MILAN, ITALY second night

THE NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES!

AC/DC Abruzzo has been listening to For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) the all morning in our Milan headquarters as suggested by one of the biggest AC/DC  fans (and mentor) we have met so far in Germany.  It is the perfect way to start your day when you're on tour with AC/DC.  We also took some time to listen to "The Night of the Long Knives" while drinking a good bottle of Franciacorta Millesimato 2003 wine.

During these three days we have met lots of our friends, supporters, fans and colleagues from all over the world. We all agree the the Milan show was the best of the tour so far. We're now ready for another big dose of rock'n'roll!!!! Tonight!!!

LOAD UP YOUR CANNONS FOR A 21 GUN SALUTE!!!!!

Mo jom a lu cuncert!!!

MILAN, FORUM March, 19 2009

FANTASTICO! BELLISSIMO! MERAVIGLIOSO! SPLENDIDO! In Abruzzese: "FREGNISSIMO"!!!! These are the first words that come our mind after tonight's legendary show in Milan.

AC/DC performed in Italy in front of one of the best crowds of the entire world tour. No dout about it. AC/DC Abruzzo was present with all its staff at the show for the first time. Gianni, Andrea, Stefano and Matteo! And AC/DC Italia was there too. We had a blast together!

In the meantime we will get some rest watching the new AC/DC video clip filmed in Paris in February which was released today for the new single Anything Goes. After the Rock'n'Roll Train video, shot in London in August, AC/DC Abruzzo is featured again in an official AC/DC video!!!

(2 min 26 sec in)!

AC/DC BACK IN ITALY!!!!!!!!!!!!

'"Cause rock has got the right of way. 

We ain't no legend, ain't no cause. 

We're just livin' for today. 

For those about to rock, we salute you"

AC/DC Abruzzo have just arrived in Milan. Tomorrow AC/DC will play for 15000 crazy Italians who have waited for almost 8 years to see Angus & co again on stage. It will definetely be one of the best shows of the tour. We are thrilled. AC/DC Abruzzo will be part of Rock'n'Roll history again.

PRAGUE, March 17, 2009 O2 ARENA

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. Anything Goes
14. You Shook Me All Night Long
15. TNT
16. Whole Lotta Rosie
17. Let there be Rock
18. Highway to Hell
19. For Those About to Rock

AC/DC ABRUZZO OFFICIAL REPORT

After a one week break AC/DC is back in action. Prague proved to be the perfect place for our comeback on the road. It's a real rock'n'roll city. Great food, great beer, nice architecture and gorgeous women! The same women most Italians (and Europeans) know from the work of another important Abruzzese artist, moviemaker and actor, who worked a lot in this city and whose name is Rocco too... Eh eh eh.

THE SHOW

AC/DC Abruzzo arrived at the O2 arena at around 7pm and thousands of people were still in line waiting to get in. The reason was the unprecedented security measures implemented at the Czech arena. It seemed like we were at the Heathrow airport before taking a flight to the the US. There were scanners and metal detectors at all the entrances. Security guys bodysearching everybody and voices over the PA system saying that "all cameras are strictly forbidden and bla bla"... We have never seen anything like that before.

Inside, the O2 arena was probably the most technologically advanced arena we have seen so far in Europe (an in the US too). The bar codes on the tickets were to be used also to go to the toilet! The Czech were really zelous, sometime overzelous, and looked very professional in their suits. They looked very smart and professional but they were not as effective as they looked...

The venue was one of the biggest we've seen so far and it was packed! Including the standing area! It was difficult for us to reach the AC/DC Abruzzo spot in front of Angus on the right but we finally managed to get there.

THE PERFORMANCE

The band was in great shape as usual. Some minor mistakes by Brian during Dirty Deeds and the Jack probably due to the headphones problem he has had since the beginning of the tour, as he told us in Stockholm (he sang TNT with the headphones in his hands). Angus looked particularly energetic and determined often showing his stiff upper lip... He had a different tie and longer hair. We also noticed that his legs that are getting bigger, with strong muscles, probably because of the constant duckwalking... Maybe he's taking protein... Who knows? Anyway, he moves much faster than at the beginning of the tour.

