AC/DC LIVE!

We roll tonight...to the guitar bite

I was just going to review the show last night at the Izod center in NJ but I will touch upon the album while I'm at it...

Quick back story before we begin, just so you know that I just might be a little biased in this review ha. Anyway so back in 2001 (I know its like a bazillion years ago) my dad told me he was going to see AC/DC and at this time I wasn't really listening to much music (I grew up with my grandparents whom didn't listen to much music) and I was like thats cool I never really listening to those guys so he was like they fucking rule you have to listen to this and so he gave me a copy of his AC/DC Live album. Within a few weeks I was in love. I was listening to that thing everyday skating around with my friends and just rocking out. This is one of those Live albums that completly captures a band. Later on going back and buying and listening to all their studio albums I have gone back and that live album still gets me more fired up then anything. I personally am a bigger fan of the Bon Scott era of AC/DC but I of course love and respect Brian Johnson and all that he as done with them. This album consists mostly of Brian Johnson era songs but it doesn't matter the songs are so intense and in your face you are rocking out so hard and there is no one else in the room its perfect. The few songs that are Bon Scott era are performed with the same spark and attitude that you would have wanted to hear. This was the album. This was the band. Finally having a band that spoke to me. As silly as it sounds (considering most of there songs aren't very deep ha) I was a young kid I was a teenager I had an attitude I was in school and I was pissed off I was a dirty skater kid with dirty skater friends and we all were just looking to fucking skate and have a good time. AC/DC was for me. For my best friend louis it was KISS for my other friend Bryan it was Black Sabbath for my other friend Bobby it was The Ramones we all just rocked out to this music skated and kicked ass ha...2001 was the Stiff Upper Lip tour...since then I have been eagarly awaiting their new album and world tour so that I could finally see them Live because thats all I wanted...8 and a half years later...here I am


I woke up and went to class on the way there "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" came on and it finally sank in...hours from now I will be seeing my favorite band for 6 or so years live for the first time...holy fucking shit. I got to class take care of my shit and then I rush home. Me and my dad are on the road by 5 and both are like crazy excited. We talked the whole way their about music and whathaveyou and we arive ready to rock. We find our seats...we are on the floor...about 100 feet from the stage and like 15 feet from the runway that goes down the middle...to say the least the view was awesome...

The opening band played. They were called The Answer. They weren't bad they fit the part of opening for AC/DC they were hard rock, but lets just say that some bands don't know how to take there influneces and create a new sound they only know how to mimic. So they go off and the real show is about to begin...

The start of the show was this enormous screen that showed this animation of a runaway train with AC/DC on it. The sound was insanely intense it felt like the trian was barreling through your head and the steam was shooting out of your ears, you knew right then and there you were in for the ride of a lifetime this show was going to be loud, intense, and larger then life...

The screen splits and from the shadows comes a 3 story high frieght train with a huge AC/DC metal stamp on it the thing is huge and looks real a great stage prop and a perfect addition to the first song as they come out and immediately start rocking out on "Rock n' Roll Train" which is actually the first track off the new album song's not bad but I was definitley antispating all the songs that I have loved all these years. I didn't wright down the set list so I'm not 100% on the order of the songs but it doesn't matter. Other songs off the new album that they played that I can remember are "Black Ice" (my least favorite song and from the crowds reaction...same) "Big Jack" (which i enjoyed) "Money Made" and "War Machine" (my personal favorite off the new album and a fun song live). Now we get into the songs that I know and love.

"Back in Black" this song was great everyone was screaming along and rocking out the song we pretty spot on and Brian Johnson as well as the rest of them are showing their age thats for sure but they most definiatly are powering though each night giving it all they got. Johnson was screaming his head off getting red in the face running around up the ramp shaking everyones hand and punching the air it was perfect. It was Rock and Roll. "Thunderstruck" although Angus was a little off on the guitar work (he's 57 and he fucking wails and rips and shreads and is fast and fucking rules...but he doesn't have the chops that he used to have...just sayin...) this was definitley one of my favs of the night it was a strong performance and the crowd reaction was huge. Speaking of crowd reaction/participation "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" and "T.N.T" were the highlight of the night for that. The amount of fists pumping in the air and screaming DONE DIRT CHEAP or the growling fierce OI OI OI were incredible. I looked up and around to see all the flashing red horns and the fists in the air these people were in it. The slower songs of the night "The Jack" and "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" were certinanly no less powerful or less entertaining then the rest, for "The Jack" Angus put his guitar to the side and did his classic striptease (at age 57...I still saw girls in the audience getting off on this ha good times) during "For Those..." they brought out six oversized war canons and of course during the appropriate time FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK...FIRE! they set off two at once and blasted your chair right off the ground. Also speaking of spectical during "Whole Lotta Rosie" They had a fucking 50 ft high blow up doll of a obese woman in lingire it was funny and awesome Also this was the second best song of the night. The best song of the night for certin was "Let There Be Rock" not only was this song a pleasent surprise, (I would have never guessed they were going to play it) it is my all time favorite song by them. I was fucking blown away. This was the song right before they went off stage before they came back out for the encore ("Highway to Hell") "Let There Be Rock" this song fucking RULES. There is no question that it is one of the hardest heaviest and fastest songs that they have and it never lost steam the song held together and swept me off my feet just as i expected it too. In the middle of the song Angus come running down the runway and get to the end (mind you this is about 15 feet to my left) I can practicly see the sweat driping off his fingers the end of the runway was a metal circle that now began to raise, It went about 15 feet in the air and Angus began doing his classic swirly kick on the ground guitar solo and it was amazing. He comes back and the song comes to an end and Angus just continues to wail he runs up these stairs to a platform right above the drummer and just solo's for 5 minutes working the crowd putting his hand to his ear and the crowd gives him the reaction he wants the screams the whistles the chants the woo's the ANGUS!'s the fuck yeahs they were all there. As they went off the stage the crowd was in an uproar it felt like the place was about to explode. They came back out played two more songs and were done. The show was exactly 1 hour and 43 minutes and every moment was spent with a smile on my face a fist in the air and a voice screaming...

The overall performance and the songs and the show and the music and the spectical all of it was everything I have ever imagined and all that I waited for...