AC/DC -
No Bull
(Live - Plaza De Toros De Las Ventas, Madrid)
Performance 
Production 
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AC/DC -
No Bull
Performance |
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More like NO BALLS! Well, at least as far as the anemic audio mix goes. Otherwise, the boys from down under tear it up, as usual. Recorded during the summer of 1996, No Bull is the middle entry from AC/DC's great trilogy of 1990's concert videos. Live At Donington, recorded in 1991, and Stiff Upper Lip, recorded in 2000, are the bread that make up this video sandwich. Boy that sounds stupid. Like these other two concerts, AC/DC once again turn in a phenomenal live show, proving that they were (are) one of the best live rock bands in the world. Like the title says, No Bull takes place at the Plaza De Toros De Las Ventas, in Madrid, Spain, which just so happens to be a bullfighting ring. Yes, bullfighting is STILL one of the most popular pastimes in that beautiful little country - I know, I lived there for two years, and attended one myself. I ended up getting in a fight with some drunken Spaniard. Ohhh, the stories I could tell. Bullfights are stupid and cruel, but those "running of the bulls" in Pamplona sure is entertaining. Anyways, when I said no balls, that wasn't entirely accurate, because this concert certainly featured one big ball - a giant frigging wrecking ball! Oh, how I still enjoy theatrics in my rock and roll shows. The concert begins with a massive crane, supporting this wrecking ball, which is slowly being maneuvering across the front of the stage. The ball starts to swing back and forth towards a massive, fake wall that takes up almost the entire stage. After about five swings, the wrecking ball dramatically crashes into the wall causing it to explode and crumble to pieces. Within seconds, Angus Young comes running out through the ruins playing the opening chords to "Back In Black". Oh, hell yeah! Top that one Backstreet Boys. This was AC/DC's tour in support of their Ballbreaker album, which they play three songs from. As usual, the set list hits the Back In Black, and Highway To Hell albums heavily, which it should. A few nice surprises were added to the mix though, including "Girl's Got Rhythm" and "Dog Eat Dog". As I've stated in my other two AC/DC reviews, their set lists have not varied significantly in the last couple of decades, and especially on the three DVDs I've mentioned. They have a couple of the most popular hard-rock albums ever made, and they always give their fans what they came to hear. Closing damn-near every show with "For Those About To Rock" is getting a little old though. Yeah, I know it is the perfect closer, with the 21-gun salute and everything (FIRE!!), but how about shocking the audience and OPENING with it for once. It certainly worked for Rush when they opened with "Tom Sawyer", on their 2002 Vapor Trails tour. The overall poor production quality of this DVD will probably assure that it gets passed over for repeated viewings in my household. If I were to show someone a good AC/DC concert video, I would always reach for the Donington or Stiff Upper Lip DVDs first. This is a shame, because the actual show is so damn good. The biggest problem here is the very thin and reverby sounding audio mix. It almost sounds like you are listening from the parking lot of the stadium. When I listen to AC/DC, I want some loud and crunchy guitars, backed by a thunderous bottom end. You get neither hear. Thanks to the lack of an LFE channel, the surround mix is only Dolby 5.0, you virtually cannot hear the bass guitar and bass drum. Unfortunately, the stereo mix wasn't any better. The video quality isn't too bad. It was originally shot on super-16mm film, and was presented in widescreen format. The white lights tended to overwhelm the picture at times and the colors often looked washed out. There was the occasional blurry shot, and the picture wasn't as sharp as could be, but mostly it was pretty clear. The same thing that plagued the other two AC/DC videos, plagues this one as well - a trigger happy director who simply cannot stay on one camera shot for more than a second or two. This damn-near ruins the viewing experience, and that is a shame because as usual, these guys have thrown together another incredible stage show. The special features include the making of the "Hard As A Rock" video, some nice behind the scenes footage, and the "Hard As A Rock" video itself. Get this video if you want to see another great performance by AC/DC, or to complete your collection, but if you can only see one AC/DC concert video, go with Live At Donington or Stiff Upper Lip instead. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - August 2004 |
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Running Time: 121 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - March 2001 |