AC/DC concert review!! Anyone that plays needs to read this too …
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Wow what a show is the first thing I can say! From the word GO! They ruled the stage. A totally professional act in all areas. But first I have to mention the opening act “The Answer”. They are a rock band from Ireland that is touring with AC/DC on this leg of the tour. They have a tough gig considering the main act hasn’t been out for eight years and the world is wanting to see them!! But “The Answer” rocks!! I can only describe them as a combination of Led Zeppelin met Nazareth in an alley and they had kids. Good guitar player and singer kids that is!! Good classic music with those Dan McCafferty type vocals. Now to the main event! I have seen AC/DC several times before and they never fail to deliver the goods. These guys know how to put on a show. From the opening chords of their new single “Runaway Train” from their current album “Black Ice” until the final encore “For Those About To Rock” it was a non stop balls out rock n roll show! AC/DC is setting themselves up to be the largest grossing concert of 2008 and 2009. Their shows sell out in just minutes. I had the pleasure of going to Nashville with my son Josh and Brittany, one of my daughters’, and her husband Zack. My childhood friend David Lutz also went with his wife and another friend. David had closer seats so I slipped him my cheap Kodak camera and he snapped off the photos I am using for this article.
Back to AC/DC. If you missed it, well, your loss. You should have gone. They are one of the few remaining bands that really know how to do it right. They played almost all of their hits and some new ones too. I don’t want to give away too much of it but they brought along Rosie, the AC/DC bell, a huge locomotive and those kick ass cannons!!
As I watched them on stage, as a fellow musician, I tend to watch everything. From how they stand, to hand ques, roadies running around behind the set … etc. You get the picture. The thing I think young bands including garage bands like the ones I play in is that there is a time and place for everything but there also should be “respect”. Granted AC/DC has been playing since 1974, their shows run like a well oiled machine. When Brian Johnson is singing, he is up front and entertaining. No one steps into his moment. When there is a vocal break and a guitar solo comes up, Angus goes to the front of the stage and tears the guitar up. While he is doing this, the rest of the band is behind him but not stepping on his turn. When the guitar only needs Malcolm’s powerful rhythm, Angus is out of the way and letting his brother shine. This respect carried on for the Bass player Cliff and drummer Phil too. No one in that band had to step in out of turn for ego’s sake to “show off”. The music breathed on its own and was allowed to. They made it seem easy and really it is if you think about it. As a band, whether a touring band or a garage band, take your place and play your parts and not step out and step on every one else’s stuff. I see it all the time. I have been guilty of it too so I’m not throwing stones. I am taking this to heart too.
And one other thing before I go. AC/DC puts most bands half their age to shame. These guys are in their mid fifties and older but they kicked it hard for two hours. So for you young rockers out there, step aside and let the real guys show you how it’s done. If you missed the show, buy the concert DVD when it comes out and see what I mean about kicking ass. They didn’t use any backing tracks/sampling or extra musicians hid behind the stage like a lot of touring bands do. It was just those five guys and a wall of sound!! The way Rock and Roll was meant to be!!
For those about to ROCK!! We salute you!!
chuck gee
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YouTube, Another WTF Here …
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Well, YouTube used to rock. I could find anything and everything I used to listen to as a kid there on that wonderful website. From obscure old silly songs, like “Run Joey Run” , ” Billy Don’t be a Hero” , “Phantom 309” and many more from my past long gone but not forgotten … I had about 100 songs saved on that site for my listening pleasure. I even had old Saturday morning cartoons from the seventies in my YouTube favorites. Remember “The Valley of the Dinosaurs”? I had it saved. I hadn’t seen that since it was on for the first time. What about “The Land of the Lost”? Not the stupid nineties version but the real McCoy from the 1970’s. I could watch my first TV crush Holly Marshall with her Dad Rick and brother Will all over again and reminensce about how I, as a 10 year old boy would someday go rescue her from those Sleestaks … It may seem corny now but back then it sure seemed real to my small mind. Now Holly is all grown up and well, I don’t want to rescue her anymore but back to YouTube. I had my memories right there at a click of the mouse and I could escape at anytime. Youtube was great and growing. And like all things Internet, as soon as something is taking off, the powers that be step in to ruin things. YouTube was pressured by recording companies about copyright infringements and such and a bunch of legal stuff that I guess is way over my head so all the cool stuff I couldn’t fnd any where else is slowly going away. These days my YouTube favorites have a lot of “Video no longer available” in place of the videos. It’s a sad day. I would have gladly paid a fee to keep them. But they were heavy handed instead. As Don Henley from the Eagles has said, “As the Lawyers clean up the details” , “This is the end of the innocence”. Why does it have to be this way? I waited all my life to find these lost treasures. There they were, “were” being the key word here. It sucks. Once again my past memories will just become that. Memories again without being able to keep them fresh. Oh, I will cherish them but it sure was cool to be able to see and hear those old favorites of mine that I could no longer find. Some of the songs I looked for and tried to find for years. Long before the Internet. Record stores were worthless. YouTube helped me and countless others. Too bad it is slowly getting snuffed out. So as my last line for this story will be … Record companies … as the hippie movement said to the establishment … “Fuck off and die”. that being said, I’ll miss my YouTube.
chuck gee
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Stimulus Package Explained (Q & A)
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Sometime this year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q & A format:
Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.
Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. No, they are borrowing it from China . Your children are expected to repay the Chinese.
Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q. But isn’t that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.
Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:
- If you spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China
- If you spend it on gasoline it will go to Hugo Chavez, the Arabs and Al Queda
- If you purchase a computer it will go to Taiwan
- If you purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico , Honduras , and Guatemala (unless you buy organic)
- If you buy a car it will go to Japan and Korea
- If you purchase prescription drugs it will go to India
- If you purchase heroin it will go to the Taliban in Afghanistan
- If you give it to a charitable cause, it will go to Nigeria
And none of it will help the American economy. We need to keep that money here in America . You can keep the money in America by spending it at yard sales, going to a baseball game, or spend it on prostitutes, beer (domestic only), or tattoos, since those are the only businesses still in the US.
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