Exact set list unknown, very similar to this.
Angus Young - Lead Guitar
Malcolm Young - Rhythm Guitar
Bon Scott - Lead Vocals
Cliff Williams - Bass
Phil Rudd - Drums
Event: Day On The Green #3
Bill: Aerosmith, Foreigner, Pat Travers, Van Halen, AC/DC
Promoter: Bill Graham Presents
Capacity: 57,500
By Alec Jardine, Poway, CA USA:
AC/DC as the opening act!
I remember Angus skipping from one end of the stage to the other throughout the set. Very different from what his antics evolved into. I was so impressed with them that I went out and bought the High Voltage record the next day!
I never realized that this was the very 1st time they had played Oakland! My second concert ever. 13 years old.
-Alec Jardine
By Michael S, SF California USA:
I believe this to be the first Stadium show that the boys took the stage in front of a 50,000+ live audience. I could be wrong because some of the European and Australian shows that occurred prior do not have capacity numbers. (to me it doesn't look like they played any true mega stadiums before this 1978 Day on the Green #3).
Technically the Texxas Jam was a larger venue, but short sighted promotion shuffled AC/DC to the 10,000 capacity side venue next door.
Anyways, another distinction of this show was that it featured FOUR acts that would go on to join the 75 million sales club. That means AC/DC played opener to 3 other very elite top selling bands. This was the only DOTG out of all BGP DOTG's to feature four 75mil bands.
It was an excellent day, and it may the first time BON got to realize the dream of making it to the TOP, or at least envision what becoming Rock and Roll elite might feel like. He had the crowd in his hand.
BGP may have film of this Stadium concert stashed away in the vault....That would be something if it ever surfaced. In the meantime there is bootlegged video of the 1979 version of DOTG #3 ...So check it out for a blast from the past.
By Craig Sosnick, Sacramento, CA:
Living in San Mateo at the time I went to all the Day on the Green concerts. Me and my friends were really looking forward to this one to see AC/DC for the first time. We first heard their music on the record factory commercials, the song was Long way to the top. We liked the riff and bought the High Voltage album. We loved it and couldn't wait to see AC/DC. This DOTG had an awesome line up as you can see but I will confidently say AC/DC just blew the show away. They opened up with amazing energy to start off the day. They were an amazing display of showmanship and loud shredding awesome rock n roll. I'll never forget Angus on Bon's shoulders walking thru the whole crowd. Angus playing his transistor guitar the whole time. They must have been in the crowd for 10 minutes. Totally cool! also, Angus blew away the crowd when he did the striptease to bad Boy Boogie and ended with a BA to the crowd. Since that concert I never missed AC/DC when the toured in my area since. I still wear my AC/DC T shirts all the time. I love this band. So grateful to have experienced them in their prime.
By Andrew Heinritz, Benicia, California USA:
My very first concert! Summer before 7th grade in school. My older brother and his friends brought me. My favorite band, Aerosmith was gonna headline and the the sensationally hot new band Van Halen was opening! Couldn’t be better right!? Then, a few weeks before the concert or so, my brother comes in my room and says, “Andrew!, they added a band to the show called AC/DC! Every song they play ROCKS dude! They don’t even have any slow songs!”
We got in line super early, toting all kinds of gear to stake out a spot on the lawn. (I remember an old man with a long beard and wooden walking staff, holding an ornately carved wooden box, slowly shuffling down the line before the gates opened. He was whispering, “acid...acid...acid.) I carried a backpack and big blanket which kinda blocked my view walking. Not 5 minutes after entering the stadium, I had lost my group! (ditched?) Went up to the first deck bleachers and fell asleep for quite a while. The sudden roar of the crowd woke me up and Bill Graham introduced the band, which opened with “It’s a Long Way to the Top”. Oh Man!! That show and those baddass rockers catapulted AC/DC to the top of my ranking that day! I remember a black blurr racing back and forth across the stage, head banging and cranking out the most rocking and sublime guitar riffs and solos! “Where does he get so much energy?” I thought. Their awesome chords, baselines/beats just grab you deep down and you’re on the ride, grinning! Then there’s Bon Scott! He was so cool! I love his wry wit in those down and dirty lyrics. They all looked a little scrawny, and yet you believed it when they said “Don’t you start no fight!” The highlight, for me, was Angus getting on Bon’s shoulders. I guessed he finally needed a bit of a breather!
The three first bands all tore it up, stealing the show that day, with AC/DC the winner, in my opinion. My brother Chris wisely made a plan with me before the concert. “If we get separated, meet at second base at 2:00, ok?...2 at 2! Got it?” That’s what I did and everything was tits! I didn’t even mind that Aerosmith had frustratingly long pauses at the beginning of their set. I thought they had sound problems, but maybe there were other influences behind that...I don’t know. To this day that show is among the very best lineups I’ve ever seen!
By Joe, East Bay:
The boys stomped the other bands into the ground. I knew 2 songs in that I was experiencing something I'd never forget.
They did play "It's a Long Way To The Top," I distinctly remember Bon playing the pipes.
40+ years later, one of the top 3 live shows I've ever seen.
I still mourn Bon's death, each and every day.
By Dave, Pal:
This concert literally changed my life. We were soph's in high school, and went to see Aerosmith, who we listened to a lot. I had never been to a real concert before, so starting with Day On The Green was pretty mind-blowing. We had heard of the other bands, especially Foreigner, but Foreigner was too soft for our tastes. Van Halen's 1st album had just come out & one of our guys knew a couple of their songs and liked it when Dave sang it "I got no time to fuck around". But when AC/DC took the stage, with Angus jumping around, Bon playing the bagpipes, and the monster energy of their songs, we were blown away! We were in the bleachers and there was a big group of AC/DC fans on the infield, with banners and such, and they were SO into it - really diehard fans. We stayed thru maybe 3 Aerosmith songs - they were terrible - and left early. The next day I bought all of AC/DC's albums.
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