Who is your favorite band? They suck! You think they rock? Well, I guess you’ve never seen AC/DC. More than 40 years since they first formed, AC/DC was the biggest band in the world last night. The whole thing felt like an 80’s AC/DC concert video. The stage boasted 36 Marshall speaker cabinets, 18 on each side of the drummer, and catwalk extension that went out to the center of the crowd. The whole stage was essentially for singer Brian Johnson and guitarist Angus Young, as the rest of the band never ventured more than a foot from the drummer. I wouldn’t even know the other members of the band were there had they not been displayed on the video screens. Angus pogoed across the stage at a near non-stop pace, soloing and pumping up the crowd all at the same time. Brian Johnson hit every note (…how old is that guy?) as he strutted about and appeared in perpetual delight the entire evening.
The band opened with “Rock or Bust,” the title track to their most recent album. I’m not that familiar with the bands recent work and I was initially disappointed when it sounded like mush. The guitars and vocals were just a blurred audio mess, but I attribute that to my unfamiliarity with the song. The second song, “Shoot to Thrill” was spot on, as was everything else the rest of the night. They didn’t play “Moneytalks,” but otherwise, I can’t pick out a single song they didn’t play. “Back in Black” caused a huge eruption in the crowd, as did every single other classic: “Highway to Hell,” “Thunderstruck,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” you name it. And every single song rocked my ass off. For all the aged rockers I’ve seen in recent years, these guys, without a doubt, had more swagger and displayed a stronger sustained energy than those their junior. The crowd ate up every minute of it. About half the crowd wore the light-up AC/DC devil horns that were sold (cash only) near the rest of the AC/DC merch. I saw men, children, and women who looked like high school librarians wearing the horns. Everyone not wearing horns was a square. How can you go to an AC/DC concert and not buy a pair of these? It boggles the mind.
You must see AC/DC on this tour. With the recent deaths of rock legends Lemmy Kilmister and David Bowie, capitalize on these opportunities to witness AC/DC. Health issues have caught up with Malcolm Young and we’re lucky that the rest of the band remain in good health. Who knows how many more chances we’ll have in our lifetime to see one of rock ‘n rolls greatest bands. Don’t die unfulfilled.
– J. Kevin Lynch