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AC/DC and 'Iron Man 2' are a perfect match (Article)
- byboothjorden on11th May, 2010 inAC/DC news and discussions
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Bands nowadays have to pull some punches with re-issued material unless the release is a contractual obligation. AC/DC has succeeded on the "Iron Man 2" soundtrack by giving us a nice assortment of old favorites mixed with some rarities and surprises . . . especially if you spend the few extra bucks for the Deluxe Edition CD/DVD.
Let me start by saying, "Iron Man 2" is not a greatest-hits album. AC/DC has never been, at least in the commercial sense, a "singles/hits" band. That said, "IM2" can be classified as a "best of" offering if you consider the band's blue-collar approach. The hits here are those which have propelled road trips and keg parties since 1975 -- "Back in Black," "Let There be Rock," "Highway to Hell," "Thunderstruck" and "T.N.T." to name a few.
Unlike the band's previous soundtrack effort ("Who Made Who," fueled Stephen King's "Maximum Overdrive" flick in 1986 with mostly post-"Back in Black" material), "IM2" is balanced between the Bon Scott and Brian Johnson eras.
"Guns For Hire" and "Evil Walks" lead the lesser-known track list and are likely included here to fit the movie's screenplay; a really cool inclusion is "Cold Hearted Man" from the European version of the band's pivotal 1978 "Powerage" disc, a disc that, unfortunately, is generally overlooked these days.
The real gems are from deep in the AC/DC archives. "Rock and Roll Damnation" is taken from the band's "Powerage" tour and displays the ever-energetic Bon Scott at the helm, while "Guns for Hire" features the Brian Johnson-fronted band on the "Flick of the Switch" road jaunt (circa 1983).
As for the DVD, for my hard-earned dollars, it justifies money well spent. There are two videos, "Shoot to Thrill" and "Highway to Hell," which were constructed specifically for "IM2." If you dig fast cars, explosions and skin-tight-clad hotties up on stage shakin' it for all it's worth -- not to mention footage of Angus and the boys rockin' out live -- you'll dig these.
The "IM2" soundtrack is cool for older fans who might lack a nugget or two from the treasure chest. More importantly, it serves as a primer for the younger crowd -- a sizable demographic for the movie's targeted marketing -- or anyone else who is not tuned in to AC/DC outside of "classic-rock" radio programming.
In short, "Iron Man 2" is exactly what you should expect when The World's Greatest Band does business with The World's Greatest Superhero.
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I do not lack any nuggets from my treasure chest. 
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Evidence of WWII bombs at AC/DC concert site (Article)
- bybonlives on31st March, 2010 inAC/DC news and discussions
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source: http://austrianindependent.com/news/Lifestyle/2010-03-30/1838/Evidence_of_WWII_bombs_at_AC-DC_concert_site
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A specialist company assigned to search for World War Two missiles beneath an airport where a concert by AC/DC is to happen found evidence of unexploded aerial bombs.
Officials in Wels, Upper Austria, said today (Tues) the team suspected eight 250-kilo aerial bombs four metres below the ground and 10-kilo cluster bombs around two metres below the surface at the city’s airport.
It was announced that the team will start digging for the potentially explosive objects after the Easter holidays.
City administration chief Bernd Spitzer claimed the work would not affect the time schedule of the concert.
Australian rock legends AC/DC are set to perform at the airport – which is used for domestic flights and aviation training sessions – on 22 May. Around 80,000 people are expected to turn up for the gig which sold out within minutes.
Environmentalists last year claimed the performance would pose a risk to the second-biggest colony of curlews in the province and 200 pairs of endangered birds that nest on the ground.
But local authorities managed to come to an agreement with the activists after promising 90 per cent of the airfield will remain undisturbed by the concert, while light and sound effects will be restricted to a minimum.
