Story of the Rock'n'Roll Train

"The tickets to the show sold out in 11 minutes," ZZ told me sadly on the phone. "If we really want to see them, we need to travel somewhere else..."

And so the idea was born. When a legend such as AC/DC go on a tour, there's a good chance that it's their last one - and one you really don't want to miss. So the decision was made - it doesn't matter where in Europe we get the tickets, we go there...

I could write epic novels about the French, who went to great lengths to reinforce all the stereotypes - including but not limited to going on strikes just for the sake of it when it's least convenient, not being able (or willing) to speak or even understand English (with all honours to the few exceptions), or their many organisational blunders that cost us four hours of precious time in Paris... but no one's interested in such a rant anyway. :-)



As we couldn't make our minds up in time, plane tickets were already unavailable for a decent price, so we chose to take a train to the show. I didn't realise how symbolic it was until the show started and the real Rock'n'Roll train appeared at the stage. The best way to go were Interrail <26 tickets, five days for €159. As there was a reservation or some unidentifiable surcharge to be paid on almost every train, the price for transport alone was over two hundred, easily making it the most expensive show I've ever been to.


On the other hand, the German ICE and French TGV trains are really cool, and as far as land-based transportation is concerned, easily preferable to cars when it comes to speed and perhaps even convenience. Sadly, new Czech Pendolino trains are really just a joke compared to these.

Just to clarify, the only photos in this set that are mine are the few from before the show... as I didn't dare bring my camera to the mosh pit. There were people queuing at every entrance for over six hours before the show... and the venue, Stade de France, was awesome. With 80 000 seats on the triple-tier tribunes alone, the feeling was very majestic and inspiring, especially for the few of us right below the stage. :-D The crowd was really powerful, making Mexican waves around and around.



As for the show itself... let me just say it was freakin' awesome. I tried not to have exceeding expectations, but that's hard to avoid when you travel by train through half of the continent, and pay a small fortune for the trip. But oh my, this was an experience that is definitely going to give me shivers when I remember it for years to come. The venue was great, the performance was breathtaking, the crowd was fantastic, the sound was brilliant, and overall I think this was the best show I've ever been to, possibly rivalled by Therion's Miskolc classical show - and that's saying something.



So to AC/DC I award the glorious amount of 100 goshu points, making it a supreme világos. :-) It's understandable why only the three of us went there, but if the rest of you get another chance, don't let it slip. Definitely worth paying as much as you can afford. :-)

And finally, for a weak teaser of what it was, here's a video.



Stay tuned for more of Paris coming soon!