First off (Since I am likely to get hate e-mail over the title of this post), let me say I am a huge fan. I saw them for the first time on Nov. 16, 1983 It was a fantastic show, and the first real concert of my life. It was arena rock at it's finest, at what I consider to be the apex of genre. This is my perspective when evaluating last night's show. I still enjoy the heck out of Angus Young's playing and he is a strong influence on my electric guitar playing (my acoustic...not so much).
The show last night was great, it really was. The crowd was appropriately rowdy (including a coupla of drunken redneck almost brawls), the opening act was actually a band to whom I'd listen (went home and put them on my MP3 player), and the sound was actually set up well. It was worth the money, the late night, and the crowds (I detest crowds). I'd do it again tomorrow if I could.
That said, the guys have definitely lost a step. I say this more out of sadness than criticism. Heck, they're my heroes, and heroes are supposed to be everlasting. Angus was energetic and very peppy for his age (I hope I have a tenth of his energy at that age), but his pace was not really the frenetic one I remember. His playing, while excellent blues-rock as always, seemed a fraction off time. The leads for songs are typically a *little* different in concert than on a CD, but this time, they sounded, well...simplified a little bit. Some of the bends that used to make my skin crawl on the back of my head (in a good way) just weren't there. The opening sequence to "Thunderstruck" sounded painful as heck (to me...just my opinion) where it sounded perfect a few years ago when I saw it live.
Let me stress again: this isn't criticism. This is a fan who is starting to feel his own age a bit as he sees it reflected in the faces of his heroes. I can only think that the arena rock of the AC/DC brand is definitely fading away for the most part, and that's a darn shame says I.
Print | posted on Friday, December 19, 2008 9:38 AM