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War bombs threaten AC/DC show
- bybonlives on19th March, 2010 inAC/DC news and discussions
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source: http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2010/03/19/13287081-wenn-story.html
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Rockers AC/DC's controversial Austrian concert in May is facing a further setback - government officials have warned that unexploded World War II bombs at the site pose a threat to the 80,000-strong audience.
The band is set to play Wels Airport on 22 May, despite animal rights activists threatening legal action against the group if they go ahead with the show, as it could threaten colonies of nesting rare birds.
But it was revealed on Wednesday that the airport had been the target of heavy bombing during the war - and city chiefs are worried this could prove dangerous for fans.
Experts on bomb defusing and de-mining are set to evaluate the site and present their reports to the city government before a decision is made as to whether the gig can go ahead, according to Wels' deputy mayor Hermann Wimmer.
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METAL HAMMER To Unleash AC/DC, BLACK SABBATH And JUDAS PRIEST Tribute Albums (Article)
- bybonlives on15th March, 2010 inAC/DC news and discussions
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source: www.roadrunnerrecords.com
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To celebrate the 30th anniversaries of AC/DC's classic "Back In Black" album and the 40th anniversary of BLACK SABBATH's inception, U.K.'s Metal Hammer is lining up some "ultra-awesome" tribute albums to be given away with future copies of the magazine.
STEEL PANTHER and SKINDRED ("Back In Black") have been confirmed for Metal Hammer's AC/DC album, which will include the best of both the Bon Scott and the Brian Johnson eras.
TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED and WHITE WIZZARD are already scheduled for the re-creation of JUDAS PRIEST's legendary "British Steel", with TRIGGER doing "Rapid Fire".
As for the BLACK SABBATH album, TURISAS, ELECTRIC WIZARD and APOCALYPTICA are recording versions for Metal Hammer — with APOCALYPTICA covering the classic track "Spiral Architect". Other rumored acts for the SABBATH CD include PRONG, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and ORANGE GOBLIN.
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AC/DC juggernaut rolls into town (Article)
- bybonlives on20th January, 2010 inAC/DC news and discussions
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AC/DC play the first of three New Zealand shows at the Cake Tin in Wellington on January 28 - a show that will have been witnessed by about one in every 40 New Zealanders by the time the band leave Auckland following a visit to Western Springs on February 4.
The proportion is likely to be even larger in catchments such as west Auckland and the Hutt Valley, and the huge following will continue for their Australian homecoming shows later in the month.
When ticket sales opened there last year, over half a million were snapped up within three hours.
The response to the Australasian leg of the band's world tour even surprised Garry Van Egmond, who has been with them for decades.
"It has been the biggest success ever. The response we've had to tickets here and in Australia is incredible," he told NZPA.
The Wellington concert sold out so fast that another one was added, and the same thing happened to a greater extent in Australia. AC/DC play three consecutive shows in both Melbourne and Sydney, along with five others around the country.
"We sort of had a feeling we would do two", Van Egmond says, "but we never expected to do the third -- in Sydney the capacity is 71,000, so we sold over 200,000 there."
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Van Egmond turned up in Wellington a couple of weeks out from the shows and was waiting for the band's 82 shipping containers of gear to turn up from South America, where AC/DC played in December.
Over 130 full-time staff, including two scaffolding crews, have been following the band around the world for over a year as part of the Black Ice tour, and will stay with them for several more months.
"The whole tour started in October, 2008. So they've been on the road for nearly 14 months, and it will finish about October, 2010."
It's his sixth tour with AC/DC, who chose to bring him on board 28 years ago and have stuck with him ever since.
"They are the most loyal people you could ever deal with," he says.
"They are amazing guys to work with. They're the most hands-on people I've ever dealt with in any band, they get involved in ticket pricing, where the shows will be played...They are in charge of their careers, which is a little bit unusual."
AC/DC have never bothered with "best of" albums and won't let it happen, Van Egmond says.
They used to play festivals, but haven't for many years and are probably simply too big to do so.
