Atlantic Canada Concert Scene

[Dmajackson]

From the Burnside News:

• Power Promotional has announced the latest addition to its KISS concert line-up. “We had a special request from our headlining group to add an additional artist, Frankie Whyte, to our show and we’re pleased to announce she has agreed to join us,” says Harold MacKay, president of Power Promotional. MacKay has also released the show’s schedule: doors open at 2:30 p.m., followed by Frankie Whyte from 3 to 3:20 p.m.; local band contest winner from 3:45 to 4:15 p.m.; Novaks from 4:35 to 5:15 p.m.; Econoline Crush from 5:35 to 6:35 p.m.; Thornley from 6:55 to 7:55 p.m.; The Trews from 8:15 to 9:15 p.m.; and KISS from 9:45 to 11:15 p.m.

[kirjtc2]

There are very very strong rumours on another board that Bruce Springsteen will be playing Magnetic Hill on Labour Day weekend....wow...just wow.

And also....the Tragically Hip have pulled out of the Virgin festival in Halifax tomorrow and tickets are now free. I'm in Halifax this weekend anyway and I just may go now.

[MonctonRad]

I'm frankly quite surprised that nobody from Halifax has posted re: Sir Paul's concert on the commons on the weekend. Here is the article from the T&T

Paul McCartney rocks the East Coast
Published Monday July 13th, 2009

Legendary rocker shows no signs of aging as he rocks 2-hour plus show, rips through 36 classic songs
By Eric Lewis
Times & Transcript Staff

HALIFAX - At 67 years of age, you could be forgiven for questioning just how energetic legendary rocker Paul McCartney would be when he took the stage at the Halifax Common on Saturday night.


The former Beatle, Wings member and legendary solo artist put any doubts to rest right away when he half-jogged out onto the stage amid a roar from the tens of thousands in attendance and immediately kicked into the Beatles' classic Drive My Car, a rockin' opener that served as only a small taste of things to come.

The weather in Halifax Saturday was perfect for the show. Hot, but not too humid, in the afternoon, it cooled off as the night went on and provided a great setting for a rock 'n' roll show.

McCartney was lively, energetic and chatty during his more than two-and-a half-hour set.

"Good evening Halifax. Good evening Nova Scotia. Good evening Canada," McCartney said early in the show to a roar from the crowd.

"Macca" and his top-notch band of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., keyboardist Paul (Wix) Wickens and guitar players Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray ripped through 36 songs, playing with a fire and energy many young bands could benefit from paying attention to.

"You couldn't tell that he is 67 years old," says Denis Mazerolle, 29, of Moncton. "Having seen The Police and Ozzy recently, and then a younger band like Coldplay, I think McCartney could keep up with a young band like Coldplay."

Mazerolle travelled down to Halifax for the weekend with friends from Metro Moncton, and the group left quite impressed with the living legend that is McCartney.

"Overall, the show was fantastic," says Andrew LeBlanc, 25, of Riverview. "McCartney hasn't slowed down at all and still has a really energetic show. As expected, we got a little bit of everything from his solo tunes, Beatles and Wings."

The band even played a few tunes from McCartney's side-project The Fireman to the surprise of many.

The lengthy show was all about the music -- including such hits as Jet, Eleanor Rigby, Band on the Run, Something, Get Back, Yesterday and more. McCartney moved easily between playing bass, electric and acoustic guitar, ukulele and piano depending on the song, and his voice sounded as though the singer hasn't aged a day from his days as a Beatle.

There were lights and some animations displayed on a screen behind the band, but it wasn't until McCartney tore into Live and Let Die that the pyrotechnics came into play.

When McCartney slammed his fingers down on his piano leading into the song's heavy guitar riff, the stage exploded with fire and fireworks shot from the roof of the stage, lighting up downtown Halifax.

It was a moment that elicited gasps and cheers from the crowd and likely served as a precursor to this coming Saturday's KISS concert on the Common.

And while he's viewed as a legend with few equals, McCartney came across as very down to earth. He joked with the audience and even proved he isn't infallible despite his 40-plus years in the music business.

Kicking into 1966 Beatles' classic Paperback Writer with an acappella bit, McCartney quickly stopped the band, realizing he started the song in the wrong key.

"I knew it was in G "¦ I just thought it was A," he said with a smile, showing he can still laugh at himself. "Hey, it's my song, I can screw it up if I like."

