Sorry, no pics! In my dash to get out I left the camera at home... doh!
By way of complete contrast to the night before, the four original members of Asia returned to this area, appearing at the newly-rebuilt Floral Pavilion. New Brighton is more associated with sticks of rock than rock legends; the UK tour was dubbed 'A Night At The Theatre' with the band playing all-seater venues. With the venue being so new, I half-expected to have to wipe my feet at the door (!)
Although I've seen this band a few times now, and know that they come on early, I still was caught out by the start. After a quick dash through the Wallasey Tunnel, I got there bang on 8pm. I got in to find them already on and playing the Yes song 'Roundabout'. I reckon I missed about ten minutes of the show then, and as I didn't hear the parp-tastic 'Only Time Will Tell', I'm assuming it came very early in the set! Still, all things considered, I'm not complaining ;-)
I do find seated gigs are harder to get into; I much prefer to stand in a crowd, and it does have a completely different atmosphere. After each song, the guys were given generous applause then it was total silence, as though everyone thought that they had to be on their best behaviour in a posh new theatre! Not quite the rock 'n' roll experience of the previous night's AC/DC gig then, but the sheer quality of the music more than made up for that. The set I saw was a similar structure to that played on last year's tour, broken into two parts with a short intermission. As with last year, the Asia favourites were interspersed with one song from each of the four members' previous bands. There was one surprise when it came to Geoff 'Buggles' Downes's turn; I expected the lamé jacket and shades for 'Video Killed The Radio Star' but instead, they chose to play 'Living In The Plastic Age'. Some songs from the recent 'Phoenix' album were played too, and as ever, both Steve Howe and Carl Palmer were given extended solo spots. One highlight for me was that they chose to play 'Don't Cry' from the 'Alpha' album semi-acoustically, in a format similar to that performed in 2006. I like the 'full' rendition too, but this version does work well live, involving the crowd in the chorus.
When I saw the band last year I raved about their musicianship and the way they seemed to enjoy playing off each other. It was the same this time around, they just belong together on stage. Bassist/vocalist John Wetton looked and sounded in great shape, now totally recovered from his heart scares he is probably playing and singing better than ever.
So, although it could not have been more different a gig experience to the raw AC/DC show of the previous night, it was just as enjoyable.
Another high-quality performance from an excellent band made up of top-drawer musicians, ignore the other high-profile 80s stars who are reforming for one last hurrah and go and see a proper 80s band!
Thursday 23 April 2009
Caught Live: AC/DC, MEN Arena Manchester 21/4/09
In this day and age, a 54-year-old bloke dressed as a schoolboy, doing a striptease, would normally be arrested on the spot.
Not so for Angus Young, whose antics are a regular part of any AC/DC concert along with the Hell's Bell and the cannons, and of course the massively inflated 'Rosie' figure (!)
AC/DC have been away for far too long, and there have been strong hints from 61-year-old vocalist Brian Johnson that he is ready to call it a day. After this terrific show, let's hope he is reconsidering! He was in magnificent form, putting to shame many much younger guys. There was tremendous excitement in the MEN Arena this night, it had been the best part of a decade since last they visited the venue and demand for this show, as with all the others on the tour, far outstripped supply. I was fortunate enough to be able to buy tickets immediately when they went on sale last autumn, so avoided any dealings with scalpers. The atmosphere was charged further with an animated film, showing a 'runaway train' driven by a devilish caricature of Angus, heading at great speed towards the city. It being AC/DC, this film was packed with saucy innuendo which I won't describe here, but wouldn't have been out of place in a Benny Hill sketch (!) The film ended, the screen parted and revealed a large 'locomotive' which served as the main stage prop for the night. Of course, they then opened their show with 'Rock and Roll Train'!
From start to finish there was an atmosphere of celebration in the crowd, the band played a set which included (by my reckoning) FIVE songs from the current album 'Black Ice'; that's unusual for AC/DC who normally play two or three new ones, then pack the set with classics and a few from more recent albums. This time, with the exception of 'Thunderstruck' and finale 'For Those About To Rock', everything else played was from the albums up to and including 'Back In Black'. Even so, with a set so packed with familiar material, they still left out such gems as 'Sin City', 'Bad Boy Boogie' and 'Touch Too Much'. This was probably my only issue with the show, that even approaching two hours, it wasn't long enough! All the usual boxes were ticked, the aforementioned strip from Angus (including flashing the 'AC/DC' emblazoned boxer shorts), the Hells Bell descended from the ceiling for Brian to swing on, the cannons fired, and when it came to 'Whole Lotta Rosie', there she was, larger than life, actually sat astride the 'Rock 'n' Roll Train'! There was an enormous stage ramp for Brian and Angus to run up and down on, the end of which elevated for Angus to do his lying down soloing bit. Needless to say, the other three (rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd) were stationed at the back 'all night long', providing the solid platform for the two frontmen. The only real evidence of the passing of years was with Cliff Williams, whose long brown hair has now turned completely grey!