As for the audience, we were very disappointed at the beginning because the older people were completely "stationary", even in the GA section. Thank God during Back In Black we managed to reach the "teenage area", closer to the stage. And there we had a good time with the kids! Lots of Polish people in the crowd. Several flags ended up on stage but only one was picked up by Brian and the used as a towel... (???)

For AC/DC Abruzzo the highlight of the show was Shoot To Thrill. Great performance with some great improvisation.

We salute you!

AC/DC Abruzzo

Rock'n'Roll city

Hockey player and horny skater

Rock'n'roll Manager

O2 airport scanner

AC/DC ABRUZZO NIGHT IN PRAGUE

AC/DC Abruzzo Czech's fan

With Phil (Don Peppino)

Wth local old school rockers

Lu magnà!

AC/DC Abruzzo wishes to thank Don Peppino, our man in Prague and old friend of ours, who took us to some nice places yesterday night. We will take him to the concert tonight to return the favour! ROCK ON!

AC/DC ABRUZZO IN PRAGUE

AC/DC Abruzzo has just arrived in Prague! Time for a beer...

ROCCO 'N' ROLLO - BOB DYLANA e THUNDERSTRUCK

"Scine però acclamete, sennò che cazz' ce venet affà?!?"

Sappiamo già che il grande Rocco'n'Rollo, la chitarra granitica del Gran Sasso, ha suonato nel corso della sua trentennale carriera anche con gli Assiddissì (losangelino per AC/DC -vedi post precedente). Non sapevamo però che avesse influenzato anche il corso della storia del rock'n'roll incontrando un giovanissimo Bob Dylan (al secolo Roberto Dilana) quando ancora viveva nelle campagne abruzzesi. Ecco il suo racconto:

AC/DC Abruzzo, ha poi appreso, grazie a alcune indiscrezioni trapelate nella rosticceria di Franc Lu Zizzon', noto ritrovo di rocckettari abruzzesi, che Rocco ha ispirato indirettamente la composizione di Thunderstruck degli AC/DC. 

Questo incredibile scoop di AC/DC Abruzzo è corroborato da testimoni oculari. Secondo i loro racconti, nel 1989 Brian Johnson si trovava in Abruzzo alla sagra della "pecora alla callara" (a Rocca Pia, nell'Aquilano). In quell'occasione pare che Brian abbia incontrato Rocco 'n' Rollo completamente ubriaco, con alcune groupie locali, nel bar della piazza dopo aver suonato come headliner alla sagra del paese. Durante l'incontro si narra che Brian riconobbe immediatamente il Rocker di Cucullo e salutandolo gli chiese come stesse. Rocco gli rispose in losangelino stretto:

A Braiàan, sting tande stracc! Mi so sdraiate du amplificator massèr (Brian, sono molto stanco! Questa sera ho bruciato due amplificatori)

Secondo i racconti Brian fu folgorato dalla musicalità delle parole "TANDE STRACC" (molto stanco) e menzionò queste parole durante una conversazione con i fratelli Young. Le due parole furono magistralmente trasposte nell'inglese "Thunderstruck" e così nacque una delle migliori canzoni degli AC/DC. 

FACHIN PAUER!!!!

EXECUTIVES MEETING IN ABRUZZO!

AC/DC Abruzzo's President and Vice-President met yesterday in the Abruzzo's general headquarters in order to set out the strategy for the the next shows. On top of the agenda were the two Milan concerts and the partnership with AC/DC Italia, whose importance was defined as crucial. The works continued during the "business dinner". The main dish was supposed to be "arrosticini" (one of the most delicious Abruzzo specialties) accompanied by excellent Montepulciano d'Abruzzo red wine. However, there was a last minute change in the menu and we opted for an exquisite home-made pizza with beer (thanks to Alessandra).

The meeting was very fruitful. All the details cannot be revealed at the present time, however, these will be the next shows that will be attended by AC/DC Abruzzo:

17 Mar Prague CZ O2 Arena
19 Mar Milan IT Datch Forum
21 Mar Milan IT Datch Forum
23 Mar Budapest HU Papp László Sportarena

SALUTE!

