Concert Review by Ralph Greco, Jr.
The best surprise is no surprise. Through the kindness and contacts of my superfragilistic brother-in-law, I happened to score a pair of the hottest tickets in New York City: AC/DC during their sold-out., two-night stand at Madison Square Garden.
The show opened with a blistering half-hour from Belfast rockers The Answer. Vintage Rock fans will love these guys — the singer Cormac Neeson has got a wail you won’t believe and they sound like Humble Pie crossed with Nazareth. Angus Young and his mates took the Garden stage at 9:00 and played until almost 11:00, non-stop. It was a hits show, relying on a quartet of tunes from Black Ice, AC/DC’s new best selling CD, plus a handful of old faves.
Opening with their latest single “Rock ‘N’ Roll Train,” the boys from down under kept up the assault with tunes mainly from the Brian Johnson years. Third song in, AC/DC performed a chunky, perfect version of “Back in Black,” followed by a scary “Thunderstruck,” a speedier-than-usual “Hell’s Bells,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” and a blistering “Shoot To Thrill.”
I know most of the people in the crowd go to an AC/DC concert to watch Angus Young, the diminutive guitarist dressed like a school boy, lay it down, but this guy is the real deal. He is a masterful rock guitar God, playing with no trickery or frills, chewing, strutting, grimacing but mostly searing through, under and out of some rather short songs, making his sweaty SG mark on every single one.
What I especially appreciated about Angus — and this is something you really won’t see unless you catch these guys live — is how much he uses the fret board. Angus is not the typical guitar player who finds his fingers all the way up on the high frets to make his point in a lead. In fact, most of the time, he’s rooting around with chunky solos within the first five frets, and I believe this approach really makes his playing distinctive.
Of the older stuff, there was a nasty version of “The Jack” (complete with Angus’ usual striptease), “Whole Lotta Rosie” (complete with the huge Rosie inflatable) and a truly dynamite “TNT.” Of the new tunes, the opener “Rock ’N’ Roll Train” and “Anything Goes” (which has got to be the next single) were the best.
I must say something about bassist Cliff Williams, who’s been holding down the bottom end for AC/DC since 1977. Like John Deacon of Queen, another underrated bass player, Williams plays easy and perfect thumping lines under Angus’ cutting lead, brother Malcolm Young’s in-the-pocket rhythm guitar and drummer Phil Rudd’s solid snare. I found myself waiting for Williams to come in time and again, and it reminded me of a good and familiar friend you know will never disappoint.
With an encore of “Highway To Hell” and the cannons firing for “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You),” the mainly 40-something (and older) crowd left exhausted, sweaty and satiated. It was a blistering showing from the 50-something plus geezers (Johnson turned 61 in October), who executed a tight set of tight rock, played at exactly the energy and volume I expected and needed. Sometimes the best surprise is that there is no surprise.
