James Bond

2 hours ago, D.. said:

Interesting artwork for tonight's show:

It's October 27th, who knows? They may debut The General live tonight & put it afterwards on Youtube, fingers crossed. Didn't they do something similar with Absurd?

I find the artwork telling, could be wrong.

I don't think it's telling at all. It's not a general - it's a miner. No doubt a reference to gold mining in Colorado.

Just now, Blackstar said:

Seriously. A world war could start tomorrow and some people would still get worked up about The General.

Arguably, in that case, we'd have The General. Several of them.

The shitty thing, to me, is that anybody who pre-ordered was already charged versus being charged when the item ships. So not only does Universal or whoever already have our money, but they waited until the day before to say anything about the delay. Did they really not know it wouldn't ship by now earlier this week?

Don't get me wrong - I realize we can all cancel our orders if wanted and get our money back. I just think it was a shitty way to go about it.

Just got an email that it will ship on or before December 8th.

It had a link to cancel the order for a refund or leave it be.

Yeah 6 Back in Black songs is probably too many. It's funny how he's continued to adapt something like Thunderstruck to his current vocal abilities (ie. Shifting the melody in the second verse) but doesn't really do the same with the Back In Black stuff. I think that would make a huge difference.

Shot Down In Flames and Riff Raff are my favourites so far. Laug is clearly a Phil fan. He even played Thunderstruck with Phil's fills versus Slade's.

4 hours ago, Kelmi said:

Just watched a few videos. Some seemed to be in standard tuning. In 2015 everything was tuned half step down for Brian. Im glad he is able to sing in standard tuning now!

Amazing setlist! Angus has a grey hair! Brian sounds fine! Would have loved to be there

What songs do you figure we're in standard? I've only listened to the first two songs which were a half-step down as usual (which, just as a minor correction, has been the case with Brian since 2008).

Brian sounds much better so far than the one off appearances. His struggles are made up for with enthusiasm, and his timing is so much better (with the exception of the Back In Black chorus. I think he's just having a hard time with the breathing on that).

Have yet to watch any footage but holy shit that setlist. I expected 16-20 songs max - the business as usual set. Nice surprise. Good for Brian!

It seems the AC/DC forum approves of Matt Laug. He must have brought the right hi-hat.

12 hours ago, Powerage5 said:

But let’s be honest, Chris Slade has the best hi-hat game of any AC/DC drummer. 

In AC/DC forum terms, he has a very tight and focused "x x x x" style hi-hat versus Phil's loose and groovy "X x X x" style and Simon's heavy handed "X X X X" style.

My guess is Laug will bring about a new style of AC/DC hi-hat with "x X x X" just to mix things up.

5 hours ago, Powerage5 said:

Everything is shaping up to be very similar to the Rock Or Bust Tour - two deep cuts from that setlist rehearsed, stage is very similar, etc. 

Kind of funny that it's also starting Indio while once again having Phil being replaced despite playing on the album. It really is the second coming Rock Or Bust.

I'm rooting for Brian. He deserves this, and honestly, I think he'll sound as good as he needs to at 76.

I think there are drum forums out there that discuss the hi-hat less than the AC/DC forum.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/300970980/acdc-drops-drummer-phil-rudd-from-comeback-gig

Some comments from Phil. Doesn't really get into the why but there also doesn't seem to be hard feelings. Maybe it really is as simple as a Visa issue or some health concerns.

21 hours ago, Powerage5 said:

I have to say Brian actually sounds better there than I was expecting. Is it amazing? No. But he’s got more of the gravel in his voice than he’s had for some time, and his pitch is better than it’s been on any of his one-off outings since his hearing issues. But I’m glad to see they’re at least rehearsing one of the deep cuts they dusted off with Axl, it was a shame this one got played so little since Bon died. 

That was my takeaway too. He seemed to have much more control over his voice then we heard at either the Taylor Hawkins tribute or when he joined Sam Fender a couple months ago. Very promising, and certainly strong enough for what I'd expect him to sound like a nearly 76. As long as they are smart about the song tempos and the pacing of the set I think he'll be fine.

It was also a pleasant surprise to hear them just going for E-flat tuning. I thought for sure they'd be going down a full step this time around for Brian.

Between this and Slash's upcoming album (in which I'd say odds are decent enough that he got Axl to sing on a track), we'll soon be able to piece together a hypothetical new Guns N' Roses album!

8 hours ago, LandOla said:

I misread that as a "Bowling arena" and thought damn the mighty have fallen fast...

In 2013, you might have been correct.

Why would they rehearse with a different drummer and then bother to release a clip of it?

Slade had a stroke in 2021. He's back to playing with his Timeline band but if you listen to any recent clips I doubt he could do a full show anymore. I'm happy he's out there doing his thing (and glad I got to see him with the band), but it won't be him.

Simon isn't exactly busy right now so if those rumours were true he'd certainly be rehearsing with them. The AC/DC forum has a huge boner for Simon in the "Simon vs. Chris" debate and this certainly isn't the first time they've been wrong.

That said, it does seem quite out of character for AC/DC to take the "session guy" route, but all the same the whole "AXL/DC" era was completely out of character.

Matt Laug (who played with Slash's Snakepit) will be the drummer - confirmed by AC/DC on their Instagram rehearsal clip.

1 minute ago, Ratam said:

When is the next show after it one?

Knoxville on the 12th.

18 hours ago, colonizedmind said:

Are people just naturally glass half full in Canadia? Lots of positivity around Axl on this one but having listened, he's clearly a bit ill and to my ears, his worst show of the entire tour...sadly! 

Well it's aboot time we git to discussin' some Guns N' Roses over maple syrup and beers, eh?

I think it was just clear that Axl was giving his physical performance everything he has, and that more than made up for the rough vocals. I'm not going to pretend the verses of There Was A Time, for example, sounded good, but the effort was there and Slash rocking one of his best takes on a Chinese Democracy solo more than made up for it.

What's promising about his baritone voice is how comfortable he sounds and how he has complete control over it. Even if that's the future, it's at least something that he can work with and continue to sing. He might even be able to work with a coach to restructure the songs and still use the highs when able to. Otherwise, I really liked the changes to the melody in Estranged. It gives it spontaneity.

Look at someone like Paul Stanley. He can barely speak these days (let alone sing). There's been some serious damage there. He basically whispers into the microphone to introduce the songs before the backing tracks take over.

I much prefer what Axl is doing. If his longevity as a singer is extended by doing this baritone and sounding pretty darn good doing it, then I'm all for it.

I had no trouble getting the litho in Toronto. The outside merch table had plenty to go around. I haven't really gotten into the litho collecting but I quite like it! Looks even better up on the wall.

52 minutes ago, Drakestar said:

Wait, what? They only charged mt $56.50 for the litho (50 + tax). I better go check my receipt since I did buy three (one tour litho, one show litho to keep and one show lithoto hopefully trade for a Pittsburgh one)

47 minutes ago, Coma16 said:

Charged me $65 + tax ~$73.... for the show litho that is, at Blue Jays store

Yeah I bought it outside and it was $65 plus tax. Still a better deal than the rather mediocre shirt selection!

I feel the the AC/DC forum is always rolling with some sort of "Simon Wright is returning!" rhetoric. I thought that place was going to implode when Slade showed up at the Grammy's in 2015.

I honestly hate this cashless venue business. Gone are the cash deals. Now it's tax on the overpriced beer and food and getting prompted for a tip on every last terminal. A tip for what - handing me my t-shirt?