Live Reviews : AC/DC, The Hives & Kingswood @ Etihad Stadium, Melbourne 06/12/2015

Words: Jonathon Besanko

Images: John Raptis

(Click here to view the full gallery)

Tonight was one I’d been anticipating for some months. Once again I was getting the chance to see the legends and pioneers of Australian hard rock music. However, it was an honour this time to instead be able to share the privilege to review them for Metal Obsession. I last saw AC/DC when they here for their Black Ice World Tour back in 2010. It was my first time seeing them live and I’d gone with my sister. I still remember vividly to this day how blown away I was; not only by the superb setup and props used, but especially by the band themselves.

AC/DC have been in circuit among the music world for more than forty years now, yet despite that, they haven’t lost a single skeric of what makes them who they are, or of their undeniable and wholly unique talent and style. Angus Young in particular astonishes me still. The man is 60 years young, and goes as hard and as precise in his playing as he did when they first formed back in the ’70s. That isn’t even an exaggeration. Countless imitators have come since AC/DC’s formation, but the kings of pub rock still rightfully reign and hold the crown of this then new wave of rock music that they helped to lead the charge with.

I was in for one heck of a night, but more to that later.

It was a warm Sunday evening in Melbourne. The sun was still up and twilight drew closer. As my train pulled up into Southern Cross station, little did I know the sheer crowd that was to await my eyes. It was around 6 o’clock, yet everywhere I turned, Etihad Stadium was alive with thousands upon thousands of people, all gathered outside. Some wore a variety of differing band shirts and summer attire, many more wore the trademark logo of the band we were all here to see. People of all ages and demographics were assembled outside the stadium, and by the time Kingswood came out on stage at 6.30, already decent numbers were among the seats and floor area. I spotted amusing health messages on the screens around the stadium, with AC/DC puns aplenty, but my attention was soon grabbed by Kingswood vocalist Fergus Linacre as he cried out energetically to the crowd, “What up, Melbourne?”

I’ll give these guys props, neither of the openers tonight were (at least from my point of view) exactly what you’d expect from opening bands supporting AC/DC, but as rock acts, they did great with what they were given. It is never easy being the opener for an event of this size, when honestly, the majority of people are just waiting you out until the main act arrives, but regardless of this, Kingswood was consumate professionals. With a style reminiscent of Wolfmother (remember them?), Kingswood had quite a refined and tight sound; although the early part of their set was detracted from by the fact Etihad’s sound was still being adjusted at this point. Their set began a little echoey (which made the vocals difficult to make out at first) but thankfully picked up soon enough and balanced itself out. Again though, Kingswood took it in their stride and their confidence and musical prowess on stage was well received, going on to garner decent crowd applause and interaction from the front.

The Hives took the lead hit 7.20pm, and the floor area had begun a lot more at this point. Just before The Hives had begun, there was even a few guys in the standing area playing makeshift cricket with a soft football – which got some laughs and cheers. The Jaws theme came in over the crowd like a flood (to use a bad ocean pun), before  drummer Chris Dangerous hammered in his lines. The band emerged wearing matching black pants and white shirts, exuding energy and confidence. I have to give frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist kudos. He is charismatic and knows how to elate an audience. Coaxing out clapping, he went on to confess, “I’m a Swedish singer and I didn’t come all this way to not hear you scream!” further encouraging cheering from members of the audience. The Hives are a very unusual band in terms of their live performance. Almqvist actually asked for people to boo him, in an effort to apparently dispel the negative energy in the crowd and just keep the positive vibes. It was an unorthodox approach, but it seemed to do its job. People at the front responded well to them. Almqvist seemed to have an almost Mick Jagger like quality to him with the way he engaged the audience and moved about the stage, though his constant ego-boosting (even if not done seriously) and his attempts to get people to say his name bordered on arrogance at times and just came across as cocky. They were definitely showmen if nothing else, and gave a solid performance.

Come 8.35pm, it had come time for the main act of the evening. It wasn’t long before Etihad Stadium became a sea of flashing red devil horns, and the introductory video made itself known. Playing as a recreation of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the astronauts depicted come across a blazing hot meteor that imprinted upon it read the title ‘AC/DC’. Everyone in the audience cheered rapturously. The meteor plummets its way down to earth and just as it reaches impact, the stage exploded with pyrotechnics and fireworks before Angus appeared on stage. Soon Brian Johnson and co came out and burst into “Rock or Bust”, the title track off their 2014 release.

