AC/DC ride the rock train
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, November 9, 2008
Reviewed by Jeffrey B. Remz
AC/DC may have been away from the concert scene for seven years, but based on their energetic and fun outing, who knew? The Aussies are touring behind their big selling disc, "Black Ice," a solid album in the typical AC/DC mode of melodic rockers mainly about sex.
AC/DC made it clear that this evening was not to be taken all that seriously subject matter wise with an over-the-top cartoon of the band aboard a train on a big screen before they came out. Several ultra sexy women walked through the car until reaching guitarist Angus Young. Some sordid things go on (feminists would not have been happy), leading the way for the real band to hit the stage and charge into Rock N Roll Train, vintage, hooky AC/DC and their catchy first single.
The group mined different periods of their existence going back three decades for such chestnuts as Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap to about four cuts from "Black Ice." Truth be told, there wasn't a huge difference in the style or quality for AC/DC whether new or old songs.
That generally was a good thing since the energy of the songs was enough to power the group through the evening before a sold-out, male heavy crowd. The focal points throughout clearly were on lead singer Brian Johnson and guitarist Angus Young. Wearing a cap the entire time, the 61-year-old singer probably outlived the need to sing about the topics of some of the songs, but no matter. The leather-voiced one can sing just fine thank you on everything from Highway to Hell to Hell Ain't a Bad Place To Be to the new Big Jack to You Shook Me All Night Long. Johnson was an affable performer, very low on the ego meter or come ons to the crowd and very high on ensuring that he sang well. He didn't have a whole lot to say of substance to the crowd, but he did engage and certainly seemed to have fun in singing the various chestnuts.
Young kept the cartoonish aspect of the band intact in some ways when playing live. Of course, he was decked out in his school boy outfit - maroon knickers, hat, jacket and tie with white shirt. He made over-the-top facial gestures at times. He also went into overdrive on the silliness factor by spinning around while on his back a times including while on a lift at the end of a walk way extending from the middle of the stage to the crowd during the close to the regular set Let There Be Rock. He also performed a strip tease, exposing AC/DC boxers. Fortunately he put his knickers back on, but played guitar bare-chested the remainder of the night.
If leaving the antics aside and concentrating on the music put forth by Young, it's easy to see how this is a band with musical substance. Young is such a great player - lots of fine riffs, often putting the songs into overdrive with style and skill, not needing to rely on shtick to do so. He also made it seem so effortless.
While drummer Phil Rudd, bassist Cliff Williams and second guitarist Malcolm Young (Angus' brother) may seem like second fiddles visually (all three tended to be in the background), they contributed to the solid, often charging sound.
About the only song in which AC/DC slowed it down as The Jack, a bluesy number.
AC/DC served up meat and potatoes rock and roll for the testosterone crowd and succeeded on nearly every count during a fun-filled evening ending with For Those About to Rock (We Salute You). They would be hard pressed to justify staying away for so long next time.
The Answer opened the show with a solid half-hour set of Led Zeppelin-based bluesy rock. The quartet was making their U.S. debut, having just releasing an EP with a full-length to follow next February.
It would have been easy to understand if the crowd were restless during their set, but The Answer (a daunting name because the question is what they are "The Answer" to) acquitted themselves quite well. Lead singer Cormac Neeson has a Robert Plant thing going with very long hair surrounding his face and sounding like him also. Calling him an imitator wouldn't be quite right either, more like a big influence, but that's not a bad thing. He delivered the songs well, and (like AC/DC's Johnson), you could actually hear the vocals despite the band rocking pretty hard. His backing mates, guitarist Paul Mahon, drummer James Heatley and bassist Michael Waters, made the music come alive.
Young band could suffer from too much rock star posing, but The Answer were not guilty of that, only making the most of their time on stage, which resulted in a good hand from the audience.