Van Egmond says the band would not be comfortable giving up some of the control they have over their own shows and are acutely aware of the dangers big bands can present to energised crowds at festivals where proceedings can get out of control and dangerous if not managed effectively.
He says New Zealand fans will be treated to one of the biggest single music productions to come here and the concert will involve over two hours of every hit they can play.
He's noticed the changing crowd demographics over the decades and this tour is no different.
"What is interesting is that we've now got fans from 12-year-old kids to grandfathers - three generations. And we've noticed we've got a much larger female audience than we used to have."
AC/DC were known to play as hard as they rocked back in the early days, but they tend to look after themselves now.
The band consists of founding members, brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, along with singer Brian Johnson, drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams -- all of whom are long-time members.
Original singer Bon Scott died in 1980 after a night of partying in London and Johnson immediately proved his worth as a replacement when subsequent album Back in Black went on to become one of the biggest selling albums in history.
Johnson is an English native, along with Williams - both live in Florida - while the others live in Australia.
Van Egmond says there are tickets still available to the Auckland show, and more tickets have been made available to the second Wellington show after some set changes freed up standing room.
The juggernaut heads to Japan after Australia, before going back to the United States and then to France, Germany and eastern Europe.
Van Egmond says it will be time for a holiday after that and the world will have to wait and see whether the biggest hard rock band around will tour again.
Concert dates
Wellington, Westpac Stadium, Jan 28 and 30
Auckland, Western Springs, Feb 4
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Forever Young (Article)
- bybonlives on10th January, 2010 inAC/DC news and discussions
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source: http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/music/forever-young/2010/01/09/1262453696084.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
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How have five middle-aged rockers, one perennially in a school uniform, managed to stay at the top for so long? As they prepare to bring their Black Ice tour to Australia, Guy Blackman unravels the secret to AC/DC's great success.
There's really no other band in the world like AC/DC. Of course, tight-jeaned wannabe rock stars launch into You Shook Me All Night Long on pub stages every weekend, but that only reinforces AC/DC's singularity. These days, most hard rock bands are relegated to playing off-nights in outer suburban beer barns, while more than 35 years into their career, AC/DC still top charts all around the world and fill massive arenas, including three shows at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne next month.
Their 16th album, Black Ice, reinforced AC/DC's eternal dominance, reaching No. 1 in 29 countries and becoming their second US No. 1. It sold more than 6 million copies worldwide, the second biggest seller of 2008 behind Coldplay's Viva La Vida.
Black Ice was also a comeback, the band's first studio album since 2000's Stiff Upper Lip. Eight years is a lifetime - probably even two lifetimes - in popular music, and there were seismic changes while they were away. Solo artists rose up to overthrow the rock group, with even boy bands ceding their late '90s dominance to new pop icons such as Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Britney and Pink. The noughties were also largely a decade for the girls, 10 years in which popular music was created - and consumed - primarily by women.
But AC/DC remained somehow unaffected, bursting back into the charts as if it was 1976 all over again and they were still slowly motoring down Swanston Street on the back of a flat-bed truck singing Long Way To the Top.
So what is it about AC/DC that enables them to remain the only big, blokey rock'n'roll band left on a world-conquering level? Admittedly, the Rolling Stones are still out there doing their thing, but their thing is far more pouty and ambiguous, and it's the same with current rock pretty boys Kings of Leon. AC/DC have always been plain, and have always made plain, meat and potatoes rock'n'roll, with hard riffs and suggestive, fun-loving lyrics. And they're the only band like that still standing.
