AC/DC

MELBOURNE

ETHIAD STADIUM

MONDAY 15th FEBRUARY 2010

 

Setlist:

Rock N' 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
High Voltage
You Shook Me All Night Long
T.N.T.
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock

Encore:

Highway To Hell
For Those About To Rock

 

AC/DC back on home soil downunder is always a special event, but ACDC back where it all began for them in Melbourne is even more special. We may be last in line for the Black Ice tour but all you guys in the rest of the world have done is get the boys warmed up for the big event (either that or they forgot about us again)...

 

After the near riots in New Zealand, the beer fuelled crowd in Melbourne could, you feel, turn on you at any point, but it would only be a to raise a glass and toast the band or join you in a sing along rather than fight. The crowd are certainly in high spirits but its all good fun. There's young kids, old beardy blokes and plenty of people you wouldn't imagine you'd see at an AC/DC concert. T-shirt sales are through the roof- in fact I can only count a couple of people without the requisite logo emblazoned on the chest - and they are wearing Dio T-Shirts!

 

Warm up acts for the tour over here are Melbourne's own 'Calling All Cars' and 'Wolfmother' and you feeling that no matter how good they play 90% of the crowd here just won't care which is a shame, as even though the former are reasonably forgettable 'Wolfmother' pull off a nice retro rock set.

 

People are here for the main act though and after what seems like an eternity the returning Melbourne sons take to the stage. The show starts as it means to go on - with an almighty bang as the 'Rock and Roll Train' crashes into and through the back of the set! It has been far too long between drinks for some people and the emotion is flowing over, to say that the crowd are appreciative would be a rather enormous understatement.

 

Angus if anything appears to have even more energy than you would think could possibly inhabit his slight frame. It's as if someone has wound him up like a clockwork toy, but kept on winding and ignored all the warnings. You actually fear that he may explode during the furious extended version of 'Let there be Rock'.

 

Who would have thought that guys of this vintage could rock out like this? But the energy of the band is plain to see, with Malcolm, Cliff, and Phil keeping up with the front men. These guys will be rocking into their eighties at this rate!

 

Like any AC/DC show there's the anticipation of the set-pieces like Brian Johnson swinging from the giant bell as an intro to 'Hell's Bells'; Angus sticking on the horns for 'Highway to Hell' and of course the largest inflatable stage prop on the plant 'Rosie'. Set pieces aside though this is a great show and puts us all firmly in our places. This is how a rock show should be: wild, loud and over the top, staged in a stadium for thousands of adoring fans.

 

We even get a 'topless cam' for 'The Jack' though to be fair to the ladies in te crowd Angus himself strips down to a fine pair of AC/DC boxers to even things up a bit. It's the 1000's of glowing devil horns in the crowd at te stadium that make you fee like you are in a cave in the upper reaches of hell wen the lights are dimmed, and the heat of a massive crowd with the roof on the stadium shut also helps with that analogy.

 

There are probably too many highlights to mention though 'You Shook Me All Night Long' took it for me by a whisker. I don't think I'll ever get to see 'Touch Too Much' again though, and 'It's A Long Way to the Top' would have been nice too, but in the scheme of things is a mild disappointment on a great night. Angus solo at the end of 'Let there be Rock' with the crowd showered in confetti is also a show-stopper.

 

This is the last of AC/DC's three nights an Melbourne and the guy next to me tells me it's the best of the three (and better than Auckland where he was the other day) so I'll take him at his word. he's off back home to Sydney tomorrow to catch the next few dates of the tour. I guess we'll follow the crowd out to the bar where it feels like everyone in Melbourne is up for a beer!

 

Cheers!

 

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