BEST SONG OF THE EUROPEAN TOUR (so far)!

Among all the shows attended so far AC/DC Abruzzo has chosen "Let There Be Rock" from Paris Bercy Feb. 27, 2009 as the best song performed by AC/DC during the European tour.  The levels of energy were just unbeliavable during this song... Here's some videos...(You can also see our flag while we were doing "Bonfire"!)

LET THERE BE ROCK!

HELL IN BERCY!

If this is hell. Then you could say. It's heavenly. 

Hell ain't a bad place to be

Smoke, fire, horns, rock'n'roll, flames, Angus Young and crowdsurfers... What else do we need?

We're sure you can feel the rock'n'roll too watching this video...

PARISIAN NIGHTS....

Unfortunately AC/DC Abruzzo will not be present in Rotterdam for tonight's show. We made the decision to take a break before our second leg of the European Tour (indoor). We will be back in action in Prague as a warm up for Milan which will probably be one of the highlights of the tour! However, we have several correspondants tonight from the front that will let us know if there are any surprises in Holland.

Looking back at the glorious past three weeks on the road with AC/DC we still find ourselves thinking nostalgically about Paris. The bruises have almost totally gone but we still keep wonderful memories of those two legendary rock'n'roll nights. As Brias said once, Paris is really "heaven on earth for rock'n'roll"! We look forward to the Stade De France show!

Here's a few random pictures of AC/DC Abruzzo's adventures in Paris... We met new and old friends, ate excellent food, drank good wine and had a real good time! More exclusive pictures by AC/DC Abruzzo of the two shows can be found on acdc-italia.com here. A rare/exclusive ultra-shaky rock'n'roll video of Highway to Hell from the pit during the second show at Bercy will be released very soon on our YOU TUBEchannel.

PHOTO GALLERY

Same setlist in BREMEN

No changes. The solid setlist remains the same in Bremen too. Thanks to our Italian correspondant from Germany!

We salute you from Abruzzo!

OBERHAUSEN, König Pilsener Arena March 9 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. Anything Goes
14. You Shook Me All Night Long
15. TNT
16. Whole Lotta Rosie
17. Let there be Rock
18. Highway to Hell
19. For Those About to Rock

AC/DC ABRUZZO OFFICIAL REPORT

Oberhausen was one of the two extra dates added by AC/DC Abruzzo after the Antwerp disappointment. We decided it was worth going there since it was very close to Dusseldorf and so we could kill two birds with one stone.

After the Dusseldorf show we kept meeting other German hard-core fans with lots of interesting stories to tell. The highlight was Ralf, a local German fan, who told us when he was backstage in 1978 and met both Bon and Angus for the first time. He was 14 (the same age of his kid that he took to the Dussendolf show two nights before) and couldn't really speak English but when he told us about Bon's charming attitude we could see in his eyes a sort of spark, the same spark we saw in the eye of other fans that we met on the road telling similar stories. Especially about Bon and the early days...

As for the show, it was another great performance of the boys. They really look they're getting better as time goes by... Which is very good, considering they're going to play stadiums soon. The best song of the night was LET THERE BE ROCK. Amazing performance of Angus... After doing his final long solo he unexpectedly came back first on the catwalk (first time he did that in the last 8 shows we saw) and then on the right, as usual, for the finale.

Unfortunately the audience was the most. "sleepy" of the whole tour. And please note that we're using a euphemism here. Really, this time, for the first time since the beginning of the European tour, it looked like there were reserved seats in the standing section. People more interested in taking photos than in having a good time. It was quite frustrating for us. 

There were a few Greeks in the audience not too far from us and they tried very hard to express their Mediterranean rock'n'roll attitude but I don't think they were satisfied. We also noticed that several crowd surfing attempts failed because the audience was not cooperative at all. After Paris it's going to be difficult to find a crowd as energetic as the French one. We have high expectations for Italy and Spain. AC/DC Abruzzo will be there, so we'll see.

AC/DC Abruzzo wishes to thank Jonas and the other German fans for helping us to solve the ticket problem. We salute them! Final CIAO to the Calabresi friends we met after the show, Gino and Luigi, who gave us a ride back to Dusseldorf. You guys rock!