A distraction from the crowd Saturday forced another McCartney mistake that led to a highlight of the show. He flubbed a line in Calico Sky after looking into the crowd and seeing a teenage girl holding a sign that read: 'Will you sign my arm so I can get it tattooed?'

McCartney finished the song, joked about how he'd been distracted, then brought the ecstatic girl on stage and signed her shoulder with a marker. As a bemused McCartney looked on, she ran screaming around the stage to hug the band before being escorted off by security.

"You'd better get the tattoo done now," he said as she left to laughter and cheers.

Andrew LeBlanc says there were many highlights from the show, including a great version of 1968 Beatles' tune Lady Madonna.

"And there's nothing like being in a crowd of tens of thousands of people and singing Hey Jude," LeBlanc says. "It was a very surreal feeling."

Denis Mazerolle agrees that there were too many highlights to name them all.

"It's hard to pick one out particularly. I really liked Helter Skelter but I have to say Live and Let Die was pretty amazing with all the pyrotechnics."

And the opening acts, Sierra Noble, Wintersleep and the Joel Plaskett Emergency impressed as well.

Plaskett in particular proved he is as capable as anyone in working a crowd of thousands with ease.

"I thought Joel Plaskett as a local boy put on a really good show and represented the province and the region well," Mazerolle says.

Plaskett had the crowd singing along to his hits Nowhere With You and Fashionable People.

During McCartney's first encore, more locals took the stage when the 78th Highlanders Pipe Band from Halifax joined McCartney for a stirring rendition of Mull of Kintyre.

The show featured two encores from McCartney and didn't end until nearly midnight. McCartney and his ace band left the stage full of smiles after their first date of their summer tour and their one and only Canadian date this year.

It was a show no one in attendance will ever forget.

See Halifax........we Monctonians don't begrudge you guys an occasional good party!

[Architype]

Maybe that's his way of apologizing for interfering with the sealing industry. Just a thought.

[Dmajackson]

Well I didn't attend the show so I can't speak from a personal experience but from what I'e heard it went off almost perfectly.

Estimates are 50'000 paid to see the show and Mayor Kelly estimated around 10'000 more stood on the sidewalks and Citadel Hill to hear the music. The weather was perfect for the concert and seeing the Commons todat personally absolutely no damage was done to the site so the NIMBY's can't complain.

Hopefully the KISS concert next weekend is as flawless.

[Dmajackson]

I don't know who this is but it somehow made the front page.

Billy Bragg to play Halifax in November

By STEPHEN COOKE Entertainment Reporter
Wed. Jul 15 - 12:35 PM

British folk/pop/punk icon Billy Bragg returns to Halifax to perform at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m.

Bragg is touring in support of his latest release Mr. Love & Justice, recorded with his band the Blokes, including old friends Ian McLagan of the Faces and Robert Wyatt.

Whether firing pointed political blasts from a fully loaded guitar or singing a poignantly romantic ballad, Bragg has been winning hearts and minds for more than 25 years, from early hits like Levi Stubbs’ Tears and Greetings to the New Brunette to his collaboration with Wilco on the Mermaid Avenue CDs, providing new music for unrecorded Woody Guthrie lyrics.

Tickets for Bragg at the Cohn are $37.50 for P1 seating and $32.50 for P2 seating and go on sale on Friday at noon at the Dalhousie Arts Centre box office (494-3820 or toll-free 1-800-874-1669) and online at www.sonicconcerts.com.

For more information on Billy Bragg, visit: www.billybragg.co.uk.

[kirjtc2]

Harvest organizers promise festival will be better than ever
Published Wednesday July 15th, 2009
A8
By ADAM BOWIE
bowie.adam@dailygleaner.com

This year's Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival will feature a stunning array of national, international and local performers, and music fans can't wait to howl and moan.

Fredericton's largest annual event is going to offer the most diverse lineup in its 18-year history - with more than 75 top touring acts and more than 350 individual musicians performing on stages throughout the downtown core.

Dozens of interested music fans dropped by the barracks to watch the festival's organizing committee reveal the full lineup of artists on Tuesday morning.

Some of the newly announced headliners include: swamp-rock groove-kings J.J. Grey and Mofro; Juno Award-winning bluesman Jack de Keyzer; Piedmont blues great Fruteland Jackson; rootsy buzz band United Steel Workers of Montreal; Maritime favourite Matt Minglewood; and elder statesmen Doc MacLean and Big Dave McLean.