Of course, AC/DC have a big story - the death of larrikin lead singer Bon Scott, who choked on his own vomit in the back of a car on a cold London night in February 1980, the victim of his own remarkable capacity for good times. And then the band's triumphant return later that year, with flat-capped new vocalist Brian Johnson and their biggest album ever, Back in Black. They also have an image - namely lead guitarist Angus Young's eternal schoolboy uniform of blazer, shorts, cap and tie. Supposedly, Young went through a variety of potential outfits, including a Superman-inspired look entitled "Super-Ang", before settling on the original uniform from his time at Ashfield Boys High School in Sydney. It's a great gimmick, giving the band a kind of perpetual innocence that belies their meaty, ribald rock'n'roll.
But the real key to their survival goes beyond mere image or back story. After forming in late 1973, the vision of teenage Angus and older brother Malcolm, AC/DC settled on their format the following September, when Scott replaced original vocalist Dave Evans. Since then, AC/DC have been a constant, virtually unchanging presence in popular music, making record after pretty much interchangeable record.
It's this monolithic constancy, usually a career killer in a novelty-hungry music industry, that makes AC/DC just as popular in 2010 as they were in 1980. Lead singers aside, they haven't changed a bit, and fans return to each new record or tour like they've never been away. Ever reliable, always catchy, and never that good looking in the first place, AC/DC are ageless, changeless and therefore perennial.
"Someone said to Angus the other day, 'Hey, you've made the same album 15 times'," Johnson told The Scotsman last November. "Angus said, 'No, man, we've made the same album 16 times'."
The band are such a no-fuss operation, shot through with Australian self-deprecation despite their Scottish and English roots, that it comes as a surprise to discover exactly how popular they really are. Their theatricality may be limited to concert pyrotechnics, an oversized inflatable Rosie doll, and Angus' thrashing guitar spasms, but they still deliver extraordinary figures. Not only did the band outsell the Beatles to become the No. 1 catalogue artist in the US in 2008, but Back in Black is the highest-selling album released by any band. The 1980 classic has sold about 45 million albums worldwide, pipped only by Michael Jackson's Thriller.
No wonder AC/DC have stuck to a winning formula. The Young brothers may have chucked out drummers and bassists over the years, worked with maverick producer Rick Rubin on 1995 album Ballbreaker, and even released Black Ice exclusively through Walmart stores in the US, but when it comes to the crunch, they're canny enough to return to what they know best.
"We've always been a rock'n'roll band," Angus said in a '70s television interview, looking to his brother Malcolm for support. "That's always what we played, and that's what we always wanna keep playing." The quiet one, Malcolm nods and mutters a gentle agreement. The Youngs' thicker-than-water bond is also central to their longevity. Just 18 and 20 when the band formed, the brothers are AC/DC's heart and soul, with lead guitarist Angus the visual focus and rhythm player Malcolm the organisational brains behind the group. Together they've written the bulk of the band's songs, at first with input from Scott, and then less so from Johnson, who hasn't written any of his own lyrics since 1988.
Not only that, but older brother George preceded his siblings into show business with the fantastic Easybeats, one of Australia's first groups to find success overseas with their 1966 single Friday on My Mind. Acting as mentor, producer and even sometime bassist in their early years, George's experience and his concern for his kid brothers has been crucial to their success.
The closeness is not limited to the Young family, either. Bassist Cliff Williams has been with the band since 1977, and long-time drummer Phil Rudd returned to the fold in 1994, more than a decade after a drug-fuelled punch-up with Malcolm saw him ousted from the band. Their three most recent albums have all been recorded with this line-up, the very same that made Back in Black and its chart-topping follow-up For Those About To Rock.
"They're very loyal," says concert promoter Garry Van Egmond, who has worked with AC/DC in Australia, New Zealand and Japan on each of their tours since the early '80s, including their upcoming Black Ice dates. "You can imagine the inquiries they would have got from other promoters wanting to make an offer on the tour, but they didn't consider it; they showed their loyalty towards me."
Van Egmond attributes the band's longevity to a successful bridging of the generation gap. "There's now really three generations of AC/DC fans," he says. "It's 12 or 14-year-old kids, it's their father and it's their grandfather. People up to 60 or 70 years of age are buying tickets."
