This past Wednesday, a remarkable gathering of 374 bagpipers came together in Melbourne's Federation Square to play AC/DC's iconic anthem "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock'n'Roll)", setting a global milestone close to the historic location where the original lineup famously played the song on a moving truck fifty years ago.
This track is the only big single that AC/DC has retired from concerts, honoring the late Bon Scott after his death in 1980. Yet its absence is barely felt when the concert setlist are overflowing with fan favorites: an electric excitement rippled through the 80,000 concertgoers at the MCG as AC/DC opened with "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" and immediately followed with "Back in Black". Who else would dare to play such a massive hit so soon after starting? Yet this band does, treating the audience to what essentially is a lengthy best-of compilation.
Brian Johnson calls Melbourne the band's 'spiritual home'.
Let's address the elephants in the room: yes, Brian Johnson is 78 years of age and, no, his voice doesn't hit the former peaks or sustain as long as in the eighties. He can no longer scream with the same intensity on songs such as "High Voltage" or "Highway to Hell", but he surely gives it his all with a smile on his face. Johnson was previously forced to exit AC/DC's 2016 world tour due to significant hearing issues (Axl Rose filled in), but a solution was discovered and it's clear he's overjoyed to be on stage, laughing with glee between songs. (AC/DC doesn't engage in chit-chat, and fans don't complain.)
Similarly, Angus Young – still sporting his trademark school uniform at seventy – is noticeably slower on some older songs, including the frenetic opening to "Thunderstruck". But it is still "Thunderstruck", and who cares when a entire venue is chanting so powerfully, that joyfully, as one?
With his striking white mane and slender limbs poking out from his shorts, Young simultaneously looks like an ancient wizard and confusingly youthful; when he returns to the group at the end of a number, he resembles a lost little boy running for his guardians – right up until he begins a wild guitar riff, his digits flying at blinding speed. He can even now perform his signature walk the entire span of a massive platform, with intense eyes and shaking violently as if he's been struck by lightning.
'The rest of the band fades away as Young struts.'
He gradually sheds clothes during the set, even using his necktie as a bow to play his guitar. By the end, when his top is largely open, he's in charge of the entire event.
On "Let There Be Rock", Young embarks on a extended, indulgent and immensely enjoyable instrumental break that seems like a dare to any who thought AC/DC couldn't deliver. The other members fade away as Young struts, pausing only to savor the applause before collapsing on the ground and writhing like a man possessed. "Where did that come from?" Johnson queries afterwards; who could say?
The frontman and guitarist are the ringleaders, but they receive tight support from guitar player Angus's nephew, who joined permanently in 2014 following his relative's dementia diagnosis; as well as low-end specialist the bass player and percussionist Matt Laug, who performs with the fervor of a person aiming to shake the foundations. Your eardrums won't be the same again.
Though the tour is named for the 2020 release "Power Up", they perform just a single track from it. Instead, the audience is given the best of the rest: "Shoot to Thrill", "High Voltage", "Highway to Hell", "You Shook Me All Night Long", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "TNT" and "Whole Lotta Rosie". There's space included for a surprise inclusion with "Jailbreak", a song they haven't performed since 1991, which is welcomed with huge enthusiasm.
This marks AC/DC's initial performance in Australia in 10 years, and Melbourne is their first stop – naturally, it is the group's roots, as Johnson states, being "the home of Mr Scott". It's hard not to suspect that this may be the band's last world tour, and perhaps even their last trip to the native land – but what a thrilling spectacle it is for those who secure entry. They rock and we applaud them.
- AC/DC are playing at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 16 November, followed by the Sydney venue on November 21 and 25, the Adelaide show on November 30, the Perth concerts on December 4 and 8, and Brisbane on December 14 and 18.
