectful to the masters. 

Mixing in of his voice at certain points, like for YSMAL, was (deliberately for the first rows?) rather subtle.  I think the levels could have been cranked up a little more.  At other points in time, like during For Those About To Rock, I was impressed by the power of his voice.  Axl blends in that well for 99% of the ticket holders, the moment when Brian's cap is pictured on the background screen animations passes hardly unnoticed.  As an answer to our prayers ("Stand up and Shout"), Axl got out of his "Netflix and chill position" for Highway to Hell and Riff Raff:

a

Angus in front of an empty Netflix chair.... this means.....

....Walk all over you! 

Setlist

Perfect choice for a great rainless night out and 100 percent concentration from the boys: we went nuts on Rock 'n Roll Damnation, Given the Dog a Bone , IYWB and Riff Raff in the encores.  Axl jokingly hinted to Bedlam in Belgium but then another song kicks off.  By the time we get to savour Whole Lotta Rosie, no room to shout Angus/Brian/Malcolm/Phil/Axl/Jim Brueur or anyone else as Ros(i)e starts to sing straight away.

For the sake of completeness, the full setlist accompanied by some of Axl's introductions, original and particular is the least you could call them:

1.            Rock or Bust

2.            Shoot to Thrill

3.            Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be  "a nice song about home sweet home"

4.            Back in Black

5.            Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder

6.            Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

7.            Rock 'n' Roll Damnation

8.            Thunderstruck "this is a love ballad"

9.            High Voltage

10.          Rock 'n' Roll Train  "pain train is coming"

11.          Hells Bells

12.          Given the Dog a Bone

13.          If You Want Blood (You've Got It) "a song about the cost of living"

14.          Sin City

15.          You Shook Me All Night Long

16.          Shot Down in Flames  "another sweet tune about love in the city"

17.          Have a Drink on Me

18.          T.N.T."inviting a guest vocalist to introducing this one. You might know him"

19.          Whole Lotta Rosie "I think you know this girl intimately",

20.          Let There Be Rock "get a bible on your ass now" or something like that....

(with Angus Young guitar solo)

 Encore:

21.          Highway to Hell

22.          Riff Raff

23.          For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

 

 Highway to Hell

 Showing the Red SG 

 

For Those About To Rock

Rose or Bust ! Rehearsals update and preparing for AC/DC in Werchter

Tonight is the first Rock or Bust show without Brian in Lisbon. To honour this particular moment,  in AC/DC history, I decided to write another article for the blog.  And yes, I've been away for quite a while from the whining circus.  I am glad we can enjoy our favorite band once more and that Axl helps them out for the last shows.  Without opening the Briangate discussions, I have one more thought on the situation: Brian promised us 40 shows before the tour start.  "40 shows, in respect to Malcolm's wish to keep on making music".   The year 2015 has been particularly difficult in that respect, without Malcolm, then Phil.  And Brian was commited to giving all he got.  He gave MORE than those 40 shows: he did 65.  THAT IS COMMITMENT.  That is paying respect to Malcolm's wish.  Thank you so much, Brian.  We've enjoyed every split second of it.  

We now learned more of the recruitment process from the BBC interview below: Axl had called Dale 'Opie' Skjerseth, long time production manager for the band, to express his interest wanting to help the band out.  Angus: "Who is this guy? What does he do?".  Rest will be history after tonight.  Trust Angus on this one.  He was right on Chris and Stevie - and on Brian before.  Let's celebrate rock and roll.

Angus! ⚡️ Shoot to Thrill! #RockOrBust pic.twitter.com/MoWb3M3vm4

— AC/DC (@acdc) 7 mei 2016

 
In the other video below, you can find a sneak preview of what AC/DC with Axl Rose sounds from the Portugal rehearsals.  Personally, I think it is going to be great.  The best we can get given the circumstances and I trust Angus in his choice.  Some stuff sounds really good, for other songs like the iconic Brian song Back in Black, is will be challenging.  Looking forward to discover that live.   Also nice to hear are some new old songs on the rehearsals list.  Let's hope they will make it to the final setlist!

Let's talk about Belgium, our first chance to experience the new configuration live.  
For that Werchter show, special "Night Train" tickets (a very appropriate concept) are available through the National Railway company and are valid from any Belgian railway station for 19EUR.  You can order them here: http://www.belgianrail.be/nl/vrije-tijd/festivals-concerten/acdc.aspx

Oh, yes and there was the miserable communication from Live Nation on the ticket refunds.  My information request to Livenation remained unanswered, but it appears that tickets were exceptionally reimbursed for a limited period of time only.  Live Nation Belgium was one of the last ticketing companies to propose a refund.  Scandinavia, Germany and England were faster to settle an agreement with the production.  This sure gave ticket scalpers the opportunity to recover their money ... 7000 ticket holders reportedly have requested a refund for the show in Belgium.  Hopefully Live Nation will communicate more clearly on the schedule and opening band(s).  The Sore Losers could be a great score for that night!

The good news is that tickets are again available: http://www.ticketmaster.be/event/ac-dc-tickets/12039?language=nl-be but at the time of writing of this article, the link is down.  It is unclear if tickets are still available at this point in time.

Let's get the party started.  We'll be there.

Stage/Chair placement inspection in Lisbon (Facebook)

 

With a little less than a week to the Werchter show, and the AC/DC virus starting to itch harder and harder everyday, the stage times have now been announced.

Surprise: there's a third band added to the lineup: our very own Black Box Revelation!  You know who they are!  Last time I saw Jan and Dries was in the French city of Jeanne d'Arc in a cosy place with a great afterparty initiated by DJ Dries.  It will be nice to hear them bring their latest album Highway Cruiser (2015) live.

Second in line is Tyler Bryant and the (Nervous) Shakedown, playing soulful blues rock brought to you straight away from Nashville.

When still in doubt of going, consider this.   Lisbon got 2 songs from the great Powerage album, rarely played live the past decade: Rock 'n Roll Damnation and Riff Raff.  Rumour has it that the band has rehearsed other songs from that album, so we might be in for a surprise!  See you there.

Doors: 14:00
Black Box Revelation: 18:30 - 19:15
Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown: 19:45 - 20:30
AC/DC: 21:00 - 23:30