Fresno Famous

Remember my proclamation last week that classic rock reigns supreme in Fresno? Well, Friday night's AC/DC show at the Save Mart Center was proof positive.

Exhibit A.) Sold out show. SOLD OUT! There were maybe, MAYBE, 100 empty seats, if that. There were people in the rafters. And everyone was up and on there feet for the whole two-hour show. This was no joke for the people there. I did see one kid sitting a few rows in front of me playing some kinda game on his cell phone. Lame! And there was a dude with a cowboy hat. And more than a few guys is khakis and ties. But for the most part this was a beer-drinking, hell-raising, you-shook-me-all-night-long kinda crowd.

My take: These guys own it. They own it in a way few bands do. About forty minutes into the show you realize how many hits these guys have. They just kept coming and each one was sing-along, fist-pounding great. Walking out of the show, there's at least five songs you wished they would have played. And as everyone is want to point out, the stamina level on these dudes (they being Brian Johnson and Angus Young) is pretty amazing. I could say pretty amazing for dudes their age, but I won't.

Disappointments: OK, anything I say here is just me being nit-picky and really has very little bearing on my overall enjoyment of the show, which was HIGH. Mostly, they're just observations.

1.) Guitar solos. I hate them. They seem so self-aggrandizing. But I can almost forgive Angus. Being who he is, it's expected he do a solo, and he does it like no one else. As arena-rock guitar solos go, this was the mark others probably go by. Still, at eight-plus minutes (it could have be shorter) I feel cheated out of hearing a few of my favorite songs. Which brings us to:

2.) Song choice. I would have liked more from the Bon-Scott era, but I realize that's asking a bit much. At that, they did play all the majors, the expected songs. They did skip "Money Talks," at least, and probably a few others. "Who Made Who" is a personal favorite I would have liked to hear.

3.) The Spinal Tap factor. OK. I'm a bit torn on this. Because part of me got really excited by the giant locomotive engine crashed on stage. And no one could argue that the giant inflatable doll foot-tapping to "Whole Lotta Rosie" is cool as hell. But the video sequences weren't quite there for me, and the giant bell? It just seems like the band is better than all that.

All in all ... anyone who likes rock music should probably see this band at least once before they die.