But kids don't listen to their parents' records, let alone their grandparents', unless there's something in the songwriting that translates across the decades. Starting with AC/DC's first single Can I Sit Next To You Girl, recorded with original vocalist Evans (Scott reprised it on their second album T.N.T.), the band has understood the power of the double hook, combining immediately infectious guitar riffs with fresh, cheeky choruses for an irresistible one-two knockout. Their last mega-hit was 1990's Thunderstruck, but every album includes a couple of tracks worthy of gracing any AC/DC best-of.
"We often have that debate among all the music industry guys," says veteran Melbourne music manager Ralph Carr. "Why have AC/DC stood the test of time? I think the main reason is the consistency of great songs. High Voltage, Highway To Hell, Back in Black, all those hits . . . They had that consistency, and that's what I think is lacking in today's world."
Carr has been an AC/DC tragic since seeing them as a teenager in 1977 at Heidelberg Town Hall. "There was an all-in fight and I ran out," he recalls. "I think Bon Scott enjoyed it; he jumped into the crowd." But as manager of the likes of Kate Ceberano and Vanessa Amorosi, Carr is also well aware that the music world of 2010 is a lot less band-oriented, less rock-oriented, and even less maleoriented, than ever.
"Females tend to buy a lot of records these days, but also there's just no great male performers," Carr says. "We're seriously looking for them every day, but there hasn't been the same amount of great male performers as female. I go for any genre as long as they're talented, and I'm desperate to find a band or a male artist ... but there ain't a lot out there."
Still, it's a sign of AC/DC's unending currency that they can hold their own against the current queen of urban-influenced rock, Pink. The hugely popular singer tipped her hat to AC/DC on her Funhouse tour last year, warming up Australian audiences with a rip-roaring version of Highway To Hell. Van Egmond predicts AC/DC's Black Ice tour ticket sales will outstrip Funhouse's 550,000 by a good 70,000. "There's a much larger female audience than we've had previously," he says of the Black Ice tour. "(For women) AC/DC have have crossed over from heavy metal into a mainstream band. Their appeal has widened so much."
The two acts also had a close tussle on the charts. AC/DC prevented Pink from getting her first US No. 1 album when both released their latest albums in October 2008. Black Ice relegated Pink's Funhouse to a No. 2 debut, maintaining its perch at the top for two weeks, while in Australia Funhouse replaced Black Ice at No. 1 after a week, and went on to spend nine weeks there.
Female artists may reign supreme on the music charts these days but clearly AC/DC are a tough act to beat. For certain kinds of men and women, from teenagers to retirees, AC/DC represent something innate and eternally satisfying - a love of simple, uncomplicated good times. Thirty-six years into their career, there's absolutely nothing unexpected about the band. As ex-Go-Between and sterling music critic Robert Forster wrote in The Monthly, "There has always been an if-it-ain't-broke ethos in the band that reflexively rejects any criticism of the simplicity and grunt of the melodies, or the limitations of the sound." AC/DC have proved that simplicity, grunt and a few self-imposed limitations can be the key to a never-ending musical career.
Strange, then, that Forster believes Angus Young should drop the schoolboy schtick, saying it's "a trap, and the older Angus gets, the sillier it looks". He's right that it's a trap, but Young sensibly resigned himself to captivity long ago.
An Angus Young in civvies would be about as interesting to AC/DC fans as Kiss without make-up was to theirs. So steadfast and reliable have AC/DC been since 1973, that were Young to ever hang up his uniform, the band would surely die a sudden death.
ACCA DACCA AT THE TOP
AC/DC have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, including 71 million in the US alone.
The band got their name from initials written on their older sister Margaret's sewing machine.
Malcolm Young's first band was a Newcastle group called the Velvet Underground, who must have been blissfully unaware of Lou Reed's band of the same name.
Despite being the second-biggest selling record ever released, Back In Black only reached No. 4 on the US charts.
