| Doors: 17:00 Uhr | Show: 18:00 Uhr | Tickets: from 69,95 EUR up plus fees |

It’s going to be loud! It’s going to be gigantic! It’s going to be awesome!

[Dajana] That's for sure a full-bodied announcement by the organizers, which quickly turned out to be a 100% fact: AC/DC live at the :: Esprit Arena :: Düsseldorf, Germany. The European finale of the Rock Or Bust tour is an additional show to the sold out tour circuit and was announced relatively short-term. Tickets started at 70 Euro, which I think is ok, but left the huge location only half filled. 25.000 fans hit the roads towards the Rhine metropolis, and those roads were a troublesome matter, regarding traffic and jams. The daily madness during the after-work hours, causing many delays… So it happened to us too.

[Dajana] Slightly disoriented we managed to slither into the arena at around 7.15pm and saw TYLER BRYANT & THE SHAKEDOWN on stage. Well… um… I had in mind that local support :: MASSENDEFEKT :: would enter the stage at 7. I obviously was wrong. I learnt that they already kicked off at 6pm. Ok, then we missed them completely.
[Psycho] What can I say? As for the fact that I got the confirmation for the show only a day before and was more or less unprepared (due to work and stuff) it was ok, I think. It’s rather a general problem when shows begin that early during the week, where everybody has to work and then to struggle such massive traffic to get to a show. As for that I experienced a totally new feeling here: for the first time in ages I felt to lower the average age around here, instead of usually lifting it. Almost a weird feeling… But it made clear that AC/DC are a bit older than me ;)

[Dajana] Ok, here we are. Accompanied by the music of :: TYLER BRYANT & THE SHAKEDOWN :: we started to orient ourselves and got shocked! NO BEER IN THE INDOOR AREA! There was a cocktail bar, and booths for hotdogs, currywurst, merchandise and gadgets, but no beer! An AC/DC show without beer? Hell no! To get one we had to leave the indoor area again, to get completely out and to re-entry the higher areas of the arena. Long queues, thin beer for 5 Euro but in special AC/DC cups with 3 different motives. Back indoor the rockers from Nashville, Tennessee had already finished their set. Hmpf. Things happen in no time here…
So, only two songs by TYLER BRYANT & THE SHAKEDOWN we heard that did not leave any deeper impression. But the sound was awesome, clear, differentiated and not too loud and the aeration was good too.
[Psycho] To be honest… 2 songs were already enough to realize that we got unusually usual Heavy Rock with Blues influences, yet with the best PA sound I ever heard from a supporting band. Nevertheless, our way to find some beer was much more interesting…
The good news: we found out that there was a beer booth in the indoor area too. No idea, why exactly this booth was the only one not framed and lighted. Well, next time we look more attentively…
[Dajana] Yeah, otherwise, it would have been an absurdity: AC/DC and no beer, plus that loooong way for us old geezers…
Setlist: Weak & Weepin', Criminal Imagination, House On Fire, Downtown Tonight, Got My Mojo Working (Ann Cole cover), Aftershock, Loaded Dice & Buried Money, Lipstick Wonder Woman, House That Jack Built

[Dajana] Now we had a lot of time to bridge while patiently waiting for :: AC/DC ::. I started some talking to exchange my beer cup, because I wanted a different motive and wasn’t allowed to drink another beer as I was the driver. Then, time had come… 8.30pm, the lights went out and under thunderous applause, screams and chants, AC/DC kicked of their show with the title track of their new album, Rock Or Bust, with a lot of fires and CO jets. WOAH! My jaw dropped. Freaking hell!
Angus Young jumped and ran over the stage like a spring chicken, and heated up the crowd a little bit more. And then… Axl Rose showed up. I immediately had to think of Barbra Streisand, somehow, while my brain started to create a cool phrase with his shirt print: "Touch Me, Feel Me" ;)

[Psycho] Yes, we got offered a lot for the eyes. Thank to huge screens left and right and we also could see everything that happened on the huge stage. Axl I almost didn’t recognize. He looked turgidly but was absolutely fit bodily. I can’t remember that I ever have seen him with open hair. A few outfit changes later he found his bandana (and hat) and looked familiar again ;)
But, much more important was the question: how did he do vocal-wise? I already had seen some videos with his AC/DC performances but now, live on stage, I got even more positively surprised. Axl was great, almost for the entire show. All those, who started nagging, laughing or just shook their heads skeptically, have now to apologize. Visually, he actually did not fit to the straight rockers from Down Under. Besides, the fact remains: Angus is the only one in the whole world, who is allowed to wear white socks scot-free.

