On a recent Wednesday afternoon, a remarkable assembly of three hundred seventy-four bagpipers came together in Melbourne's Federation Square to play AC/DC's iconic hit "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock'n'Roll)", setting a global milestone close to the famous spot where Bon Scott and the band memorably performed the tune on a flatbed truck decades ago.
This track is the one major hit that AC/DC has retired from concerts, out of respect for the late Bon Scott after his passing in 1980. Yet its absence is barely felt when the band's live performances are so packed with beloved classics: an electric excitement rippled through the 80,000 concertgoers at the MCG as AC/DC kicked off with "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" and straight away launched into "Back in Black". Who else would dare to deliver such a massive hit so early in the show? Yet this band can, offering the audience to what amounts to a two-hour greatest hits celebration.
The lead singer calls Melbourne the band's 'spiritual home'.
It's time to discuss the elephants in the room: indeed, the frontman is 78 years old and, admittedly, his voice doesn't hit the former peaks or hold as long compared to the eighties. He may not screech like he used to on songs such as "High Voltage" or "Highway to Hell", but he certainly tries his best with a smile on his face. Johnson was previously forced to exit AC/DC's 2016 world tour due to severe hearing loss (a substitute vocalist filled in), but a solution was found and it's clear he's thrilled to be back, cackling like a gremlin during breaks. (The band avoids stage banter, and fans don't complain.)
Likewise, Angus Young – still sporting his trademark schoolboy shorts at seventy – is visibly less rapid on certain older songs, such as the high-energy intro to "Thunderstruck". But it is still "Thunderstruck", and who cares when a whole stadium is singing so powerfully, that joyfully, as one?
With his shock of white hair and slender limbs poking out from his shorts, Young appears as an ancient wizard and oddly childlike; when he trots back to the group at the conclusion of a number, he looks like a confused child running for his guardians – right up until he begins a wild guitar riff, his digits flying at blinding speed. He can still duckwalk the entire span of a huge stage, 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 slowly sheds clothes during the performance, even using his necktie like a violin bow to play his guitar. By the end, when his shirt is almost completely unbuttoned, he's in charge of the entire event.
On "Let There Be Rock", Young embarks on a extended, indulgent and immensely enjoyable guitar solo that almost feels like a dare to those who doubted AC/DC weren't still up to it. The rest of the band recede as Young struts, taking breaks only to revel in the applause before collapsing on the ground and writhing like a someone enchanted. "Where did that come from?" Johnson asks later; it's a mystery?
The frontman and guitarist are the main stars, but they receive tight support from guitar player Stevie Young, who officially came onboard in 2014 after his uncle Malcolm dementia diagnosis; along with bassist Chris Chaney and drummer the man on drums, who performs with the determination of a man trying to trigger an earthquake. Listeners' hearing will be forever altered.
Although the concert series is titled after the 17th album "Power Up", they perform just a single track from it. Rather, the crowd 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 even room for a surprise inclusion with "Jailbreak", a song they have not played live since 1991, which is received with massive cheers.
This marks AC/DC's initial performance in Australia in a decade, and Melbourne is their first stop – after all, it is the band's "ancestral homeland", as Johnson states, being "the home of Mr Scott". It's difficult to ignore that this could be the final global tour, and perhaps even their final visit to the homeland – but what a thrilling spectacle it is for those who secure entry. They rock and we applaud them.
- The band are playing at the Melbourne Cricket Ground again on 16 November, followed by the Sydney venue on 21 and 25 November, Adelaide on 30 November, the Perth concerts on 4 and 8 December, and the Brisbane dates on December 14 and 18.
