I can never get enough of AC/DC, but I didn’t really think I’d be that interested in their history- until I read this book. The new release from Voyageur Press, AC/DC: High Voltage Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Ultimate Illustrated History, is a must-have for any AC/DC fan… (Christmas anyone? You can purchase it online here.)
The cover of AC/DC: High Voltage Rock 'n' Roll features a "spinner" to make Angus Young rock out even harder than usual!
The book is written by London-based freelance journalist, Phil Sutcliffe. His “rock writer” career dates back to 1974, and his credits include interviews with Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Nirvana, Queen, and many more.
The book is 224 pages in length, features 150 color and 100 b/w photos, and offers the most interesting cover I’ve seen to date. On it, Angus Young is rocking out on his back… on a spinner! Yes, you can make out-of-control-Angus a little more rock ‘n’ roll with the spin of a wheel. Awesome.
Sutcliffe takes readers through the history of the group, one step at a time, and shows how it was a “long way to the top.” The band is arguably one of the greatest rock groups of all time, but they weren’t always selling out arenas. Sutcliffe knows that first hand, as he tells of seeing the band in 1976 at The Marquee in London (which he describes as a “dank and dripping cave of a club”).
The band’s early days are the first stop, glam and all. The author details line-up changes, side projects and spin-offs, and famous quotes like, “We’re going to be one of the greatest bands in the world… It’s a shame Hendrix is dead: I wanted to blow him off stage.” -Angus Young, quoted by early AC/DC bassist Neil Smith
Speaking of Angus, the book even goes into detail about his rig and preferences of guitar strings. Nice.
Perhaps my favorite structural element of the book is the way the LPs are broken out and individually discussed throughout. Every album gets its own analysis by guest authors, which I think is a nice touch by Sutcliffe.
Later portions of the story cover the death of Bon Scott, their decision to move on with Brian Johnson as a replacement. Consider Sutcliffe’s own spin on Johnson:
“While less idiosyncratic than Scott, he wrote lyrics full of fired-up sex, bolshieness, blues double entendres, and cunning rhymes. And they were all his own work, contrary to occasional malicious rumors.”
AC/DC’s uphill battles with religious fanatics and protesters are also a topic of the book. “Anti-Christ / Devil Children” was just one of the many names these groups speculated to be represented by the “AC/DC” moniker. Johnson remarked in an 80′s interview that he didn’t remember the bible even mentioning rock ‘n’ roll, and the “religious maniacs” scared him.
Fast forward to recent years, and the book discusses their decision to tour again after Black Ice, and contemporary items the band never would have needed to consider in their early days, like digital downloading sites and exclusivity with Wal-Mart.
Whether you love or hate their powerful (yet simplistic) riffs or their testosterone soaked lyrics, you cannot argue the band’s influence on modern rock. Bands like Jet, Buckcherry, Jackyl, The Cult, and a plethora of others have followed in the rock ‘n’ roll footsteps of AC/DC. It is a sound that is not going away anytime soon, and neither is the band. As quoted in an interview with Q’s Tom Doyle, Johnson remarks, “It gets harder, y’know. But when you… look into the crowd and you’ve driven them into this sweat-soaked, fucked-up state. They’re looking at you, going, ‘Who’s gonna give first?’ And it’s not gonna be me.”
HullabaLOU 2010 was a sight to see. In all, 66 bands performed during the 3-day extravaganza, drawing in 78,753 fans from 47 states and Canada. The headliners (Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, and The Dave Matthews Band) weren’t the only reason for such a good turnout. The secondary acts were nothing to sneeze at, including the likes of Train, The Doobie Brothers, Huey Lewis & the News, Al Green, Loretta Lynn, The Black Crowes, and many, many more…
and some disc jockeys like B96’s Mark Gunn and WAMZ’s Coyote Calhoun.
