Deemed the best AC/DC tribute band by guitarist Angus Young himself (Blender Magazine, 2003)@@http://www.hellsbelles.info/bio.htm@@, Hell’s Belles is an all-female cover group that will be bringing their rock ‘n’ roll performance to the McDonald Theatre this Saturday night.@@http://www.mcdonaldtheatre.com/eventCalendar.html@@
“Hell’s Belles is all about bringing AC/DC’s man rock and roll, female-style,” Adrian “Angus” Conner@@http://www.hellsbelles.info/adrian.htm@@, lead guitarist for Hell’s Belles said.@@http://www.hellsbelles.info/@@

Formed in Seattle in 2000, Hell’s Belles was founded by former members Om Johari and Amy Stolzenbach@@http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-Stolzenbach/115613481798@@ and since has toured consistently around the U.S. and Canada, as well as performing in Japan and Singapore. The group today consists of Conner (lead guitar), original members Mandy Reed on (bass) and Laura D on (drums), Lisa Brisbois (rhythm guitar) and Amber Saxon (vocals), all of whom portray the original AC/DC members on their respective instruments.
After introducing her group, Conner continued to explain, “It’s some of the best rock ‘n’ roll guitar music ever written,” of the classic AC/DC music that they play and why they chose to play it. “We love the music that they created. It’s really just fun, carefree, silly — and we try to bring all that with the sweat and the estrogen.”
At their shows, sets usually include popular songs — like “Back In Black,” “Highway to Hell” and of course, “Hells Bells”@@doesn’t have an apostrophe http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=acdc&x=0&y=0@@ — and less well-known songs. Hell’s Belles tries to recreate each song as close to the original AC/DC recording as possible, according to Conner.
“We also hope that we can inspire women to pick up an instrument and play or inspire them to maybe check out more about AC/DC and about rock ‘n’ roll in general,” Conner said. “And we hope to open up the world of rock and roll to all ages and all genders.”
The quintet likes to add certain AC/DC touches to their performances, she explained. These include a few instances of acrobatics and individual characteristics to each of their parts.
“What’s really cool is some women will come up and say ‘oh, I didn’t really like AC/DC, now I really do like AC/DC, seeing it this way. I get it, I love it.’ And there are some girls who have also been inspired to pick up the guitar and rock out that have seen us, and we really think that that’s really special,” Conner said.
This year, the group is planning on heading into the studio to work on their second studio album, which will feature songs such as “Overdose,” “Long Way to the Top,” “Ride On” and  “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train.” Their last studio album, “We Salute You,” was released in 2005.
Guitarist for her own original band, Adrian and the Sickness@@http://www.adrianandthesickness.com/@@, Conner said she enjoys the energy and the way the audience responds to the Hell’s Belles performances. She said that learning the AC/DC guitar parts helped her reach a whole new appreciation for the band and for the music.
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@@Hell’s Belles@@
@@When: Jan. 14; doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m.@@
@@Where: McDonald Theatre@@
@@Cost: $14 advance, $17 day of@@