All in all, this was an exhibition in how to do an arena rock show. I've seen many bands on the MEN arena stage, and plenty pack the place out, but very few can exhiliarate a crowd so totally the way AC/DC can. They're the ultimate stadium rock act, and it is to be hoped that this is not quite the 'end of the line' for the 'rock & roll train'.
Support was provided by Downpatrick's finest, The Answer. They've done pretty much this whole tour with the Aussie legends, gaining more valuable exposure along the way. They played this show with a stand-in drummer, as regular sticksman James Heatley is sidelined with a tendon injury. Considering that he must have only had a day or so to prepare, he did well. The band only get half an hour and I was just getting started, when they ended their set! The Answer are starting to look more at home in the big venues themselves, with the support slots they've had allied to their strong work ethic, I see no reason why they should not be playing such venues in their own right within a few more years.
Not so for Angus Young, whose antics are a regular part of any AC/DC concert along with the Hell's Bell and the cannons, and of course the massively inflated 'Rosie' figure (!)
AC/DC have been away for far too long, and there have been strong hints from 61-year-old vocalist Brian Johnson that he is ready to call it a day. After this terrific show, let's hope he is reconsidering! He was in magnificent form, putting to shame many much younger guys. There was tremendous excitement in the MEN Arena this night, it had been the best part of a decade since last they visited the venue and demand for this show, as with all the others on the tour, far outstripped supply. I was fortunate enough to be able to buy tickets immediately when they went on sale last autumn, so avoided any dealings with scalpers. The atmosphere was charged further with an animated film, showing a 'runaway train' driven by a devilish caricature of Angus, heading at great speed towards the city. It being AC/DC, this film was packed with saucy innuendo which I won't describe here, but wouldn't have been out of place in a Benny Hill sketch (!) The film ended, the screen parted and revealed a large 'locomotive' which served as the main stage prop for the night. Of course, they then opened their show with 'Rock and Roll Train'!
From start to finish there was an atmosphere of celebration in the crowd, the band played a set which included (by my reckoning) FIVE songs from the current album 'Black Ice'; that's unusual for AC/DC who normally play two or three new ones, then pack the set with classics and a few from more recent albums. This time, with the exception of 'Thunderstruck' and finale 'For Those About To Rock', everything else played was from the albums up to and including 'Back In Black'. Even so, with a set so packed with familiar material, they still left out such gems as 'Sin City', 'Bad Boy Boogie' and 'Touch Too Much'. This was probably my only issue with the show, that even approaching two hours, it wasn't long enough! All the usual boxes were ticked, the aforementioned strip from Angus (including flashing the 'AC/DC' emblazoned boxer shorts), the Hells Bell descended from the ceiling for Brian to swing on, the cannons fired, and when it came to 'Whole Lotta Rosie', there she was, larger than life, actually sat astride the 'Rock 'n' Roll Train'! There was an enormous stage ramp for Brian and Angus to run up and down on, the end of which elevated for Angus to do his lying down soloing bit. Needless to say, the other three (rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd) were stationed at the back 'all night long', providing the solid platform for the two frontmen. The only real evidence of the passing of years was with Cliff Williams, whose long brown hair has now turned completely grey!
All in all, this was an exhibition in how to do an arena rock show. I've seen many bands on the MEN arena stage, and plenty pack the place out, but very few can exhiliarate a crowd so totally the way AC/DC can. They're the ultimate stadium rock act, and it is to be hoped that this is not quite the 'end of the line' for the 'rock & roll train'.
Support was provided by Downpatrick's finest, The Answer. They've done pretty much this whole tour with the Aussie legends, gaining more valuable exposure along the way. They played this show with a stand-in drummer, as regular sticksman James Heatley is sidelined with a tendon injury. Considering that he must have only had a day or so to prepare, he did well. The band only get half an hour and I was just getting started, when they ended their set! The Answer are starting to look more at home in the big venues themselves, with the support slots they've had allied to their strong work ethic, I see no reason why they should not be playing such venues in their own right within a few more years.
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