The Black Crowes is who I really wanted to see from the early sets, and they did not disappoint me. Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson have had a good thing going for some time now, and are one of the most well-loved acts of their genre. Chris’ vocals are filled with as much soul as there is incense in the air coming from the large gourd-like burners onstage. “She Talks To Angels” was just fantastic. From seeing them live, I also noticed that guitarist, Luther Dickinson, often plays with out a pick. 
Even when he solos and is shredding it up on his Fender Stratocaster (or other axe of choice), it seems a guitar pick is not an essential item. On a side note, he also slightly resembles “Skitz,” a phenomenal local bassist (formerly of Institution). Good ol’ heat was an issue, par for the course, and Chris said to the crowd that he hoped they were videoing their set, because he might evaporate. “I’ve never evaporated before… I might evaporate off into the cosmos,” he said. 
Drummer, Steve Gorman, and keyboardist, Adam MacDougall, seem to “talk” out their parts as they play, reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix as he soloed away in his own little world. My only criticism of the Crowes comes as a strike to the entire genre they belong to at times, and that is “jam bands.” I love me some jam bands just as much as the next guy (wearing a tie dyed shirt), but I have a rule: no “jamming” when it is over 100 degrees. I need hooks and melodies and lyrics to distract from from the heat. If you jam for more than 30 seconds, you break my rule. Get back to the hook; I’m hot. ‘Choruses, take me away!’
Next up, Dwight Yoakam. All I can say is I was super-stoked to see the man who brought us songs like “Guitars, Cadillacs” and “Fast as You,” AND characters like “Doyle Hargraves” in the movie Slingblade and “Doc Miles” and the Crank movies. 
Leading up to Dwight’s set, I was reciting lines left and right from Doyle/Slingblade to my media-counterparts (Jason Ashcraft/LMN, Kyle Merideth/WFPK). This was much to their annoyance, I’m sure. “We don’t got no G*d d*mn band! We don’t need to f**kin’ practice, Randy!… I’ll whip the dogsh*t out of you…” Classic lines, used many times at my own band practices. Anyhow, aside from playing some rude/odd characters in movies, the Pikeville, Kentucky native plays some incredible music. Do you remember my story from Day 1 about listening to country music in the car non-stop when I was a kid? 
I remember hating Dwight Yoakam then, and in recent years, I have become addicted to his music. He played several of my personal favorites, such as “Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose,” “Guitars, Cadillacs,” “Fast as You,” “1000 Miles From Nowhere,” “Little Sister,” “Honkey Tonk Man,” and others. During the song, “This Time,” the power for the entire stage blew out! Dwight kept singing for a bit, thinking it might come back on momentarily, but eventually abandoned that notion when the silence persisted for over 2 minutes. 
He returned with a Johnny Cash cover of “Ring of Fire” in a true-Dwight Yoakam style. On a complete tangent, his guitarist and bassist win the “Shiniest Sequin Country-Western Outfit” award of the year. During his set, he humbly thanked everyone for letting him share the stage with another Kentucky native, the legendary Loretta Lynn. Dwight showed true character, talent, and professionalism throughout the night, and solidified his ranking in my book as a top HullabaLOU performer for the entire weekend.
KANSAS and I got face to face for the second time since February 2009. Almost immediately after arriving to see the second half of their set, I was reminded of what talented, technical musicians they are. Rich Williams (guitar) and Dave Ragsdale (violin) were tearing it up in a dual solo. To see these guys trade licks is phenomenal. Steve Walsh (vocals, keyboards) was very energetic tonight too, coming out from behind the keyboard to the front of the stage to work the crowd as a frontman. This was not something I remember him doing as much at Belterra Casino last year. 
I wasn’t there to see much by the band, but I did catch the famous closer, “Carry on Wayward Son.” I could hear bassist, Billy Greer, say, “Are you ready? Are you ready?!,” off the microphone to the people up front before the song started. ‘Wayward’ kicks my ass every time I hear it… especially live. And to top off a great KANSAS quickie, I caught a drumstick autographed by Phil Ehart!