Harvest music director Brent Staeben said offering a number of different experiences is a key aspect of the event's continued popularity.

"Part of Harvest's success is to open up a very wide tent to invite as many people in as we can, and you do that by having different types of music," he said.

"You have to have opportunities for as many people in the community to participate, while staying true to your musical vision. So that's why you'll see reggae in the middle of Harvest. That's why you'll see some indie rock, some East Coast-rock, some gospel, some zydeco. These are things that bring a new vibe, a new energy."

This year's main-stage headliners will also bring several different sounds to the stage - from the Latin blues of Los Lobos, to the powerful vocals of Susan Tedeschi, to the slide guitar stylings of Elvin Bishop.

At least 14 internationally renowned acts will make their way to the city from such diverse locations as Cameroon, Columbia, Panama, Uruguay, the United Kingdom, the United States and all over Canada.

But even with all this global talent on display, about 35 per cent of the scheduled performers will be New Brunswick artists such as Thom Swift, Matt Andersen, Ross Neilsen & The Sufferin' Bastards, The Downtown Blues Band, Keith Hallett, Theresa Malenfant, Grand Theft Bus and more.

Graeme Walker, who performs with local indie rockers Grand Theft Bus, said the Harvest organizers have always done a great job of mixing local artists with international headliners.

He said the band recognizes that playing Harvest is a wonderful opportunity to attract a few new fans.

"We're really excited to be back again at the festival," he said.

"This event is so well organized and is such a successful festival. There'll be people wandering the streets who've never heard of (our music) and they'll walk in and hopefully like what they hear."

Staeben said the festival will spend more money this year than ever before to bring in talented performers.

"We have been doing very well financially over the last two or three years, so we understood that it was our responsibility to reinvest in the product," he said.

"We saw that was more important, I guess, than kind of taking a step back in the middle of these economic times."

Festival chairwoman Patti Graham said the committee has also made investments in patron comfort and service for this year's event.

She said the festival's biggest venue, the Budweiser Blues Tent, will no longer have poles between the fans and performers. The new, slightly larger tent will allow organizers to create more room for patrons by making it easier to situate the staging, sound systems and backstage green rooms.

Graham said it'll also create more space for dancing and socializing and allow the organizers to increase seating around the tent's perimeter - allowing more bleachers and picnic tables in strategic positions.

She said the festival is also taking steps to make it easier for fans to get into the festival's venues through a partnership with online ticket vendor TicketPro.

Graham said fans will be able to order and print tickets, which will contain a scan-able barcode, from the comfort of their homes.

"That's part of why we invested so heavily in TicketPro," she said.

"It's not just ticket sales, it's also part of the admissions process. We're really hoping we're going to speed that up. There were some (specific problems) at certain shows last year and we don't anticipate that we'll run into them again."

Tickets go on sale Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and will be available online at www.harvestjazzandblues.com, over the phone at 1-888-NB-BLUES or at the Harvest store at 81 Regent St.

A full list of acts can be found on the festival website.

---------------

This is usually the musical event I look forward to most each year. I'll be seeing Susan Tedeschi, Elvin Bishop, JJ Grey&Mofro and Back Door Slam at the very least.

[MonctonRad]

Moncton can learn from Halifax
Published Wednesday July 15th, 2009

Crowd cleared quickly after Paul McCartney concert
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

The Halifax Regional Municipality couldn't control the weather for last weekend's Paul McCartney concert, but the sun shone on the city all the same. Nor did they have any say in whether or not McCartney would put on a good show but, to their great fortune, it was by all accounts one for the ages.

But the city, so often harshly criticized even by -- perhaps especially by -- its own, has also received nearly unanimous praise in the post-Paul honeymoon glow for the things it could control on the weekend.

And chief among them was the way the city's public transit system got 20,000 McCartney fans around.

Metro Transit used a particularly effective means of getting people where they needed to be on the weekend, dividing part of their fleet into four colour-coded runs each going to one of four corners of the city.

It also had those colour-coded buses use separate pick-up and drop-off points around the concert site to further ease the congestion and confusion. And they did it all for $2.25 each way, the regular adult fare on Metro Transit.