Alistair Kinnear, the last man who saw Bon Scott alive, was long assumed to be a fake name for someone who didn't want to be identified. But Kinnear emerged in 2005 to speak to the press for the first time in 25 years.
When the Young family emigrated to Sydney from Glasgow in 1963, oldest son Alex chose to stay behind, and went on to form the London-based band Grapefruit.
AC/DC were Australia's top earning band last year, with reported takings of $105 million, displacing the Wiggles from their four-year run at the top.
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AC/DC, Metallica Among Top Touring Bands Of 2009
- bybonlives on2nd January, 2010 inAC/DC news and discussions
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source: http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1169141&SMap=1
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AC/DC, Metallica Among Top Touring Bands Of 2009
1/1/2010 1:05 PM ET
(RTTNews) - AC/DC and Metallica were among the most popular bands on the road this year, according to data released by Pollstar this week.
Pollstar's annual top-grossing tour list, based on data provided by concert promoters and venue managers, ranked AC/DC as the fifth top touring band of 2009, with Metallica rolling in at number ten.
AC/DC's tour raked in $77.9 million, while Metallica earned $53.4 million. U2's 360° tour brought in $123 million to take the top spot.
Metallica and AC/DC are also among the bands boasting top paperless ticket sales, Ticketmaster reports. AC/DC's Black Ice world tour sold the second most paperless tickets, while Metallica's September 15, 2008 show at London's O2 arena was the largest single paperless event.
Pollstar's top ten touring acts of 2009 are listed below.
1. U2 - $123 million
2. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - $94.5 million
3. Elton John and Billy Joel - $88 million
4. Britney Spears - $82.5 million
5. AC/DC - $77.9 million
6. Kenny Chesney - $71.1 million
7. Jonas Brothers - $69.8 million
8. Dave Matthews Band - $56.9 million
9. Fleetwood Mac - $54.5 million
10. Metallica - $53.4 million
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Show plugs into AC/DC legend (Article)
- bybonlives on9th November, 2009 inAC/DC news and discussions
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source: http://melbourne-leader.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/show-plugs-into-ac-dc-legend/
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Show plugs into AC/DC legend
This photo of AC/DC in 1976, taken three years after the band formed, appears in the Arts Centre's new exhibition, AC/DC Australia's Family Jewels
WHEN Australian rock legends AC/DC had a street named after them in Madrid, the mayor had 15 copies of the street sign made in anticipation most would be stolen.
Such is the global reach of Acca Dacca, who topped Australia’s richest entertainers list by earning $105 million last financial year.
And Melbourne’s own Arts Centre is paying due tribute with the first exhibition about the band, AC/DC Australia’s Family Jewels.
The show’s curator, Tim Fisher, is keen for Melburnians who are not necessarily fans to experience the phenomenon that is this group.
“AC/DC is viewed by some people as a bit downmarket,” he said.
“Many people would not like to admit it but . . by a long way, AC/DC is Australia’s most influential performing groups. No other performing artist has that sort of profile or public presence.”
The exhibition had been developed in agreement with the band, a rare opportunity for a curator, Fisher told the Melbourne Leader.
“This is pretty much a chronology looking at 35 years. It’s like a survey exhibition.
“I have not tried to be comprehensive but rather taken the best material I can find to represent the different periods.”
Fisher started with the Arts Centre’s own “relatively small” AC/DC collection, begun in 1988, and borrowed the majority from two particularly devoted collectors - one in New York. Material has also been sought, solicited and donated from many other sources.
“Mrs Scott, Bon Scott’s mother, has kindly lent us some much-treasured material including photos and Bon Scott’s passport.
A few years ago she gave us his last leather jacket,” Fisher said of Bon, who died in 1980.
“We sought the band’s stage cannon; had it brought over from the States.”
Exhibition-goers will enjoy a big projection screen to show live performance footage with a light show.
