AC/DC Frenzy

Thursday April 15th, 2010 - Milwaukee, WI

Another tax day, another extension. Again, I blew my yearly goal of having all my stuff ready so I can get my return filed on or even before today, but that’s life. Things get in the way and for another year I’ll have to do it later. It’s not illegal, so I won’t sweat it. I’ll get everything together and get it to the accountant and he’ll take care of it as he always does.

Nobody enjoys thinking about all that, at least nobody sane. I wanted to escape from the real world and as luck would have it I scored an extra ticket to see AC/DC at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. I’d always heard they put on a fantastic show and I always enjoy an opportunity to study master showmen in any genre. If it’s done well, I’ll be a fan for life.

I was never a huge fan of theirs, even though I don’t despise them like many women do. They’re the Three Stooges of rock. Guys revere them, women revile them. Not all women hate them, as there were quite a few hotties in the house, but the ones who do - really do.

The critiques I’ve heard about them always say they don’t have a lot of range and all the songs sound the same, and I guess part of that is true but it’s true for most bands that hit it big. Do all ZZ Top songs sound the same? To me they do, but I still like them. It’s a style.

KC & The Sunshine Band is another example. Disco is long dead, but I love KC’s style and he still continues to pack houses because he knows how to entertain an audience. I’ve never seen them live, but I’m a big fan of their recordings and if they show up, I’m there.

I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see AC/DC, so I went. WOW, what a show they put on. I don’t think the reviews I heard did them justice. I was blown away by how much energy they cranked out, and were able to keep it up for the entire show. They were great.

The crowd was all the way back to the last row, and if I had to hazard a guess I’d say it was about 12,000. Maybe more. Nobody got cheated, that’s for sure. We all got the price of our ticket and more. I’d have to say this was one of the best shows I’ve ever attended.

I’m always going to be partial to George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic, but they’re locked in as my favorite band. I tried to compare the two acts during the show, and I have to admit AC/DC really hammers it home. They didn’t let up the entire time, and I wonder how those guys can keep that energy going that long. Angus Young is 55. I looked it up.

Brian Johnson is 62 and was running all over the stage and none of them missed a beat. To still be that energetic and pack arenas at that age is nothing short of amazing. It was an extremely tight show, with hit after hit after hit. They kept banging it out the entire night.

George Clinton does that too, but his venue size is shrinking unfortunately. They’re still fantastic, but the public doesn’t know it. AC/DC is definitely not an oldies act. They’re as popular now as I can remember them in high school, and I wasn’t a huge fan then even if most of my friends were. I knew who they were and they were ok. I’m now a huge fan.

The main reason I enjoyed them so much is that they give the fans what they want. The crowd they draw is very blue collar as a rule, and those people don’t want to hear about a tortured artist or some kind of fairy dust opus from the 15th Century. They want to ROCK.

Period. They want to hear loud music they can bob their heads to, and they want to hear it all night long. They don’t need to hear complicated stories about angst filled divas with drug issues or anything other than the songs they love on their stereo. AC/DC delivers it.

They do have a lot of hits, and yes I’d say quite a few of them sound the same, but I saw thousands of people pumping their fists and enjoying every one of them. They please their fans, and what else matters but that? The critics? I don’t see critics paying anyone’s bills.

Another thing that blew me away was the merchandising. I have no idea who’s the main force behind it but I wish I could hook up with them. They’ve got it DOWN. I counted 18 t-shirts for sale, not counting anything else. That’s 18 different designs…at $40 per shirt.

I also saw buttons for $10, a flag for $50 and even an AC/DC neck tie. I’d always heard Kiss were the marketing kings, but if AC/DC isn’t up there I’d be shocked. They had a lot of stuff for sale, and I saw people buying it. I saw people wearing it too. I lost count at all the t-shirts I saw worn by those who were already there. They’re a clothing line as well.

That’s one thing George Clinton never really capitalized on. In recent years I’ve seen an upgrade in his merchandising, but not much and it’s not consistent either. I know how the mindset is though. Performers want to perform. We’re not interested in selling t-shirts for bald fat white guys to wear on fishing trips, or behind the wheel of their tractor trailers.

Still, those are the people who are the most loyal, and those people were there to see the show. They were singing along with every word, and the band gave them exactly what all of them wanted, and they did it with flair. I was very impressed with the whole operation.

I made it a point to stand and watch the crowd file out to see what I could learn. I don’t know what I expected, but it was interesting to note their mood. Most were in a fabulous mindset. I saw big smiles, high fives and people gushing how much they loved the show.

I also saw even more t-shirts than I noticed before. I’d have to say there were thousands of them, with AC/DC being the most popular and Harley Davidson the second. That was the common theme, and the genius behind the t-shirt concession has got to be super rich.

This was a huge lesson, and I’m glad I went. I felt like I attended a marketing seminar instead of a concert, but that’s ok. The lessons will hopefully last longer than the ringing in my ears from the loud music. This a marketing machine, and I loved seeing it work.

Seeing all this made my little piss ant CD seem infinitesimally small, but at least it’s a start. I won’t be able to crank out the energy or income AC/DC does, but at least I’ll have a standard of excellence to shoot for. These guys get it done. I learned a whole lot tonight.