With about the same number of people -- 50,000 to 60,000 -- expected to go to see AC/DC in Moncton on Aug. 6, there might be some lessons to be learned from Halifax's experience, assuming the City of Moncton re-thinks its transportation plans and actually uses Codiac Transit on concert day. The plan announced so far has the city chartering school buses for the AC/DC show instead, because Codiac Transit says it can't spare the buses on a weekday.

The City of Moncton's Shane Porter has the lead role in the city's organizing of concerts with private promoters at the Magnetic Hill Concert Site. He was leaving a meeting aimed at working out the transportation plan for the AC/DC show when he spoke to the Times & Transcript late Monday.

"We will have all the details out in the next three days, tops," Porter said. "We're looking at a number of models."

While Lori Patterson of Halifax's Metro Transit said they have essentially stuck to the same model they came up with for their big Rolling Stones concert in 2006, the City of Moncton and Codiac Transit, which is now formally a city department rather than a separate commission, have tried as many different models as there have been concerts at Magnetic Hill. Codiac charged what was then its standard adult fare, $1.75, to get people to our Rolling Stones concert in 2005. The return trip was free, with no one taking the time to collect fares on the way from the show. At the end of the night, the buses were parked near the Magnetic Hill Zoo and got jammed in by thousands of people who decided to walk home instead.

The next year, Codiac Transit charged $5 round trip to get people to and from the Brooks and Dunn and Alan Jackson concert. The drop-off and pick-up point was four kilometres away, however, and very few people opted to use the bus system because of the eight-kilometre walk bookending a day on their feet at the sprawling site.

In 2007, a round-trip bus ticket for the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert was $4 and the drop-off and pick-up point was moved closer and worked relatively well, except the long walk in and out of the site remains a problem for people who have been out in the elements all day. The price jumped by $3.50 last year, when tickets for round-trip Codiac bus service for the Eagles concert cost $7.50.

The latest model in use, when Jon Bon Jovi played on June 27, saw Moncton's public transit service charge $10, more than twice Halifax's $4.50 round trip fare, and require that potential riders, be they locals or visitors from far away, make special trips to a participating Shoppers Drug Mart in Metro Moncton to buy advance passes.

The system worked reasonably well despite costs and the extra step of having to buy the passes, but the post-concert exit was an ordeal for many because the streetlights that should have illuminated the long walk back to the buses were not lit, a glaring, or rather a not glaring oversight that will presumably be corrected in August.

Codiac Transit's general manager John Allain and Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc both defended the $10 fare last month, saying Codiac Transit wants to ensure it doesn't lose money on the concerts, as it did the first three times the hill was used.

Patterson, the spokeswoman for Halifax's Metro Transit, admitted yesterday they just "hope to break even" providing mass transit for concerts, but that it's part of their mandate to help keep the city moving. There's a significant challenge Codiac Transit faces that Metro Transit doesn't, of course. While Moncton has the far superior concert site and amenities, Halifax has the far superior location for its concerts. All around the Halifax Commons are the Halifax Peninsula's key road arteries, whereas access in and out of the Magnetic Hill concert site is severely limited.

That means it's much easier for buses to converge and disperse at the Halifax site and the walk to a bus is much shorter in Halifax. (If you're headed to KISS, a couple of the drop-off and pick-up points will be a bit farther from this weekend's show in Halifax than they were for McCartney because the city has to also accommodate the massive crowds expected on the waterfront for the Tall Ships).

Halifax has another ace up its sleeve, too.

"We have 358 buses," Patterson said, adding that Halifax has one of the larger fleets for mid-sized cities. "We're the 68th largest transit system in North America."

Halifax's fleet is about 10 times the size of Codiac's despite the city being only about three times the size of Metro Moncton.

For all its size, though, Patterson said Metro Transit would also face significant challenges if called upon to provide transit for a concert on a weekday. Even on a weekend, "there's a lot of work that goes into it," including extra staff, she said. "We have to ramp up for it. We don't just absorb them."

She recalled her transit system learned from Moncton's experiences with the Rolling Stones and it helped them cope with their Stones concert, which was merely the largest of five major events in Halifax that fall night in 2006. She, in turn, expressed hope other transit systems could learn from their experiences this week.

[MonctonRad]

Concert plans to be unveiled
Published Thursday July 16th, 2009

Briefing will shed light on how thousands will move on AC/DC day
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & Transcript Staff

Various City of Moncton officials will be at city hall this morning to lay out transportation plans for next month's AC/DC concert, which is poised to present the city with a whole new set of challenges.