There will be a wall of posters, 12 fan T-shirts and a jacket covered in AC/DC badges.
“I have tried to tell the story with lots of different mediums and interspersed this with a selection of moving images and very good-quality sound examples of them in performance,” Fisher said.
“These examples will also run chronologically and include early Countdown clips.”
Fisher, while putting together the exhibition, was struck by AC/DC’s work ethic.
“In 1975, when they were living in Melbourne, they did at least 268 gigs.
They would often do two gigs a day.
They would do the same thing in Europe and the US and they have continued to do that,” he said.
“Compare that with the Sex Pistols (who did only four shows on one tour), they did about 15 shows in a year.”
Fisher said the other story of AC/DC was the response of fans.
“Their relationship is a dialogue,” he said.
“They just expect a really good time and that’s what they have had for 30 years.”
AC/DC Australia’s Family Jewels is at the Arts Centre, Gallery 1 until February 28.
It’s a free exhibition.
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AC/DC at American Airlines Center - A Must Read!
- bybonlives on3rd November, 2009 inAC/DC news and discussions
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source: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/2009/11/last_night_acdc_at_american_ai.php
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AC/DC
American Airlines Center
November 2, 2009Better than: sleepwalking through another night of the World Series snoozefest...
AC/DC didn't rip a page from the Rolling Stones playbook last night and dig deep into its early catalog.
Rather, with few exceptions, the band played it by the numbers, sticking predominantly to its (admittedly sizeable) catalog of run-into-the-ground, overexposed radio hits.
But what was worse was that the band seemed to play these songs without much genuine enthusiasm.You can't help but feel for the band: the members' age averages in the early 60s, and this was their second sweep through Dallas on what has to be a very tiring "Black Ice Tour."
They look and sound older.
And everything just seemed... off. The stage, the cymbals on the drumset, and Angus' outfit and guitar were all a little too polished and blingy. Drummer Phil Rudd woefully dangled a cigarette from his mouth through a handful of songs (the ultimate lack-of-morale body language) and Malcolm Young's head-bangs and foot-stomps certainly didn't have the same pep they did in the '80s.
Even the crowd seemed let down: Succumbing to a well-controlled, bouncer-heavy concert floor, it seemed most were content to just stand at their seat and nod along.
What the fuck was this, a church revival?
But not all was disappointing.
First, there is always Angus Young. Despite his older, toned-down level of neck thrashing, and a pitiful amount of male-pattern baldness, he still delivers the same scathing guitar playing and bountiful energy he always has. And while he could really stand to freshen up the old standard moves like his schoolboy-outfit stripshow, and the old standard fretboard-run of triplet scales during his spotlight solo, he's still a hell of lot of fun to watch, and that feeling of rock legend awe still hankers in the back of your mind as you look on.
And the band deserves credit (especially Brian Johnson's voice; it's sounded much worse around the "Thunderstruck" era, for whatever reason) for "still doin it at that age," and blah blah blah. Sure.
But AC/DC could stand to branch out a little from the same basic show blueprint it's been spewing for decades. And, while it was cool to hear the odd semi-gem, like "Shoot to Thrill" or "Hell Aint a Bad Place to Be", would it kill the band to pull out old, dirty-sex numbers like "Squealer" or something?
Critic's notebook
Personal Bias: It's AC/DC. C'mon.
By The Way: For almost the same money AAC charges you for a garden-variety hot dog, you can take a short drive to Reno's Grill in Deep Ellum after the show, and get the amazing Chicken & Peanut Butter Whiz Bang sandwich. Worth the extra drive.
Set List:
Rock & Roll Train
Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
Back in Black
Big Jack
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Shot Down in Flames
Thunderstruck
Black Ice
The Jack
Hells Bells
Shoot to Thrill
War Machine
Dog Eat Dog
Shook Me All Night Long
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
Highway To Hell
For Those About to Rock...
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