I’d been looking forward to this gig since before Christmas. What could be better than witnessing the legendary AC/DC close their 2008/2009 Black Ice Tour and play to a 60,000 capacity crowd in Angus’s and Malcolm’s hometown of Glasgow? It promised to be a memorable occasion, and it didn’t disappoint!...... Gates opened at 4pm, with the opening act (The Answer) due on at 6pm and the second act (The Subways) due on at 7.15pm, before AC/DC took the stage at 8.45pm. My brother and his mate were on the pitch in the standing section and so headed in as soon as the gates opened to secure a lucrative spot, which they did (right next to the runway that both Angus and Brian subsequently paraded all night to draw maximum energy from the packed stadium. We, on the other hand arrived instead at 6pm, as it would have been too long a night to get there any earlier (well, we left the house at 5pm and what would have normally been a 10 minute ride took close to an hour with all the pedestrian traffic we had to zig-zag through!). With an extra 30 minutes to queue for an immortal AC/DC t-shirt, we didn’t enter the arena until close to 6.30pm, by which time The Answer had just started on stage. The stadium was still less than half full at this point, but already you could feel an initial atmosphere that was only going to build and build as the night went on…… We were ushered to our seats, which were on a raised disabled seating platform, disappointingly very far back and left of stage, meaning we had to rely on the screen to see any of the action. Also, the platform was only raised about 3ft, therefore we did not have an unobstructed view of the runway which, as I mentioned earlier, was heavily used by both Brian and Angus throughout the show. This was the only negative aspect of the night, as it made us feel that we were not totally involved in the concert. I don’t know whose decision it was to position the disabled platform so far away, but it is indicative of how disabled people are still treated as second-class citizens in the UK, which I think is disgraceful in this day and age…… Anyway, back to the show. The opening act, Irish band, The Answer, were enjoyable enough to listen to as far as support acts go at a rock ‘n’ roll gig. The lead singer’s voice was very impressive, when I could hear it clearly, and it reminded me a little of Axl Rose (Guns ‘n’ Roses). I say clearly because where we were sitting, there was a very noticeable rear-firing echo (sound going past us, bouncing off the stand behind us and coming back to us much too late) which made the music sound muddled and ill-defined. So out came my Alpine ear-plugs (which turned out to be a wise choice in light of AC/DC’s closing cannon-shots which must have surely exceeded 125dB SPL (and if I remember correctly instant loss of hearing occurs at 130dB!). In addition to reducing the overall volume level by a precious few dB’s, the ear-plugs also helped filter out the rear-firing echo, which made the music a little clearer to hear…… I didn’t enjoy the second band, The Subway (which was originally supposed to be Thin Lizzy according to the online schedule??!!). The bass guitarist engaged in so much head-banging I’m surprised she didn’t comatose herself! And the lead singer’s chat was limited to “fuck this” and “fuck that”. But towards the end they did a good job at getting the crowd riled up, which was evident from the number of half-empty beer glasses being thrown high into the sky!...... At exactly 8.40pm, smoke started to bellow from the stage, accompanied by a gradually building thunderous plodding sound, like a steam train, only 10 times as ground shattering! This was accompanied by a V.T. of AC/DC's single Rock ‘n’ Roll train from their new Black Ice album, which featured the mischievous AC/DC schoolboy humour we all know and love! As the train crashes on screen, the stage erupts in a show of pyrotechnics, a larger-than-life model of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Train bursts through the stage set, and the band take to their stage in their notorious swagger and clothing (it still amazes me how Malcolm still has the visual appearance of an undernourished 17-yr old!). Angus’s opening guitar riff on his Gibson SG cuts through the air, followed quickly by Phil’s driving drumbeat, always simple in its delivery but it is this simplicity that never fails to get the crowd bouncing up and down to the rhythm. Brian comes in on vocals, and you know from then on that it’s going to be one hell of a show. A barrage of anthems followed suit, including the notable Back In Black, Thunderstruck and You Shook Me All Night Long, the second of which lifted the crowd from 5th into 6th gear. Brian Johnson belted out every song was a raucous intensity that proves that he still has the shredded pipes to shake a stadium filled with crazy Glaswegian fans to its foundations. It has been rumoured that backstage before every gig, the Geordie gargles with an unforgiving mixture of boiling crude oil and sharp sand to give his vocal chords that “cut-up” sound, and it is a mixture that definitely works! He looked as if he’d never had so much fun on stage, and the facial expressions of both he and Angus were extremely entertaining the whole night. In fact the energy of the entire band was punishingly relentless!...... Other highlights worth mentioning included the added bonus of being treated a nice pair of breasts on the big screen during You Shook Me All Night Long (let’s face it, no rock concert is complete without at least one vixen in the crowd flashing her wears when the camera is on her!). And, in keeping with this tone, the anticipated appearance of the huge inflatable doll during the song Whole Lotta Rosie (Bon Scott’s tribute to the “voluptuous lady”) brought yet another smile to the crowd, this time sporting breasts much bigger than I can remember, seductively straddling the enormous steam train, and even tapping her foot to the music!...... Time passed at an alarming speed and before we knew it, the dimming blue sky had turned dark and AC/DC left the stage. After a few moments of “Angus! Angus! Angus!” chants from the crowd, the band returned with a no-nonsense two-track encore, starting with Highway To Hell (which Angus introduced with a guitar solo of the famous Scottish anthem "Loch Lomond"), and ending with the immortal For Those About To Rock (We Salute You). During this epic track, the customary big silver cannons rolled out onto stage, and boy did those cannons take a brutal battering! Having seen AC/DC with my dad in 2000 when I was 14, I knew what to expect, but last night was my mum’s first AC/DC concert and she jumped out of her seat when each cannon was fired! It sounded great with the ear-plugs in, and I wasn’t brave/stupid enough to hear what they sounded like with the ear-plugs out!…… As if the pyrotechnics couldn’t get any better, after the band saluted Glasgow and left the stage for the final time at around 10.45pm, the end of the show and end of the tour was marked with a closing fireworks display from on top of the stadium. Amazingly it was the best fireworks display I’ve ever seen, but not even this could up-stage AC/DC’s performance last night (truthfully, nothing short of a meteorite striking the stadium would have up-staged AC/DC’s performance!). It was truly an unforgettable experience, and I desperately hope that this is not the last time AC/DC tour Britain because last night proved that they are still the Ultimate Stadium Rock Band!....... I've uploaded some video clips, but if you search "AC/DC Hampden" on YouTube you'll probably find better clips uploaded by people who were closer to the stage than us......