"It's getting up into the Rolling Stones level for crowds and it's a Thursday, which is a new challenge," the City of Moncton's Jillian Somers said yesterday.

Indeed, with a crowd of more than 50,000 AC/DC fans expected to head to the Magnetic Hill Concert Site just about the same time thousands of Monctonians leave work on Aug. 6, the need for careful planning is obvious.

The need to get Monctonians using buses and other alternatives to private automobiles that day is also obvious, and on that topic, Codiac Transit will be involved in the show after all, though not in the same capacity as it has at previous shows.

The city's fleet of 40 buses won't be available for use on the way to the concert as they run their usual routes, but they will have their buses in place for the trip home from the concert, after the day's regular operations are over.

Codiac Transit's general manager John Allain has said the same limitations facing Moncton's transit service on a weekday means Codiac couldn't borrow buses from other public transit fleets in the region, as has been done for other Magnetic Hill concerts, all of which have been previously held on Saturdays.

Codiac Transit will, however, be assisting with the planning and operation of the shuttle service that will be provided by a private company.

Besides using a private company's fleet of school buses, city officials are expected to introduce a new approach to busing people for what is now the sixth major event to be held at the Hill. The city is promising a park-and-ride option that will allow people to take private vehicles part of the way and to use the shuttle buses for the rest of the way. While Somers wouldn't say yesterday where that will be staged, the city-owned Moncton Coliseum with its vast parking lot and excellent road access seems a likely contender. What the service will cost will also be announced today.

Meanwhile, Codiac Regional RCMP will also be on hand to talk about plans for traffic flow on concert day.

[kirjtc2]

Because I'm really bored tonight, I made a big update to the big list on page 1. Did I miss anything?

[MonctonRad]

Good work Kirjtc2!

I know that David Copperfield is not a musician, but I wonder if his Maritime tour should be included as well..........just a thought.

[kirjtc2]

Yeah, I wasn't sure whether or not to include David Copperfield....decided against it for now...

In any event...seems all but official: Marilyn Manson at the Metro Centre (the currently existing one ) on Sept 25th.

[kirjtc2]

Just noticed that Three Dog Night will be in Bishops Falls, NL this weekend for the town's centennial celebrations. It's their first-ever show east of Toronto.

I don't know whether to be excited for the town or sad for the band.

[MonctonRad]

Marilyn Manson to play Metro (Moncton, that is........ )
Published Tuesday July 28th, 2009

Shock rocker brings the High End of Low tour to Coliseum Sept. 26
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

Shock rocker Marilyn Manson - the self-proclaimed Antichrist Superstar and one of the most controversial entertainers in recent history -- will swoop into Metro for a concert at the Coliseum Sept. 26.


Manson, known for his bizarre gender-bending imagery and shocking performances, is currently touring on his seventh studio album, the High End of Low, which was recorded in his own studio in Hollywood. Tickets for the Moncton show will go on sale this Saturday for $49.50.

Born Brian Hugh Warner in 1969, he is said to have grown up as a very troubled child in Florida. He studied journalism and theatre and worked as an entertainment journalist. He started writing poems and stories and created the Marilyn Manson persona by blending the names of Hollywood sex icon Marilyn Monroe with cult leader and murderer Charles Manson.

With a twisted sexuality and songs speaking out against Christianity, Manson has cultivated huge record sales and sold-out tours, as well as protests and legal battles.

Marilyn Manson will appear at the Halifax Metro Centre on Friday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m., and at the Moncton Coliseum on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m.

Tickets for the Moncton show will go on sale this Saturday, Aug. 1 at 9 a.m. Tickets are $49.50 plus service charges, and on sale at the Coliseum Box Office, by phone at 857-4100, or online at www.geg.ca or www.monctoncoliseum.com.

God help us all............

[kirjtc2]

Big metal shows just announced today...Lamb of God and Gwar. 10/29 at the Cunard Centre, 10/30 at the Moncton Coliseum.

Their shows at the ACC, Colisee and Scotiabank Place are all sold out already.

[MonctonRad]

AC/DC a thirsty, hungry bunch
Published Saturday August 1st, 2009

Fresh fruit, oxygen tanks, and little booze dominate band's backstage demands
By James Foster
Times & Transcript Staff

No beer please, we're working tonight.

