“He`s got the devil in his fingers and the blues in soul”. In that one line AC/DC singer Brian Johnson summarized the life of Angus Young. Angus should use it on his tombstone.
Last night (February 11,2010) AC/DC cracked the neck of the Australian leg on the Black Ice tour that started in Wilkes-Barre, PA in October 2008.At this stage., the tour is due to end in Berlin on June 22 after 166 shows, 11 legs and just two cancellations so far.
Melbourne turned on appropriate weather leading into the show. We could have all been thunderstruck quite literally by the furious storm that swept late afternoon. All it did was to add to the atmosphere.
There were no surprises to the setlist as you would expect. It is the same every night on every show with one exception. ‘Dog Eat Dog’ was replaced with ‘High Voltage’ for this leg of the tour.
What you don’t expect is the sheer size of this show and what an incredible group of instruments every member of this band individually is.
Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Phil Rudd are the old boys. They were the ones we saw in the pubs and clubs of Australia at the beginning of the bands career. Phil’s impeccable timing drives the sound while Malcolm (and Cliff Williams) are the glue giving brother Angus the space to musically work the room.
Cliff is another interesting component. I still think of him (and Brian) as the new guys. Cliff Williams joined AC/DC in 1978, replacing the remarkable Mark Evans who still rocks around Sydney every week. Cliff has been a continuous member of AC/DC since ‘Powerage’ in the Bon Scott days. He first played with the band on the ‘Let There Be Rock’ tour and with Bon on ‘Powerage’, ‘If You Want Blood’ and ‘Highway To Hell’. He’s doing okay for “the new kid”.
Yes, it is mostly about Angus. Angus gets the applause but Angus also delivers the most sweat. His strip-tease down to his jocks with the AC/DC logo across his arse was a showstopper. His showcase is the guitar solo in what must have been a 20-minute version of ‘Let There Be Rock’.
AC/DC delivers that rare combination of music and entertainment. From the literal train-wreck at the start to the cannons at the end, this is what a rock show can be.
The graphics in ‘War Machine’ could spin off into a whole other business for AC/DC. I could go an AC/DC animation series. The animation of Angus flying a fighter plane and dropping guitars and buxom female models onto the enemy is the type of war we’d all like to be on the losing end of.
I thought Brian Johnson took a few songs to warm into this show. The chops weren’t quite there during ‘Rock N Roll Train’ and ‘Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be’ but he came good during ‘Back In Black’. Hey, 166 shows can put a strain on the vocals.
The touching moment (if there is such as thing at an AC/DC gig) was the Bon Scott tribute during ‘High Voltage’ Bon’s image drew a rage of applause and cheers when it hit the big screen. As Angus played the final note, Bon winks. Nice touch.
The stage sized Rosie blow up inflatable doll straddling the rock and roll train deserves a mention as well.
In the 10 years since AC/DC has played Australia they have reached a whole new level in music. Maybe the passing of the torch moment was Toronto when they performed together with the Rolling Stones. This tour is that big.
Here is the setlist from last night in Melbourne:
Rock and Roll Train (from Black Ice, 2008)
Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be (from Let There Be Rock, 1977)
Back in Black (from Back In Black, 1980)
Big Jack (from Black Ice, 2008)
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (From Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, 1976)
Shot Down In Flames (from Highway To Hell, 1979)
Thunderstruck (from The Razors Edge, 1990)
Black Ice (from Black Ice, 2008)
The Jack (from TNT, 1975)
Hells Bells (from Back In Black, 1980)
Shoot to Thrill (from Back In Black, 1980)
War Machine (from Black Ice, 2008)
High Voltage (from TNT, 1975)
You Shook Me All Night Long (from Back In Black, 1980)
TNT (from TNT, 1975)
Whole Lotta Rosie (from Let There Be Rock, 1977)
Let There Be Rock (from Let There Be Rock, 1977)
Highway to Hell (from Highway To Hell, 1979)
For Those About To Rock (from For Those About To Rock, 1981)
Upcoming Australian dates are:
February 13, 15, Melbourne, Etihad Stadium
February 18, 20, 22, Sydney, Stadium Australia
February 25, 27, Brisbane, QSAC
March 2, Adelaide, Adelaide Oval
March 6, 8, Perth, Subicao Oval
