TANKS BLOG : ringing ears edition

Oh my aching ears !

Saw AC/DC at Oakland Arena last night.  I've been waiting to see AC/DC in concert for 25 years so it was awesome to finally get that checked off my Bucket List.  The first album I bought of theirs was Back in Black on casette way back in grade school and i've been listening ever since.  Just for one reason or another i've never been able to see them in concert until now.

The show opened with The Answer, a rock band out of Ireland and they actually were pretty good.  Might have to see if i can find more of them.  AC/DC came on at 9, the stage was surprisingly well lit with a small bult up background and a video screen above them.  The show opened with a video playing themed on Rock and Roll Train with the train going out of control at the end of it and the video screens splitting , one going left and one right and a full size locomotive prop came out on stage above the guys.  It mostly just sat there but it did shoot out fire for one song, and when they played Rosie, a huge inflatable Rosie appeared and she was straddling the locomotive and it kinda looked like she was taping her foot along with her song, it was pretty cool.

They played 4 songs i think from the new Black Ice album. The show of course opened with Rock and Roll Train, but they also played War Machine, Black Ice, Rock and Roll Dream and I think the fourth was Big Jack.  There was also plenty of classic AC/DC mixed in.  From what I remember, they played Dirty Deeds, Back in Black, Hells Bells, TNT, Shook me All Night Long, Thunderstruck, She's got the Jack and after the main set was over, they came back out and played Highway To Hell and For Those About TO Rock complete with firing cannons of course.   Pretty much if it's one of their biggest songs, they played it last night.

They came on at 9 and it ended at about 10:50 or so.  The show is totaly the Brian / Angus show, they were both up front and center all night and the other three guys were at the back of the stage.  I wonder if Brian and Angus are the only early AC/DC guys left?  Anyway they totally rocked it out all night long, but god damn are they old now.  Angus started out in his traditional school boy uniform but he ripped the hat, jacket and shirt off after like the 4th song during one of his plentyful solos.  He can still shred that guitar playing just the neck, he's still got it and still does all those moves like the bent over trot around stage, laying down playing, at one point he was up on an elevated platform.  he was all over that stage.  Brian came out on the catwalk quite a few times to shake hands with people who got to sit down there while he was singing.  Of course i say sit but actually, no one was sitting after 9, everyone got up to cheer and that was the last time we sat down for the night.

Anyway, got home around 1am, the wife had to get up and go to work, i got to sleep in thankful for being laid off just this once   My ears are still ringing though, it's been 11 hours since leaving the concert and i can still hear ringing in my ears!  AC/DC was worth the wait and worth every penny !