AC/DC are the quintessential bad boys of rock, belting out decades of hit songs about hookers, fist fights and booze, but a peek at their technical rider shows this five-man power band to be the epitome of professionalism.

"No beer in dressing room prior to show," the document dictates.

In fact, the sum total of liquor the band demands in its rider is a single case of Heineken, which must be in bottles, never in cans.

Technical riders are contracts that spell out exactly what a band demands backstage, in their dressing rooms, even on the bus that ferries them to and from the concert site. The documents often reveal stunning insight into a band's mind set.

For example, the most legendary rider in rock history involves Van Halen's demands for a large bowl of M&M candies in their dressing room, with all the brown ones removed. That legend is true, but the clause was actually buried inside the rider for the sole purpose of checking to see if someone was paying attention. After all, if there were brown candies in the M&M bowl, then perhaps other, critically important parts of the rider were overlooked as well.

AC/DC's rider for its Moncton show was not readily available, but a copy of the rider from last year's tour gives some insight into how one of the biggest acts in rock and roll history spends their time before and after a show.

Perhaps most notable is the band's request for oxygen.

"Purchaser to provide three oxygen tanks with three masks that must be at the venue at load-in," the contract states.

Considering a few of the band members are heavy smokers, and that they've been touring for 35 years straight, and that their shows are quite likely the most frenetic in rock and roll today, perhaps that's not so surprising after all.

Despite the lack of beer for the band before and during the show ("Please stock beer in dressing room 15 minutes AFTER AC/DC goes on stage") the boys will be well prepared with cold drinks should it be hot out when they hit the massive stage at the Magnetic Hill concert site at about sunset on Aug. 6. The rider dictates that four large tubs are to be placed at specific locations on stage, containing Coke, Gatorade, diet pop of no specific brand, Perrier water, Evian water and, specifically, Solo brand cups.

"All tubs should be LOADED WITH ICE!!!!" it states.

Solo brand cups must be a band favourite as there are frequent references throughout the document.

Should you be lucky enough to get invited to the band's three dressing rooms after the show, don't expect a wild party, judging by the rider. After they leave the stage, the band wants to find waiting for them the aforementioned 12-pack of "bottled" Heineken, one case of assorted pop, a large bowl of chips and another of pretzels, three gallons of spring water, five large "glass only" ashtrays in each room, boiling water so they can enjoy their Twinings tea, coffee for 10 and ceramic and silver place settings for a meal for 10 which will be prepared by the band's own chef.

A common room shall be stocked with Coke, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, 7-Up, Gatorade, spring water, nuts, fruit "including bananas," natural potato chips or organic corn chips, large-size candy bars, fresh popcorn, fresh bakery bread with a cutting board and knife, English cheeses and "water crackers," whatever water crackers are, and all the appropriate plates and cutlery.

"No paper or plastic products with the exception of paper napkins and Solo cups."

If you really get lucky and end up on the band's bus, you'll find that 12-pack of Heineken, a quart of milk ("quart size only!") a six-pack of mineral water, three cans of Pepsi, three cans of Diet Pepsi, a quart of orange juice and a gallon of spring water. Oh, and exactly 25 pounds of ice.

And not to be picky, but "all Solo brand cups should be of a dark colour."

[MonctonRad]

Moncton show biggest on AC/DC tour
Published Monday August 3rd, 2009

Extra security barricade designed to provide more safety for fans near stage
BY ALAN COCHRANE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

Thursday's concert by legendary Australian rockers AC/DC will likely be the biggest and flashiest on the band's seven-date Canadian tour, with Moncton's outdoor venue bringing in more than baseball and football stadiums in other parts of the country and the U.S.

"Right now, Moncton is the biggest show on the tour," said Ken Craig, the production manager for Donald K. Donald Events.

Although promoters won't say exactly how many tickets have been sold for Thursday's show at the Magnetic Hill Concert Site, it's expected that AC/DC will draw a crowd similar in size to the 80,000 that came for the Rolling Stones in 2005. Last year's concert by the Eagles drew a crowd of 55,000 to Moncton, while approximately 50,000 turned out in Halifax last month to see Paul McCartney.

Craig, who works out of an office in Ottawa, has been busy over the last few weeks co-ordinating logistics with the AC/DC crew for all seven shows in Canada this month.

It's a huge job to make arrangements for the dozens of tractor-trailers needed to move staging and electronic gear all over the country.

