Review: Greg Phillips. Photos: Jason Rosewarne
What a week or two its been for stadium rock in Melbourne. First there were the Mancunian larrikans Oasis, then last weekend 50,000 fans witnessed the Metallica juggernaut, rockin’ Marvel Stadium and paying tribute to our hometown boys The Living End. Now, merely a few days later, tens of thousand of heavy rock lovers gathered at the city’s spiritual home, the MCG to welcome home Australia’s greatest musical export to the world, AC/DC.
This is the town where in 1976 the band, featuring Bon Scott armed with bagpipes, played off the back of a truck surging down Swanston Street, while recording their legendary clip for It’s a Long Way To the Top. It’s the same town that re-enacted that day in 2010, when 20,000 people marched to that song in protest against the effects of liquor licensing laws on live music venues in the city. Yesterday afternoon, we gathered again in thousands in the CBD at Federation Square to experience the world record breaking attempt at the most pipers playing at once. Of course It’s A Long Way To the Top was used as the catalyst. My first ever concert was AC/DC at Fawkner High School in 1975. Others have told me that they too saw the band that year in local halls and even an ice skating rink, when they were sowing the seeds of world domination. I was there when the fence came down at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. I saw them several times at Festival Hall and then later in 2010 with Brian Johnson on the Black Ice tour but I don’t recall anywhere near the buzz and anticipation of this 2025 PWR UP tour. And how much more Melbourne can you get than a bill consisting of local indie rockers The Casanovas, the global rock torch bearers Amyl & The Sniffers and of course Acca Dacca, all at the ‘G’.
As The Casanovas took to the stage, the stadium crowd was scant with most still making their way to the venue or getting through security checks. Featuring Melbourne guitar gurus Tommy Boyce and Dave Larkin (spruiking a Dallas Crane tee), they played their hearts out nevertheless, delivering rockin’ versions of band standards such as Shake It, Hollywood Riot and Livin’ In The City, which Tommy tells us was heavily influenced by tonight’s hosts. Tommy, Dave, Jimmy and Wolfie (rocking a Fee Fee’s Bar tee) were clearly chuffed to be warming the stage for AC/DC and did themselves proud.
Amyl & The Sniffers always seem to be coming off a tour from somewhere else in the world and are probably one of the most gig-hardened bands on the planet. No warm up required for these guys as they ripped straight into Security, with Amy Taylor manically running around the stage geeing herself up as much as the crowd. The Sniffers possess a massive sound and you can tell they’ve played a stadium or two over the last couple of years … and last they were in their element. Dressed in blue satin sports wear and rockin’ her curling wand-effected blonde locks complete with rowdy eye make-up, Amy’s energy has no bounds, surely the fittest rock star in the world. Much like the energiser bunny, her vitality is unceasing. In a long list of global punk rock female icons, she’s the new queen.
You can take a girl out of the suburbs but you can’t take the suburbs out of the girl as Amy asked the crowd if anyone was from Balaclava, before lurching into Balaclava Lover Boogie and punching the sky boxing-style. Meanwhile, responsible for the piston-pumping engine room were bassist Gus Romer and drummer Bryce Wilson, with Declan Mehrtens adding his savage guitar bite to the mix. Toward the end of their set, the venue was now filling and the increase in energy levels, both on and off stage was tangible. Finishing an incredible set with Jerkin’, GFY and Hertz, Amyl & The Sniffers certainly left their sonic footprint on this elated crowd.
With the house lights dimmed and a sea of red devil horns glowing in the dark (they’ve made killing on the merch stands), AC/DC arrived and delivered a heroic If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) from their legendary 1978 live album. Angus, attired in red blazer and shorts, white shirt, tie and school cap took no time testing the runway and greeting the fans. It’s only the second song in and they offered us one of the most recognisable guitar licks in rock ’n’ roll history, Back In Black. The huge vertical screen panels behind the band go monochrome and the visual effect is stunning. Demon Fire, Shot Down In Flames followed then another iconic guitar intro … it’s Thunderstruck and the crowd lose their shit. Angus extracted some tasty blues licks for Have a Drink On Me from the Back in Black album and you just had to admire that perfect rock ’n’ roll guitar tone coming out of one of a few Gibson SG’s he used throughout the night.
It’s one of the most fabled moments in rock and when you experience it live, it sends chills down the back of your neck. I’m talking about the slow descent of the ominous, huge bronze bell from the ceiling as it chimes out the intro to Hell’s Bells, egged on by Angus Young’s droning, pulsating guitar chords. Every guitar player worth his or her salt knows the classic sequence … Am, D, C, D. To any kid in the crowd who had vague notions of picking up the guitar before this gig, last night their future plans were set in concrete. Shot in the Dark and Stiff Upper Lip continued to show why this is one of… if not THE … greatest rock band in the world. Then with the sheer power of Highway To Hell, it became clearly obvious just how heavy and tight these guys are. The sound coming out of the rhythm section of Chris Chaney on bass, Matt Laug on drums, together with the motoring riffs of Stevie Young, was absolutely staggering, no disrespect to those AC/DC legends who came before them.
Brian Johnson is no longer a young man but vocally he really cut the mustard last night. No complaints here. Extended breaks in between each song meant that all band members could gather their thoughts and take a breath. Shoot to Thrill and Sin City continued the party before one of the most significant moments of the night when they dragged out a much appreciated Jailbreak, the first time performed since the early 90’s and a genuine nod and a wink to Bon Scott for the Melbourne crowd. In further worship at the temple of Bon, they backed it up with Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and High Voltage, as the crowd’s voice rose above the sound coming out of the PA system.
Some of contemporary music’s most easily identifiable opening riffs have come from the hands of Angus Young and You Shook Me All Night Long is no exception. The walls were shaken’ and the earth was quakin’ at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and there was nowhere else in the world you’d rather be. Whole Lotta Rosie has always been an AC/DC gig fave and again, the band gave it their all. Let There Be Rock followed, probably the AC/DC tune that’s closest to my heart but I wasn’t expecting the epic event that it turned out to be. With jacket now gone, Angus proceeded to parade his full bag of guitar tricks and demonstrate his complete control of the instrument. The fretboard agility, the command of feedback, the tone, the understanding of musical dynamics, it was all on show in a herculean guitar solo, one of the most incredible I’ve ever seen. Like a champion pole-vaulter, each time you thought he’d reached his height limit, he raised the bar again and again. Strutting out to the edge of the extended stage, his platform rose as he played and confetti rained over him and the audience as we marvelled at one of rock’s greatest living treasures. Eventually the 17 minute guitar solo came to an end, the band left the stage and we all paused to evaluate what we’d just witnessed.
Returning to the stage triumphantly, Brian and Angus goaded us all to raise our fists and shout out ‘Oi’ in recognition of the mighty TNT. Cannons then appeared at the sides of the stage in preparation of For Those About to Rock (We Salute You). The vintage Gatling Gun-style cannons exploded and set off a cascade of fireworks, ending one of the finest stadium rock gigs you’ll ever see by one of the world’s greatest bands, Australia’s own AC/DC. Whether we see them again after this tour, who knows but if you have the chance to catch them on this tour, don’t even think about it … just do it. Welcome home guys and thanks for the memories.
SET LIST
If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)
Back in Black
Demon Fire
Shot Down in Flames
Thunderstruck
Have a Drink on Me
Hells Bells
Shot in the Dark
Stiff Upper Lip
Highway to Hell
Shoot to Thrill
Sin City
Jailbreak (First live performance since 1991)
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
High Voltage
Riff Raff
You Shook Me All Night Long
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
Encore:
T.N.T.
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
