Veteran Australian rockers AC/DC proved that age has not slowed them down in the slightest at their explosive, energetic show at the Tacoma Dome.
Concert review
Apparently energized after a break in its marathon “Rock or Bust” tour, Australian band AC/DC kicked off the American leg of its jaunt with an explosive, highly entertaining show Tuesday (Feb. 2) at the Tacoma Dome.
The veteran band hasn’t lost its edge and was just as solid as it was on its 2008 tour, with no concessions to age.
Lead guitarist Angus Young, dressed in a leprechaun-green schoolboy outfit and matching cap, was the evening’s MVP, revving up his guitar for the band’s signature songs and playing a lengthy solo during “Let There Be Rock,” the final song of the main set. Young concluded the performance in a blizzard of confetti while playing on the extended stage.
Throughout the concert, two giant video screens zeroed in on Young’s hands, catching his intricate finger work. When the cameras weren’t trained on Young, they followed swaggering lead singer Brian Johnson, whose gravelly voice provides much of the muscle behind AC/DC’s sound.
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Concertgoers sported “Tacoma or Bust” T-shirts and ubiquitous, blinking red devil horns (an AC/DC tradition), lending an eerie glow to the auditorium. Fans spanned multiple generations.
The stage featured a tall arch above band members Young and Johnson; bassist Cliff Williams; drummer Chris Slade; and guitarist Stevie Young, Angus and Malcolm Young’s nephew. Unlike the colorful Young, they were dressed entirely in black.
The concert opened with a video of two astronauts on a moonwalk who encounter a glowing, face-melting AC/DC logo that flies into space and hurtles like an asteroid toward Earth.
The set list was packed with such AC/DC classics as “Back in Black,” “Thunderstruck,” “Hells Bells,” “T.N.T.” and “You Shook Me All Night Long,” as well as current songs “Rock or Bust” and “Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder.” Audience arm-pumping during “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” could have powered a locomotive.
A giant bell appeared during “Hells Bells” — and an inflatable of a buxom lady of the night for “Whole Lotta Rosie.”
The encore offered a double dose of classics, with “Highway to Hell” and “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You),” featuring a six-cannon salute. Young put on his own set of devil horns, which comically looked more like shriveled red peppers.
Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown opened the show, sounding like a seasoned blues-rock group.