With Ralf

With some German fans who were also in London in 2003

Brian in excellent shape

With the Calabresi friends after the show

Ralf's copy of High Voltage from 1978

MORE PICS AND VIDEOS SOON

ROCCO 'N' ROLLO! TRUE ABRUZZESE ROCKER!!!!

IL ROCKER DI COCULLO

LA CHITARRA GRANITICA DEL GRAN SASSO 

L'ULULATO DEL PARCO NAZIONALE D'ABRUZZO

ROCCO'N'ROLLO!!! FROM ABRUZZO!!

AH AH AH AH AH AH

ABRUZZO PROVERB OF THE MONTH

"A CI'NNIJI PIASCE LU ROCK E LU VIN NIN PUZZ'ARRIVA' A DUMANE MATIN"

"Those who do not appreciate rock and wine shall perish before the end of tonight"

Amen

Dusseldorf, GE ISS DOME March 7, 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. Anything Goes
14. You Shook Me All Night Long
15. TNT
16. Whole Lotta Rosie
17. Let there be Rock
18. Highway to Hell
19. For Those About to Rock

AC/DC ABRUZZO OFFICIAL REPORT

After the disappointment of the cancelled show in Antwerp AC/DC Abruzzo came back in the ring to take another swing!

This was probably the best shows so far in Europe for the band. The boys all performed with incredibly intense energy and power. Brian was jumping, dancing, running and screaming like he used to do in his thirties. It was difficult to believe that he had the flu 5 days before... Brian's voice really sounds different comparing to the SUL tour. When we talked to him he said it was because of the BI production, but actually on stage he sounds even better than in the album at times. Angus was also more active than usual. He also looked like he was enjoying himself a lot more! Malcolm, Phil and Cliff were just impeccable as usual.

As for the setlist, no change at all. We personally started to miss Stiff Upper Lip a little bit. It's hard to understand why they decided to drop this song. And last night we also thought about how powerful was If You Want Blood You Got It back in 2003... It would be great to hear them again, maybe for the open air tour.

As for the audience the German crowd was not up to our expectations and was a bit too quite and sometime not responsive at all (e.g. during Anything goes) so the show was not as intense as Paris, which still remains the best show of the European tour. The songs we particularly enjoyed yesterday night were Rosie and Let There Be Rock! We like a lot R'n'R Train, War Machine, Shot Down in Flames which was a great add for Europe...

But in the end we really should thank the Gods of rock'n'roll for this tour! Let's just remember where we were one year ago... No album, no news, an allegedly booked and cancelled ghost gig in Switzerland... On the contrary now we have the chance to see AC/DC playing such small venues in such an amazing shape!!!

At this gig AC/DC Abruzzo met some cool/historic fans who were very friendly with us. Especially a Dutch fan named Bart who told lots of stories from the 80's and the 90's in front of a good German beer and Italian pizza after the show. Stories that really make you understand the unique relationship that exists between this legendary but very humble rock band and their loyal fans... We salute them all! See you in Oberhausen!!

PHOTO GALLERY

Thanks to our (unnamed) German friend!

ISS DOME

Excellent show in Dusserdolf. The band is back and everybody is in great shape, including Brian. Angus seemed to enjoy a lot playing so close to his Dutch hometown... The crowd was a bit better than in the scandinavian countries but way calmer than Paris...
AC/DC Abruzzo wishes to thank AC/DC Italia who was at the show too. The boys from northern Italy really know how to rock! We got the proof during Whole Lotta Rosie...
We missed Stefano who couldnt make it from London this time. Hopefully, the AC/DC Abruzzo staff will all be present in Milan for the Italian shows.
Pics and report coming soon.
This German motel/hotel with no wireless connection really makes me cry!

AC/DC ABRUZZO IN DUSSELDORF

Hotel. Motel. Make you wanna cry!

AC/DC ABRUZZO has just arrived in Dusseldorf. It was a long and tiring journey. Tomorrow AC/DC Italia will probably join the President at the ISS DOME.
BUONANOTTE!