More than 200 people will be working at the site over the next few days to set up the stage, light towers, video screens, sound equipment and special effects for the AC/DC show. Everything needs to be in place before Thursday's sound checks.

The job of taking it all apart and cleaning up the mess begins immediately after the show ends on Thursday night.

The latest leg of AC/DC's Black Ice World Tour kicked off in Boston Tuesday night with a show at the Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots NFL team. From there, they went to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey Friday night and played last night at the Times Union Arena in Albany, N.Y.

Most of the baseball and football stadiums in North America have a capacity of 50,000 to 70,000 and are mainly reserved seating with huge grandstands and temporary seating on the floor. But the Magnetic Hill Concert Site is a huge natural amphitheatre situated on the side of a grassy hill. City officials say it could accommodate a crowd of 100,000. By comparison, last year's free show by Paul McCartney on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City drew an estimated 250,000 people.

It was reported earlier this year that U2 had sold 90,000 tickets for an October show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

AC/DC's Canadian tour will take the band to the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Scotiabank Arena in Ottawa, the Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg, Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton and B.C. Place in Vancouver.

The Magnetic Hill site set-up for AC/DC will be basically the same as it has been for previous concerts by the Rolling Stones, Eagles and Bon Jovi. One of the main differences will be a larger licensed area that extends closer to the stage to accommodate more people. At the Bon Jovi show, people who wanted to get closer to the stage had to finish their drinks and leave the licensed area.

Another big difference, which showed up on the site plan provided by the city this week, is a different set of barricades in front of the stage. Normally, there is a steel fence or barricade set up about 10 feet in front of the stage to act as a wall between the crowd and the band. For this show, a second barricade will be set up a few metres further away from the stage to provide more protection from crowd surges. With so many people, there is a possibility that those against the fence could be crushed. The secondary barricades are set up like wings fanning out from a secondary stage that extend out toward the sound and light towers. This secondary stage will allow the performers to walk or run (or in Angus Young's case, do the duck walk while playing guitar) out into the crowd.

According to online reviews this week, the AC/DC show runs a little over two hours, beginning with a two-minute video and ending with two-minute fireworks display. Opening acts for the show are Irish blues-rock group The Answer and Canadian heavy metal band Anvil, who played for 34 minutes and 44 minutes respectively. According to reports from the Foxborough show, AC/DC opened the show with Rock N' Roll Train, with a giant steam locomotive smashing onto the stage, and finished with the anthemic For Those About To Rock, We Salute You, punctuated by exploding cannons and fireworks. Through the set, AC/DC performed such well-known hits as Back in Black, Big Jack, Shot Down in Flames, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Thunderstruck, The Jack, Hells Bells, Shoot to Thrill, War Machine, Anything Goes, You Shook Me All Night Long, T.N.T., Whole Lotta Rosie, Let There Be Rock and Highway to Hell.

Angus Young reportedly does his extended guitar solo at the end of Let There Be Rock as a grand finale of the show before the encore.

n General admission tickets are still available for $99.50 plus taxes and service charges, which comes to a total of $131.75. Tickets for the wheelchair platform are available for the same price but fans who wish to purchase them must show proof of disability and are allowed to bring one attendant with them. Those who purchase tickets on the disabled platform will be provided with shuttle bus service between a designated parking area and the concert site. Tickets for the Park N Ride option are also available for $30 through the Coliseum box office, but must be picked up by Wednesday, Aug. 5, the day before the concert.

[Dmajackson]

Rock Fest rocks crowd
Thousands turn out for Natal Day weekend concert on Citadel Hill
By STEPHEN COOKE Entertainment Reporter
Mon. Aug 3 - 4:46 AM

This summer’s outdoor concert overload didn’t appear to be an issue Sunday at the Canadian Forces Halifax Rock Fest on the Garrison Grounds on Citadel Hill, which were bathed in blazing August sunshine.

Hard rock fans turned out by the thousands for CanRock stars like Our Lady Peace, Finger Eleven and Halifax-rooted act Sloan, plus the all-star combo Chickenfoot, featuring singer Sammy Hagar and guitar-slinger Joe Satriani, for a Natal Day weekend show meant to bring together members of the civilian and military communities.

Video greetings from Canadians serving overseas played on giant video screens between bands, and the show itself was recorded for later broadcast to troops in the field, with a video booth available for anyone who wanted to send along messages of support.

