AC/DC – Black Ice – Wellington 30 Jan 2010
Oh YEAH!
What a weekend. I’m sitting here absolutely shattered from what can only be classed as the biggest Bogan fest this side of Mount Panorama in October.
Stef arrived at our place at 9:30 and we shot the gap from the Bay on Saturday morning, first stop Otane. We dumped the Subaru and took Phil and his surf from there.
Phil & Stef dropped Kirsty and I at Jared & Mad’s in Wainui around 3ish were we proceeded to down plenty of beers and bourbons (lemonades and juice for Kirsty!) Great chance to catch up and shoot the breeze with the Whanau. We headed into Westpac Trust Stadium (aka the Caketin) where Mads and J headed to their seats and we met up with Stef, Phil and Phil’s son Matthew to head for General Admission seating (er… standing).
Just as we entered the stadium, Shihad were opening their awesome set. I absolutely love Shihad and I can now say I’ve seen them play as many times as I’ve met them (twice!) The difference between this time and the last is that I actually knew their music (the first time was in the Wailing Bongo on campus @ Waikato back in the mid 90s – before they got really big). Jon was on fine form, warming up the crowd nicely with his between-song banter – including pointing out that the coolest thing about being up on a stage in front of 36,000 people was the sound of his guitar “playing through that wall of speakers”! He was obviously LOVING every minute of it. As per usual he was a real showman and they played a great range of music from the You Again and Home Again era right through a couple of tracks from the General Electric, Pacifier and Beautiful Machine. I could be wrong, but noticeably absent was anything from Love is the New Hate – which they had originally touted as a “return to form” for them. Either way, great show… simply served to reinforce my love of this iconic kiwi band.
Sadly, just as we were all warmed up Shihad wound up and there was a lull of 20 minutes before the arrival of the Rock and Roll Train. Right from the get go, AC/DC wound up the crowd, a full on CGI/cartoon intro showing Brian Johnson and Angus Young and riding a train toward a city and being accosted by a number of buxom harlots. The bass from the video clip literally pulsed through our entire bodies! The video climaxes in a collision, the vid screen splits and dozens of pyros go off to reveal the full sized locomotive and here they are… five aging rockers to put on one hell of a show.
There’s any number of reviews out there telling you what the set list was like, so I wont bore you with that… but let’s just say we had the coolest spot in the house… right under the 150m cat walk, so when that wrinkly little man with the school uniform rocked out to a solo, he was literally spitting distance away. I just can’t get over how hard these guys can still rock. Angus is almost 55 years old now and he can still strut his stuff twice as hard as guys half his age, and Brian Johnson is now 62… that’s somewhere around the age of my step-dad and my father in law and I really can’t imagine them rocking out in front of a crowd like that. Old? Yup. Still got it? You bet.
And what a show… between the big arse locomotive, Angus’s raised rock-out platform, the appearance of Rosie straddling the train and the finale – not one but six canons firing off to For Those About to Rock, it was classic hard rock spectacle from woah to go. Enjoyed it? LOVED IT!
We tried to get up early and get back home ASAP, but by the time we stopped for lunch, to pick up the car (plus coffee), pick up Connor (plus another coffee) it was 4pm by the time we got home. Shattered, but had suuuuuuuch a great time. Thanks to my lovely wife for an AWESOME anniversary present!
Check out the pics below, including our own little rocker, Connor sporting his new AC/DC t-shirt and his “rock fingers”.
31
Jan
Go Connor!!!
what do you mean? I can imagine your stepdad rockin. There still some get up and go in the old head banger yet
Hahah I can imagine him rocking too – but not as hard as these guys…
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You were in welly and didnt say gidday?
Wayne Kerr!