Forum
MSG Concert Review (11/13)
Hmm, where to start... (BTW, I will post all the videos I can find from the show from YouTube AFTER the song description. PLEASE read the description before watching the video. And remember, I wrote this all from memory, so bear with me) Ok, so we're driving through Manhattan... or maybe crawling would be a better word... and we decided to drive past the Garden before we parked to get an idea of where it was. Bad idea. It's like driving through a mall. The pedestrians have the right of way and they USE it! When the light turns, it's like a stampede. You can't turn, because when your light is green, they're walking across the left and right walkways. We eventually got the hell out of the heart and started looking for parking. Most were $30+, but we found one for $15. Then we walked to the Garden. Walking past the parking lot, four red tractor-trailers are unloading boxes labeled "AC/DC: Box (insert box # here)". No tour bus to be found. Apparently, the Garden is located literally right on top of Penn Station, so maybe they took a train in. We get to the lobby and can't find the AC/DC store, so we forget about it. They're selling shirts and hoodies and all that crap as usual, and I buy a shirt (pictures below) for $35 and a tour program for $20. We go past security with no pat down or check of any kind whatsoever. We could've brought guns! I would've if I knew, dang. I brought a camera, but left it in the car for fear that we would get caught. So we go inside, the people behind us smoking weed are annoying as hell, but I don't give a crap because I'm too excited. The opening band "The Answer" could be a great Led Zeppelin cover band, but instead are an okay generic rock band. The lead singer kept thanking those of us who wouldn't go home and forget who the hell they are. So they get off at roughly 8:30, and they start final setting up for AC/DC. I see a guy pull out Malcolm's Gretsch White Falcon. I had all these (Rock 'N' Roll) dreams of Malcolm breaking a string, but alas, he didn't. It seemed that only about half of the arena was filled within five minutes of the show, so we assumed that because of the ridiculous prices being asked, maybe not all the tickets were sold. But in the last 5 minutes, every seat filled in; it was definitely sold out. So we finally hear what sounds like a train rolling by. The crowd cheers like crazy. On three big screens, we see we're flying over cartoon train tracks, headed right for a train. The camera goes to the side of the train to reveal passengers screaming, terrified, and Brian Johnson getting head from "Rosie" inside the train. Then we see some beautiful women running towards the head of the train. It then cuts to Angus's devil caricature shoveling coal into the engine. The women burst into the engine, and begin seducing Angus. As they proceed, we see a gauge with it's needle going higher and higher. When we look back at Angus, the women push him back to the floor and knock him out. They struggle to pull a lever as Angus comes to (to the sight of their asses), which eventually snaps. The women jump off the train and make a quick getaway into the night. Angus gets up and grabs his trusty Gibson SG off the wall and rides the train into the end of the tracks. Upon the explosion of the train, the big screen in the middle splits to let a train engine burst through, as Angus plays the first chords of "Rock 'N' Roll Train". The explosion was so loud I could barely hear Angus's first five chords. A great performance of the song, possibly better than the studio version. The song ends, and the crowd cheers like crazy, still in disbelief. Brian Johnson says, "It's great to be here" and before we knew it, they were into "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to be". Another great performance, in my opinion equaling their Donnington '91 performance of the song, mainly because of Brian's excellent performance due to his vocal surgery. As we hear the opening chords of "Back in Black", we all settle in for a great show. Everyone still goes nuts for that song, 28 years later. So now we're in for a treat, as Brian announces, "Here's one from the new album". They begin to play "Big Jack", which got a surprisingly good reaction for a new song. It definitely deserved it, as it's one of the best off the album. Angus occasionally struggled with the verse riff, but it's a pain in the ass to play. They run through the classic "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" with ease as the crowd shouts "DONE DIRT CHEAP!" along with them. Thunderstruck has been sounding weaker every year, as Angus is losing the strength to pick the intro nowadays. Not that he messed up, but it's sounding less powerful. Brian's new voice definitely helped though. Now here's an interesting part. I didn't listen to the title track off the new album when I got the CD. I decided I wanted to hear it live first. And I'm glad I did. What a song! That riff is simply infectious! What a dark song. I love how in the chorus, Brian goes, "Oooooh... Black Ice!" Now we get to the sing-along, "The Jack". During the first chorus, the screens show the faces of unsuspecting women in the audience. Then, during the next chorus, the crowd sings it. Before Angus does his extended solo, he does his usual "striptease". Now a single spotlight shines in a $12,00 steel bell hanging from the rafters with AC/DC etched into the side of it. It lowers as it tolls, eventually getting low enough for Brian Johnson to jump onto the rope and swing from it. Keep in mind he's 62 years old now. Angus, for the first time ever, tries to start in time with the bell. This eerie song never gets old. Next is a new addition to the setlist. After many complaints that they didn't play it in the first couple shows, "Shoot To Thrill" was thrown in. Then we got to another new one; "War Machine". One of their darker songs, this was definitely the best new song performance. The crowd enthusiastically sang along with the chorus. On to another new song, "Anything Goes" was a great song live, despite Brian being a little quiet. Up next is "You Shook Me All Night Long". During the song, the screen displays a woman made of flames dancing. T.N.T. was the song that got me into AC/DC. I heard it on a video game (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater) when I was 12(?) and I found out that it was AC/DC, that band my friend liked. I asked him what album to get, and he said "AC/DC: Live", so that was my first AC/DC album. Of course, during this song, the crowd sang the "OY"s. Now the next song is in my opinion Brian's best version of a Bon song, and with his old voice back, it sounded great. It's called "Whole Lotta Rosie". And now we finally have reached the last song, "Let There be Rock". Here we see Angus shred in his extended solo. On the screens are all the album covers over the years, and once Angus does his famous solo above the drumset in front of the main screen, a trippy repetition of his image. Later on in the solo, he runs to the end of the long stage extension only to be raised up by a platform 30 feet into the air as he solos and falls to the floor kicking. Brian then says "Thank you, good night!" as the band leaves the stage. All of the sudden, we hear an A chord. Out of nowhere, Angus comes through a trap door in the floor, playing the first chords to "Highway To Hell". At the end of the song, Brian screams, "...and I'm going down... All the way" as Angus slides his pick up and down his strings with his guitar between Brian's legs. At the end of "Highway to Hell", Angus leaves the A chord ringing until he begins to finger-pick the intro to "For Those About To Rock". The perfect show closer, it ends with six cannons blasting simultaneously. So what did I think of it, you ask? Well, I was satisfied, yet disappointed. The band was great, probably the best they've sounded in at least 12, if not 17, years. And they played five new songs very well. So why was I disappointed? They added no rare old tracks. On the last tour (2001-2003), they played "Get it Hot", "Hard as a Rock", "Problem Child", "Gone Shootin'", and even "Ride On" for the first time ever. Also, they only played 18 songs. On the last tour, they played 21, and they played some longer songs as well.
Sorry, ignore that first bit in the parentheses. That was from the first time I posted this at an Epiphone guitar forums.