Last, but not least, was Dave Matthews Band. Dave had the honor of headlining the last day of the big event, and with his popularity, it should come as no surprise. This is the band that plays multiple sell-out dates wherever they go, has sold over 30 million albums, and headlines festivals across the country (i.e.- Bonnaroo). The band was in good form tonight, and thankfully played “Crush,” which is one of my personal favorite DMB songs of all time! They also played hits like “Don’t Drink the Water,” “Why I Am,” and “You & Me.” 
Dave also took part in the duet/collaboration them of the weekend by having Zac Brown join him for a Bob Dylan cover of “All Along the Watchtower.” He closed the show with the mega-hit, “Ants Marching,” another one of my personal favs. 
Remember what I mentioned earlier about The Black Crowes breaking my “no jam bands when it’s 100 degrees rule?” Lucky for me, while listening to DMB, there were a few advantages: no sun, less heat, a good buzz, and a seat. For me, these components are essential for a quality jam band experience. It was a winning formula.
The first band I picked up for the day was Louisville’s very own Villebillies. I did a Louisville Music News cover story on these guys back in June 2004, and they have only improved since. The band played the Budweiser stage and had a very large crowd of enthusiastic fans waiting to see what they had cooked up. The band intros with a few bars of Sabbath’s “Iron Man” before driving into “One Shot,” full of energy.
Appropriately for being at Churchill Downs, the Villebillies were “out of the gate.” The band played some familiar tunes like “Whiskey,” “Burnin’ Down the House,” “Rolling Stone,” and “Grass Roots.” They played some unfamiliar ones too, which shows me its been a while since I have seen them live. Demi Demaree and the boys inject hometown references in their music wherever possible, and demonstrates a sense local pride that is contagious. 
This would fall on deaf ears if they weren’t so damned talented about it! I can’t help but to get some of their lines stuck in my head all day after listening to them just once. The line, “If the whiskey don’t kill me, I don’t know what will,” should serve as good advice for this weekend!
I finished taking my pictures, but on the way back, I couldn’t stop myself from flexing my 90′s musical trivia strength. “It’s actually Warren G and Nate Dogg,” I corrected the gentleman in the crowd. We were, of course, referencing the keyboard/bass line that was sampled from that song in the rap song “Regulate.” I then proceeded to rap the lyrics over Michael’s playing to prove my point further. I consider it one part community service, one part cruelty to eardrums.
Steppenwolf was a bit of a disappointment to me until they got to their hits, “Magic Carpet Ride” and “Born to Be Wild.” Sadly, all I could think of during “Magic Carpet Ride” was the movie “Team America: World Police” by the creators of South Park. There’s a hilarious scene in that movie where the puppets (marionettes) are dancing to that tune at a party. It is shame for Steppenwolf that the association of their tune and that movie scene cannot be separated in my head for love or money. 
That’s the danger, I suppose, with selling songs for movie soundtracks… especially those combining puppets and the Matt/Trey duo. “Born to Be Wild” was a treat, though it was a little less edgy than I hoped for.
Al rocked some Motown hits throughout his set like, “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” and “My Girl.” He also did his own hits you would expect, like “I’m So Tired of Being Alone,”in which he asked, “Can you feel the groove?” 
He added, “I bet there’s people out there wondering if Al’s still got it!” Of course, for the next few moments he showed each and every one of us that Al’s still got it. For the second time this weekend I heard “Pretty Woman,” but obviously with a different spin than Bon Jovi’s version last night. With songs like “I’m Still in Love With You,” “Love and Happiness,” “L-O-V-E (Love),” and the like, it’s no wonder that orgasms are to Al Green’s music like hamburgers are to McDonald’s… ‘billions and billions served’. 
The song in mention was “The Power of Love,” written in 1985 and still rock-able material today. “Do You Believe in Love?” was next in the encore set, and was then that I started to feel overwhelmed with songs with “Love” in the title… I mean, first Al Green’s assault of hot and sticky songs, now 2 in a row about love from Huey?! I thought this was a family show! Huey gets a pass since that tune was his first top ten hit.