A fair-sized crowd had already assembled on the hill by the time Cape Breton trio Pink Thunder kicked off the day with some energetic pop/rock from a teen perspective.

Chosen out of 54 hopefuls in the Next Great Atlantic Rock Band competition, St. Peter’s sisters Barbara and Victoria Cameron (on guitar and bass, respectively) and drummer/keyboardist Olivia Adlakha showed why their reputation for fun, hook-filled songs is growing.

Aside from a strategically chosen cover of Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Pink Thunder stuck to original material like the current single Real Loud, with Victoria wailing on vocals for all she’s worth, and the tongue-in-cheek track that first got them attention on MySpace and the local airwaves, the aptly titled Radio Friendly.

Despite a few rough edges in their live set, the Camerons know how to put a pop song together and their obvious desire to be in front of a crowd should tighten up their performances even further in the near future.

Expat rockers Sloan, on the other hand, were enjoyably loose, thanks to singer and bassist Chris Murphy’s broken collar bone and the drafting of keyboardist Greg Macdonald and friend and former Halifax musician Kevin Hillier (Grace Babies, National Anthem) to switch around between bass, drums and the big old Hammond organ at the back of the stage.

Murphy didn’t let having his left arm in a sling interfere with his microphone swinging or tambourine tossing, and it didn’t affect his voice any, with fine lead vocal performances on The Rest of My Life and The Other Man, and intact harmonies with Patrick Pentland on Losing California and Jay Ferguson on The Lines You Amend.

"Let me show you the break, it’s disgusting," teased Murphy, tugging at the neck of his T-shirt. "I got hit by a car while riding my bike, and Jay called 911 and saved my life.

"I don’t want to say I’m a hero, but . . . . " grinned Murphy, as an appropriate intro to Andrew Scott’s Emergency 911, a punk raver from the latest release, Parallel Play. Although nobody got a medal, Sloan was inducted into the Q104 Rock of the Atlantic Wall of Fame, joining East Coast rock pioneers April Wine, the Great Scots and Matt Minglewood.

From Sloan’s bright and hooky pop/rock, Rock Fest’s pendulum swung sharply the other way for a brooding set by Burlington’s Finger Eleven, who for a long stretch seemed to be mandated by law to appear on the bill of a multi-band outdoor show in Halifax every year.

The group has gone on to greater success since the days of Edgefest and Snow Jam, with its 2007 release Them vs. You vs. Me picking up a Juno Award for rock album of the year and going gold in the United States, warranting a return visit.

"Every time we play Halifax, we go out drinking the night before and start talking about how we should move here," said singer Scott Anderson.

Besides Anderson’s mournful growl, delivered with a stance reminiscent of Joe Cocker, highlights included James Black’s staccato guitar bursts adding extra sparks to Falling On and sharp-dressed drummer Rich Beddoe thrashing about behind his kit at pretty much any time during the set.

An even bigger exodus from the hillside toward the stage took place when Our Lady Peace struck its first few chords, with singer Raine Maida leading his quartet through rearranged fan favourites like Superman’s Dead and Is Anybody Home? as well as a handful of tracks from the new release Burn Burn.

After an acknowledgement of Canada’s people in uniform by Admiral Paul Madison and Defence Minister Peter MacKay, headliners Chickenfoot came out with the thunderous Avenida Revolucion. The song’s chorus of "crossing the borderline, into the fire" refers to illegal Mexican immigrants but it could just as well be referring to the dangers faced by troops in Afghanistan. Chad Smith’s rapid-fire drumming and Satriani’s eerie guitar fills only enhanced the imagery.

Soap on a Rope and Sexy Little Thing were more typical Hagar party anthems, but lit up by Satch’s fretboard fireworks, from elaborate hammer-ons to straight up bluesy solos, with some amiable interplay with Hagar’s former Van Halen band mate Michael Anthony on bass.

Promising to play "until they force us to stop" Hagar worked the crowd like a crazed motivational speaker, shaking his blond locks and emitting lung-shredding screams. If he wanted a second career as a drill sergeant, I’m sure there were some people backstage who would be only to happy to oblige him.

( scooke@herald.ca)

[BlackYear]

Some pre-concert pics I took Wednesday afternoon around 2:30pm. One day before show time!

[C_Boy]

THE MADNESS IS TODAY