Back to the Daily Grind--Without Having Met Angus Young

I knew it had to come, right? The letdown blues after the huge rush of the AC/DC European Tour/Bibi Prowls Around Europe swing. Especially since one of the primary goals: meeting guitar god Angus Young, wasn't met. This can only mean that my quest to do so must continue. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of my life...oops, I'm watching Casablanca, so getting carried away. What I meant to say was, we'll always have Paris and Amsterdam and--don't start thinking I've gone all rat street crazy--I'm convinced that AC/DC will add more dates to their US tour and/or the purported Mexico-South American segment of their world domination and then, I will meet Angus.

Face it: lots of saner people than me have more outrageous dreams and hopes than mine to meet Angus. So, pre- and post-BPAE I steadfastly and in complete sincerity maintain that I will meet him and I won't embarrass myself royally like I did with Ralph Fiennes, although, to my credit, I bet he still remembers the fan that brought up his sex scenes in a movie.

Life in Houston has been hectic, hot, and costly--the darling car just required $1400 as a form of devotion today--and so the sense of being under a heavy shroud since I got back is all too with me. Life without the anticipation of seeing the guys in action in the near future, adds to my palpable feeling of oppression. There are no real plans for seeing AC/DC during the US/Canadian dates, although I did say to luci_martini that if they came to Toronto (her city), I'd be in touch. Especially with the recent car expense, funds would basically have to fall out of the sky to even consider a trip to Galveston, much less an AC/DC concert.

The saving elements have been the emails from the AC/DC fans I met during the trip, the fantastic photos they've sent, their really positive energy all focused on AC/DC. Reading the email has brought back all the great moments, fabulously mild weather, wonderful sights and memories...THANKS, you guys!!!

Cliff Williams, in person!

omigod, omigod, omigod: BON SCOTT SCREAM HERE--just got back from meeting Cliff!!! My lovely friends in Paris invited me to dinner at their place and after we ate and played a bit of Rock Band, Marc decided we must go for drinks at the guys' hotel. YES, I am vindicated--or the value of the internet is once again demonstrated--I did know where AC/DC is staying in Paris. Incredibly posh place, of course, and the drinks--though really pricey--were good when all of a sudden, Cliff came in and sat at a nearby table! Didn't want to intrude on his time with his friends, so thought, oh, well, the place is fabulous, the drinks and company are great--and I got to see Clliff.After a short time, though, Cliff went over to the bar and a couple of fans there asked for his autograph. Decided to take a huge chance and walked over with my RS magazine and sharpie. Yes, I did have those things with me; better safe than sorry! Cliff was so gracious and is really an attentive listener. I gushed about how great AC/DC was and his valuable addition to the band's work. He took my hand and shook it in both of his, saying how he appreciated my kind words--what a guy!! Told him Marc and I would see him on Friday and he commented on how although Paris was certainly expensive, it was a great town to be in.What a night!!!

Really can't wait until tomorrow night! Just got into Paris on Thursday morning, haven't really slept since I left Houston on Wednesday and it's after 3 am now. But, will defintely be ready for the show. So incredible meeting Cliff!!

AC/DC Begins Open Air Tour 2009

Yes, the Open Air Tour begins today!!! Only four weeks until the Paris concert!!! omg, omg, omg. Doesn't seem quite real to me. Been working on the 30-second-me spiel. Got a ways to go, but getting there. I sound quite fascinating--not! But, it is a promising work in progress.

The big problems continue to be 1) will I get to meet them? and 2) will I be coherent? Guess those have always been the major issues facing Bibi on this. Let's not even go into the "I'm a cat" aspect of this, right?

Finally, they're on their way!!!

No, not the aliens from outer space that established the monolith we saw in 2001: A Space Odyssey, who would be revisiting us in order to fix the economy--since apparently no one on earth can figure out how to do it. (Bon Scott scream here) MY TICKETS FOR THE PARIS CONCERT!!!!!!! are on their way!!!! (another Bon Scott scream here) One day, will I say: "Angus, we'll always have Paris"? All I can think is: "HIGH VOLTAGE, HIGH VOLTAGE, HIGH VOLTAGE ROCK AND ROLL...WINE, WOMEN AND SONG...." Big problem, though. I'm leaving for DC at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning and the tickets will be arriving while I'm gone. Now that David is no longer with us as guardian of my neighborhood, will I have to depend on those downstairs neighbors? What if they're arrested again and aren't home when the tickets get there?

I will figure this out, though, as I've figured out other things in this house like: what's with this litter box situation, is there any way to get a feeding schedule set around here, and what does a cat have to do to get treats every now and then? When will the cleaning lady--who comes by too infrequently--get with the program about me? Although she is appropriately deferential when I deign to make an appearance, so alright.

A mention on the AC/DC tour revenue: AC/DC will bring their Black Ice World Tour back to North America for another leg of dates this summer, playing stadiums and arenas. Since starting its tour in late October, most (??) of AC/DC's North America dates sold out. From October 2008 through March 2009, the band grossed $49.1 million from 36 concerts that drew more than 561,000 fans, according to Billboard Boxscore.

AC/DC in Bilbao, Spain,

Have seen a few posts about last night’s concert that thundered through Bilbao, Spain (northern Spain, Basque area). The show was fantastic—if the Youtube videos are any indication. BTW: If you’re interested in a mini-course on everything about AC/DC, try the sources I mentioned previously, as well as acdcbelgium.blogspot.com—you’ll get up to speed before you know it—and—you’ll love the experience.. Thanks to Bedlam in Belgium, found a making-of video for Anything Goes, second cut from Black Ice: loved it! Have watched it over and over. Not only does it have lovely, fleeting views of that most enchanting city on earth, Paris, but right off, there’s Angus! The guys are being driven to Bercy stadium to film footage for the video. He’s such a character—he charms us right away with tidbits: “I don’t talk much before 12.” I mean, who does, really? Later in the video, we see him backstage just before the Highway to Hell segment of the Bercy (Paris, February 2009) concert, putting on the devil horns, he points to his face, and, typically deprecating about himself, “Pretty as ever. You can’t buy beauty like this.” How adorable!

Told a couple of you about a new link, http://acdcfannation.com/ . One of the things acdc.com has done right is this series of videos about the fans. Many of my friends, acquaintances, relatives, think this AC/DC fascination of mine is more than just a little outré; once you watch these two fannation videos, you’ll see I’m strictly one of the only plain vanilla, conservative fans. Cool parts include Abruzzo, the Italian AC/DC fangroup and a fan who dealt with his alcohol issues through his AC/DC devotion. (Malcolm, Angus’s brother and co-founder of AC/DC, is a recovering alcoholic.) A number of the other fans come across really strongly in their own inimitable ways: the ones from Japan, some with their outrageous AC/DC tattoos, some with fashion and dental issues, and all share a common trait with me—an intense, insistently declared, unapologetic love for the greatest live band in the world.