From the first beat, AC/DC proved they still have it. They were tight and this tradition held the entire way through their set. About the only complaint I could find, and to be honest it’s not as much a complaint as it is a reality of age, was that Brian Johnson can’t really hit all of those notes that he once could and a few times struggled a little to keep pace with the others. But the man is almost 70 years old now, so it has to be expected. I feel the fact he is 68 makes it a bit more excusable, and in fact, makes Brian Johnson that much more admirable as a singer considering he still has that keen charm and energy about him and about the stage that he always did.

“How are you, Melbourne?” Brian asked in that trademark raspy voice that he has. “It’s been too long! We’re going to party and the party starts now!” Kicking into “Shoot To Thrill”, AC/DC’s setlist did not once let up. There was a great selection of songs, covering both the original Bon Scott era, as well as all else from ‘Back in Black’ onwards. With songs like “Sin City”, it wasn’t always just the ones you expected either and AC/DC kept up this energetic and awesome pace the entire time. Angus even did this awesome little bit where during this song he slid along the neck of his guitar using the tie from his schoolboy outfit. There would be a couple instances where lights would dim and things would quiet, but before long we were back in the thick of it.

It was great to have been able to bring my sister along to this again, and to laugh and reminisce with her about all the similarities and changes that have happened in both our lives since we last saw AC/DC together. It made the experience all the more special to myself, and only furthered the already brilliant performance from AC/DC also.

Songs like “Whole Lotta Rosie”, “Back in Black”, and “T.N.T.” went off; the latter of which the audience loved as everyone screamed out “Oi!” in time with the song’s famous and highly Aussie segment. I will say that one thing I found a bit of a shame tonight was that more spotlight wasn’t given to the new and returning members of the band, i.e. Stevie Young and Chris Slade, respectively. Whilst it was clear to tell the level of expertise and professionalism these two both add to AC/DC’s music given how tight the band’s rhythm section was the entire night, very rarely did the screens focus on both or either of these individuals. In fact, I don’t think I saw the screens once focus on Stevie, with only a few small instances where closeups of Chris Slade’s head was shown in contrast. To be honest, however, this particular issue is something that has always hung over the band like a foul smell. It was always Malcolm and Angus’ band, and now even with Malcolm having been forced to retire, the focus is still very much on Angus, with a bit of Brian and bassist Cliff Williams sprinkled throughout. It’s just sad to see as these two deserve far more.

Aside from the expected tolling bell of “Hells Bells” and the cannons of “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)”, unlike with 2010, very few props were used tonight. If I’m to be honest though, I feel at this stage of their career, AC/DC probably feel they can just let their music speak for itself. After four decades, they’ve said everything they needed to say and no longer need to prove themselves. Their performance and themselves is all that’s really needed now, and it still works perfectly.

With “Let There Be Rock”, this song saw Angus perform his trademark playing of his guitar whilst spinning in a circle on the ground. It was the perfect closer to the main portion of their set, with lights blazing from the risen hydraulic platform and confetti that rocketed into the sky; lit from the lights of the stage and floating about the night air like thousands of blood-red fireflies. His solo carried well and enjoyably until the encore hit, and, beneath smoke and flame, the man himself rose from below the stage like some sort of demonic god and the opening riff to “Highway To Hell” heralded in. The crowd exploded on this track, and as the night wrapped up with the roar of cannon fire and “For Those About To Rock”, the night came to its head.

Tonight is one I know I won’t forget, and still feel honoured to have covered. I may be a metalhead, but I’ll always be a rocker at heart.

AC/DC wrap up the Australian leg of their Rock or Bust world tour this Tuesday (8 December) at Etihad Stadium, Melbourne. Get your tickets now from Ticketmaster!

Related Posts

• 

  Markus Saastamoinen – Puzzle Pieces
• 

  HJELVIK – Welcome to Hel
• 

  AC/DC – Power Up
• 

  Depravity – Grand Malevolence