[Dajana] Oh yeah, Axl seemed to be kind of a fashion victim ;) T-shirt, a lumberjack shirt and a lot of bling-bling in a vulgar size. That’s definitely not AC/DC. And that’s no rock’n’roll. It’s rather a product placement for Bijou Brigitte or Tiffany’s. On the other hand, just imagine Axl in an Angus-like school uniform… uuuuuhhhh… get out of mind, image, get out!
As for that we got pleased with a breathtakingly awesome light show. It was funny to watch all the light-techs climbing up the huge light towers like little monkeys. As you can see, I did not get a photo pass, and so I was pretty often tearing my hair out (imaginary) at every great stage scene due to the photo I could have taken *sighs* (which is unrealistic too, because with the pass I would have been only allowed to take photos for at best 3 songs... But you know what I mean?).

[Psycho] Luckily, there was not only much to see but also to hear. Sound was crystal clear but though I missed the middle frequencies at the guitars. They sounded quite thin that way. To outweigh that little flaw, AC/DC played a 2 and a half hours show. They reduced new tracks to a necessary minimum and focused on all those great classics. Well done, because the difference in quality between old and new is significant.
But the show was done by only two: Angus and Axl. First one would be also a millionaire, if he would have gotten kilometer allowance instead of pay and royalties. Axl emerged to be surprisingly restrained. He was much present during his vocal parts, but in-between he stepped back and did not interact with the crowd, while his announcements couldn’t have been any shorter (and weirder). Since I never have seen Axl Rose live before, I can’t say, if that is his “natural” behavior on stage or just a consideration regarding his guest singer role in AC/DC. Contrary to those two, George and Cliff acted as if they were nailed on stage. Maybe the best thing they could do, otherwise they might have been knocked down by Angus or Axl…
And I much liked the fact that AC/DC still do their backing vocals by their own. No recordings from tape. Sounded much more authentic.
At the end, more hits followed. Axl pretty much struggled through T.N.T. and the 20 mins solo by Angus, Let There Be Rock, was a bit too much too. Would have loved to hear another song instead. At least, here he did not have problems while playing (as he had in the intro to Thunderstruck for example). I wonder, if playing and permanently running around is meanwhile not too much for him. But before I start nagging I wait how fit I am at this age…

[Psycho] Yes, that was an entertaining evening! I don’t think that AC/DC will tour that often in the future. So it was a good idea to see them playing live again, especially at a state where the show is still entertaining and the band in a such a good shape. What confused me a bit was the response by the audience. Overwhelming enthusiasm is something different. And you can’t blame the band for that. Maybe a question of age though?
[Dajana] It was an awesome show. Really. With minimal flaws maybe. Since I’m in a fading “grinning-like-a-Cheshire-cat-mode” (due to memorable shows lately), this show now extended this mode for the next couple of weeks. I’m really happy and thankful that I got the chance to see AC/DC live again. Especially with Axl Rose fronting them. You don’t see that every day… ;)

Setlist: Rock Or Bust, Shoot To Thrill, Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be, Back In Black, Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Rock ’n‘ Roll Damnation, Thunderstruck, High Voltage, Rock ’n‘ Roll Train, Hells Bells, Given The Dog A Bone, If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It), Touch Too Much, Sin City, You Shook Me All Night Long, Shot Down In Flames, Have A Drink On Me, T.N.T., Whole Lotta Rosie, Let There Be Rock // Highway To Hell, Riff Raff, For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

story © Dajana & Psycho • Photos © Rainer Keuenhof Photography