Thank you, Ken!!! I feel like I was there... and in approximately 24
more hours I will be able to say I AM THERE!!! Woo hoo... Oakland show
is tomorrow night. :)


--- In bonscott@yahoogroups.com, Ken <acdcrocks999@...> wrote:
>
> Just got back from Vancouver (had no pc access all weekend)
>
> All I can say is…what a weekend!
>
> The festivities began early on Friday morning and continued
throughout the weekend. After getting the kids off to school on
Friday morning, my wife and I headed to the airport, where we met
several other fans flying out to Vancouver from Calgary to see the
boys. One guy we met had won a radio contest and was flying out for
the weekend to see them for his second time. However, it was 20 years
since he last saw them so he was really pumped to see them again. In
the line while waiting to go through security, we met a 9 year old kid
(wearing an AC/DC t-shirt) with his family. A ticket to the show was
his birthday gift. This kid was really into it and couldn't wait to
see them. His mother told us how she was hoping beyond hope to get
tickets online when he expressed interest in going. Luckily, she was
able to get them. Actually, considering the show sold out in 4
minutes, she was pretty lucky indeed. They were nosebleeds but she didn't
> care. We also met another fan club member who had a less than
ideal experience. He logged on to ticketmaster and ended up losing
the tickets because his browser locked up. He ended up buying tickets
privately for much more than face value…but once again, he didn't care.
>
> We were very surprised to find that once we got on the plane that
about half the passengers were going to the show. It was a real party
atmosphere. It certainly made the flight much shorter than it
actually was. Upon landing, you know how the pilot always comes on
and gives his greeting. Well, when we landed, he said "FOR THOSE of
you who live in Vancouver, welcome home. FOR THOSE of you who are
just visiting, have a safe visit and FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK…", to
which we all screamed "We Salute You." That pretty much set the tone
for the rest of the day. You could tell as you were walking around
downtown Vancouver that people were getting up for the show. There
were lots of people wearing AC/DC shirts walking around. Perfect
strangers were walking up to each other giving high 5's in anticipation.
>
> The paperless ticket was really a non factor. There were two gates
set aside and we got through the lineup pretty quickly. One thing
though, if you're looking at bringing a camera and are hesitant, I
would suggest you not be. Security were pretty well checking only the
ladies with hand bags and the younger guys. Us 40 somethings got off
pretty easy. Guess we weren't that intimidating.
>
> The lineup for shirts, etc was chaotic. It wasn't really a line,
more of a mosh pit than anything. Regardless, I walked away with
three shirts. I wasn't really interested in the horns.
>
> I managed to take my seat at about 7:50 and saw the last 10 minutes
of The Answer. Not being familiar with their music, it was hard to
tell whether they were good or not. There was a lot of distortion.
But, it didn't matter to me, I was there to see AC/DC. While waiting
for the boys, I met a guy from St. John's Newfoundland sitting
immediately behind me. He had flown all the way across the continent
– just for the show. This pal from Vancouver bought two tickets and
one was for him. So, he went from the most easterly point in North
America to nearly the most westerly point (excluding Alaska). Adding
more intrigue was the fact that this was his first time seeing the
band. The guy stood in awe the entire show as if he couldn't believe
he was there.
>
> The boys took the stage promptly at 8:30. The cartoon at the
beginning really set the stage for the show. It was full steam ahead,
a rock in your face type of night. It was the perfect opening to the
show.
>
> The set list was the same as we've seen in other venues. After
opening with RNR Train, Brian screamed to the crowd "That song was
born right here!", to which the place went nuts.
>
> What can you say about the performance, it was AC/DC. The show was
absolutely fantastic. I did manage to take a couple of pics with my
cell phone which actually didn't turn out that bad. I sent them to a
friend of mine this morning and he told me that the guy who sits next
to him at work was green with envy after seeing how close I was to
Angus and Brian. My seats were immediately next to the lift at the
end of the catwalk.
>
> For anyone that believes "The Jack" does not belong in their set
list any longer, you're full of it. This was one of the highlights of
the show. The entire place was screaming "She's Got The Jack". It
made the hair on the back of my neck stand. It was during this that
Angus did his striptease. He managed to keep his clothes on for 45
minutes.
>
> The highlight for me, other than The Jack, was the 13 minute version
of Let There Be Rock, during which Angus dripped on me.
>
> My wife, who really isn't the biggest AC/DC fan in the world, loved
the show. She was completely amazed at how Angus could go for 1h 50m
at his pace. She did say he looks rather sinister now with the
receding hairline and his growl.
>
> All in all, this was better than the SUL show I saw back in 2001. I
can really say without a doubt that there are not a lot of bands in
their class in the world. If I can get tickets to another show, I
will definitely be going again.
>
> The set list was great. Even when I've read that they slow down in
the middle with Black Ice and such, even those tunes were awesome!
Loved Big Jack, Shoot to Thrill, Rosie (with her riding the train) and
the closer FTATR! Then again, they were all great! If you're still
waiting to see them on this tour, you're in for a treat. The boys
were in top form!!!!!!
>
> After the show, we met some friends for a few beers and after
getting back to the hotel, met a junior hockey team partying it up in
a limo in the parking lot. Spent a few minutes chatting with those
guys and ended up hitting the hotel bar. All in all a great night.
>
> At the end of the night, my buddy asks me what I was going to do for
excitement for the rest of the weekend…..turns out we had a fire in
the hotel the following night with a 7 truck alarm. The entire block
was closed to traffic and we drank for free in the hotel bar. My wife
and I had dinner reservations at a high end restaurant at 8:00 but
couldn't get up to our room to change. Called the restaurant and they
told us to come on down. We may have been the most underdressed
couple in the place, but the floor manager took very good care of us.
Ended up with free appy's and had an awesome dinner! The staff were
very understanding of our situation and went out of their way to
accommodate us.
>
> On the flight back, I wore one of the shirts and I had people coming
up to me asking how the show went. We ended up meeting the same
family that we met in the security line on the way to Vancouver - the
one with the 9 year old kid. I asked how he liked it. The father
told me that he stood on his chair and screamed for the entire show.
>
> Ken
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: kickinitrock <mejean@...>
> To: bonscott@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 5:57:48 PM
> Subject: Bon Scott KEN????
>
>
> So, Ken... have you recovered yet? :D I'm waiting with EXCITED
> anticipation for your concert report!
>
> {{HUGS}}
> Kick
>
>
>
>
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