SAN ANTONIO — Two days before AC/DC is set to shake the Alamodome, hundreds of fans got an early taste of the band’s legendary world when the official AC/DC PWR/UP Pop-Up Shop opened for a special preview Wednesday evening at the Hard Rock Cafe on the River Walk.
The two-day attraction is more than a merchandise store. It is part museum, part fan gathering and part celebration of one of rock’s most enduring bands.
Long before the doors opened, fans wearing AC/DC shirts, devil horns and even a miniature Angus Young schoolboy outfit lined up around the block, eager to be among the first inside.
The AC/DC PWR/UP Pop-Up Shop transforms the Hard Rock Cafe into a celebration of the legendary rock band’s music, history and devoted fan community ahead of Friday’s concert. (Christopher Hoffman/SBG San Antonio)
Once the doors opened, they wandered through rooms filled with exclusive tour merchandise, illuminated AC/DC signs, stage props, collectible posters, photo opportunities and memorabilia celebrating more than 50 years of the band’s history.
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One of the biggest attractions was the massive “Hells Bells” bell from the band’s stage production, which quickly became one of the most photographed displays of the evening. Fans also posed in front of oversized AC/DC logos, examined Angus Young’s iconic schoolboy uniform and checked out one of the band’s signature concert cannons.
But for Steve Hatton, the merchandise manager overseeing the traveling pop-up experience, the displays are only part of what makes the event special.
We put this on for the fans, so they’ve got somewhere to come, hang out and have a good time before they go to the show,” Hatton said. “Or, like today, the day before the concert, especially for people coming into town looking for something different to do. If you’re an AC/DC fan — or even if you’re not — there’s something for everybody.
Hatton said the pop-up has become a gathering place for fans who travel to each tour stop, many arriving a day or two before the concert.
“You can see how many people are coming in,” he said. “They’re standing around, making friends. It’s nice to give them somewhere to meet and hang with other AC/DC fans.”
Fans browse exclusive AC/DC tour merchandise, memorabilia and collectibles inside the official PWR/UP Pop-Up Shop at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown San Antonio. (Christopher Hoffman/SBG San Antonio)
Many of those visitors, he said, travel long distances just to see the band.
“They’re coming a couple days ahead of time,” Hatton said. “You get a lot of people flying in for the gig. Many travel for multiple shows and you can see the look on their faces that this is heaven for them. This is just one big family.”
San Antonio’s connection to AC/DC stretches back nearly five decades. The band played its first concert in the city on July 28, 1977, at the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium during its first U.S. tour, opening for Canadian rock band Moxy.
Fans browsed limited-edition apparel, posters, collector tour-date beer cups, blankets, and collectibles available only through the pop-up, while others spent time taking photos inside the interactive exhibits before heading back out onto the River Walk.
An AC/DC concert cannon used during the band’s iconic performance of “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” is displayed outside the Hard Rock Cafe on the San Antonio River Walk ahead of Friday night’s concert at the Alamodome. (PHOTO: Christopher Hoffman/SBG San Antonio)
The free event continues Thursday at the Hard Rock Cafe before shifting its attention to the Alamodome, where tens of thousands of fans are expected Friday night for one of the biggest concerts of the summer.
For many, however, the experience has already begun.
Inside the pop-up, strangers traded stories about their first AC/DC concert, compared tour shirts from decades past and counted down the hours until the lights go down and the opening chords ring out inside the Alamodome.
As Hatton put it, that’s exactly what the pop-up is meant to be — not simply a place to shop, but a place where AC/DC fans can come together like one big family.
The AC/DC PWR/UP Pop Up Shop is open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. today and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday at the Hard Rock Cafe, 111 W. Crockett St.