The Winnipeg concert of the Metal band AC/DC, held at Investors Group Field on September 17, was high-voltage, thunderous, and hellishly good. The venue was transformed into a cold, windy, smoking hell of thousands of mostly red-horned screaming fans.
The stage design was fantastic, complete with a giant bell and an enormous blow-up female doll with a lot of cleavage. Fireworks and cannons that literally shot and banged pyros were in place.
The set opened with the title track from the latest album, Rock or Bust, and then it proceeded to treat the audience to a feast of classics that included “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place,” “Back in Black,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” my personal favorite “Thunderstruck,” “High Voltage,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train,” “Hells Bells,” the crowd favorite “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Sin City” for which the giant sexy doll was there, the cannon-heavy “T.N.T.,” and the anthemic “Let There Be Rock.”
Of course, the audience wanted more after the last proper song was rendered, so the band with their weapons retaliated to the stage and gave their audience two encores, “Highway to Hell” and “For Those about to Rock (We Salute You),”which was an apt gig closer.
The only remaining original member of the band, Angus Young, in his trademark schoolboy attire, led the whole band onstage, rocking and wriggling and punishing his guitar with his ever-proficient fingers. Lead vocalist Brian Johnson gave his best raspy voice and was also strutting alongside Young onstage, albeit he was obviously struggling occasionally in some songs. Second guitarist Stevie Young, Bass player Cliff Williams, and drummer Chris Slade, although not that animated up there, made their presence felt by providing a tight and solid rhythm section to their two frontmen.
The crowd went home still high with the music. The only downside was the after-concert traffic that built up around the venue. It took about an hour to drive towards downtown which takes only about fifteen minutes on an ordinary day. However, who would dare complain when AC/DC gave their fans that night a taste of how good hell could be?
Overall, AC/DC was electrifying, dynamic, and awesome; so as their highly charged brand of Metal.
Formed in 1973 in Sydney, Australia, by the Scotland-born brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, AC/DC is one of the enduring and prolific bands in the Rock/Metal genre. In its 42 years, AC/DC has released 16 studio albums, from High Voltage (1975) to Rock or Bust (2014). The music of AC/DC is best characterized by the trademark razor-sharp power-chord guitar strums, sparkling guitar adlibs, and the high-pitched vocals. Structure-wise, AC/DC songs are more straightforward, less complex, and less flashy compared with other Metal bands; its music is rooted more on Blues and basic Rock ‘n’ Roll than on Classical. Other Metal bands whose musical style fall in the same league as AC/DC includes Van Halen, Motörhead, and Anthrax.
Photos by Ron Cantiveros | Filipino Journal
