Back to Black

I have an imaginary list of music acts I would give anything to watch. The list looks something like this - Led Zepplin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Queen, Metallica, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Dire Straits, Robbie Williams, Uriah Heep, Rolling Stones, The Beatles and I am trying to get as many ticks on it as possible.

On May 22nd I was able to tick off AC/DC. The legends played the Hockenheimring and believe me they literally played the ring. I dont know how many people were there in actual numbers - the next few days I got to hear figures between 70,000 to 90,000 but one needed to be there to appreciate the scale. For better measure, S and I actually went the previous day to check how the arrangements were proceeding and to our surprise actually saw that outside the Ring people were camping and partying while inside the Ring people were busy as a bee working the long hours to get the show ready. Going the two days helped in getting the right perspective in terms of what goes into preparing a show outdoor specially by a mega band.



AC/DC was supported by The Answer ( a band which impressed ) and Claudia Cane Band ( a band which didn't impress ). We waited for hours for the band to rock but when they did all the wait was worth it. The kind of energy Angus Young brings onto the stage is euphoric. One needs to see it to believe it. The concert began with a whole frigging steam engine coming onto the stage and ended with a 30 minutes guitar solo by Angus half of which he played on top of an elevated platform, erected on a projection ramp which brought him so close to where I was standing that I could almost touch him with fireworks going all around.






Following is the setlist -

1. Rock N' Roll Train
2. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
3. Back in Black
4. Big Jack
5. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
6. Shot Down in Flames
7. Thunderstruck
8. Black Ice
9. The Jack
10. Hells Bells
11. Shoot to Thrill
12. War Machine
13. Dog Eat Dog
14. Anything Goes
15. You Shook Me All Night Long
16. T.N.T.
17. Whole Lotta Rosie
18. Let There Be Rock
19. Encore:
19. Highway to Hell
20. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

It was one of those concerts where I knew each and every song. Guess so did lots of others and its one hell of an experience where thousands and thousands of people shout, sing or dance together. The show went straight to being one of the top 3 shows I have ever seen. It has such a profound effect that when I went to see The Eagles a few weeks later I had trouble enjoying the performance as AC/DC had just raised the bar way too high.