jeff sutherland photos
By Steve Newton
When it comes to my nephew Jeff seeing his favourite hard-rock bands, money is no object. That’s why when tickets went on sale for last night’s AC/DC show in Vancouver, he went on StubHub and dropped around $1,000 for a prime seat. And since he wanted to take his teenage daughter along for the rockin’ ride, that cost him another grand.
I stayed home ’cause, for me, money is an object.
Plus, I’d already seen AC/DC in concert half a dozen times, including during their ’80s and ’90s prime. And since I was a journalist, my reviewer tickets were always free–and sometimes came with backstage passes and beer. Those were the days…
But surely as Angus Young’s hair has lost its youthful brown hue, corporate concertgoing is gonna cost ya these days. And not just for seats. Apparently the average price for AC/DC t-shirts last night was 70 bucks, and those plastic red devil horns that light up were going for $30.
But I’m not here to complain about outlandish ticket prices and merch markup, because if any band deserves to rake in huge profits from what has to be its final tour, it’s AC/DC. They’ve delivered killer tunes for half a century, and I know from personal experience that they’re good lads. (Unlike, say, Mötley Crüe, whose so-called “final tour” of 2014 became the concert rip-off of the century.)
And besides, Jeff reckons he got his money’s worth last night. Now he’s jetting off to Toronto to see Metallica play two nights at Rogers Centre.
AC/DC and Metallica in the same week. Looks like I’ve taught the kid well.
To hear the full audio of my 1983 interview with AC/DC subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 500 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with rock legends since 1982.