The band had not been together for a year and a half, but that really didn’t matter to me, considering that most of the songs I knew by them were written pre-1985. Exile was one of the bands I looked forward to seeing the most, but didn’t realize it until I actually saw them play. It was crazy how many hits they had that I remembered from my childhood. Riding in the car with my Mom and Step-dad in the eighties/early nineties meant country music… so it should serve as no surprise that I grew up to play in a metal band (Surviving Thalia). Coming full circle is a bitch. The guys rocked out their original rendition of “Heart and Soul,” which as the band confessed, was a flop for them, but worked out great for Huey Lewis when he covered it. 
They showed off their talent for vocal harmony in their own cover version of “People Get Ready.” For anyone in the crowd who did not know who they were, the hit “Kiss You All Over” from 1978 should have done the trick. Last but not least, their closing song was one of my favorites, “Super Love…” I ‘ain’t no doctor’ either, ‘ain’t got no PhD’, ‘but if you wanna’ talk about’ hit songs and a solid musical career… ‘you better talk to’ Exile.
I asked them, “Is there anybody you’re listening to now that you think might have the same kind of longevity as you?” The response included the likes of Train, Kings of Leon, and John Mayer, though admittedly they said that was a difficult thing to predict. From what I heard through the grapevine, The Doobie Brothers put on a show that day that should set the standard for bands who desire longevity like theirs.
Next, I watched The B-52s perform on the Fleur De Lis stage, one of 5 stages at HullabaLOU. The “funny quote of the day” goes to Fred Schneider in response to Kate Pierson’s comment, “It’s hot up here, where’s the golden mist?” Fred’s response, in an inquisitive tone, clarified, “The golden mist?!” In that vein of fun rock and roll lives the B-52s, a band that you can’t help but to smile while watching. They sounded great, and the fact that they rocked out “Love Shack” made my day. In a little bar somewhere, there lives the memory of my coworker, Aprile, and I performing that song on Karaoke night… an infamous, reputation-building night for being uninhibited by the structure of Corporate America. I do a pretty mean Fred on vocals. An invitation will definitely be sent to the band to perform at my next party, because they are that freakin’ fun. I would totally “shimmy” at that party. Guitarist, Keith Strickland, and Kate came to the press box to grant an interview following their set. Keith was sporting a “My Morning Jacket” t-shirt, and had very positive things to say about Louisville’s hottest act. “They’ve got a lot of light in their music,” he said. The band is bound to continue touring and doing what they do best… and why not? It has served them well for over 30 years.
Train took the main HullabaLOU stage that evening, and put on an energetic show. Among other songs, they performed their hits “Calling All Angels,” “Drops of Jupiter,” and “Hey, Soul Sister.” Mid-set, frontman, Pat Monahan, said to the audience, “Now when I come out there, don’t say ‘I thought you’d be taller!’” as he descended into the crowd via ladder from the high altitude stage. While performing “Marry Me,” he worked his mojo on the ladies reaching out for hands and posing for pictures. “Now that we’re married, we need to have our first dance, so let’s practice,” said Pat to the pleased crowd of thousands. Train commanded the evening and showed that they belonged right where they were- on the main stage.
Friday’s headliner was the iconic Bon Jovi, a band I have been waiting my whole life to see. Biased? Yes, but I think many others would agree they did their damnedest to steal the show and be deserving of the precious headlining spot on opening night. They worked in a list of hits including “Bad Name,” “It’s My Life,” “Keep the Faith,” “Dead or Alive,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and many more… Dierks joined the band for “Dead or Alive,” and I think he fits the “I’m a cowboy” line a little better than Jon, but they made for an excellent duet nonetheless. Jon even squeezed in some Roy Orbison in the form of “Pretty Woman” before “Bad Medicine.” The highlight of the evening for me was “Livin’ on a Prayer.” I think everyone within a 10 row radius heard me singing along. That’s not a good thing for them, but dignity aside, I had a blast doing it.
