"Let Chicago Be Rocked" - AC/DC Review, November 1, 2008

When you think of iconic rock acts, who are the first to come to mind? The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, naturally. But if you're willing to overlook AC/DC, despite whatever opinions you may hold on them, I'd be inclined to say you're out of your mind.

Twenty-five years ago, AC/DC were one of the world's largest touring acts, probably around this time in support of their 1983 release Flick of the Switch. As most music fans know, hardly any bands who maintained such success through the 1970s, 1980s, and much of the 1990s would be able to keep it up in today's music scene without hitting the county fair or amphitheater circuit years ago.

But AC/DC, much like the majority of their careers, are an exception to that rule. Just last week, the Australian metal band's fourteenth studio release Black Ice stormed to #1 on the Billboard Top 200 charts selling 800,000 copies in it's first week. The band beat out the soundtrack to High School Musical 3 by nearly a whopping 550,000 copies, skyrocketing as the #2 US release of 2008. If you're a rock band who's been on the circuit for 34 years and can dominate a universal hit like HSM by such a staggering total, you just know you're doing something right.

My folks and I, for years, have said that we would attend an AC/DC concert whenever they came to Chicago, regardless of the cost. When tickets went on sale on September 20, the tickets for October 30 at the Allstate Arena sold out instantly (no surprise, since AC/DC are a universal favorite amongst music fans everywhere). Luckily for my father who was trying to get them, a November 1 date popped up on Ticketmaster and instantly grabbed them. Of course, I didn't know about this until my birthday on the 29th, when I got a ticket of my own. So, my mother, father, and I were headed to the Allstate Arena in Rosemont that Saturday.

After a brief stop at the Hinsdale Oasis for dinner, we arrived at the Allstate at 6:00 p.m., and hung around in the car until gates opened at 6:30. The Allstate Arena isn't the nicest venue out there; its like a maze getting around the place and took awhile for us to find our seats, but when we did it was smooth sailing. I picked up a cool shirt specifically for the Chicago dates, their No Bull DVD filmed in 1996, and some glowing horns that fans wore on their heads.

A band from Ireland called The Answer opened up the show, not half bad to be honest. Shortest opening act I'd ever seen though, going on for about twenty-five minutes before being booted off. Fans had a half hour to head to the restrooms (which were a nightmare in themselves, trust me), get any refreshments, buy souvenirs, etc. AC/DC's stage time was to be 8:30 on the dot.

They weren't kidding. At 8:30 sharp, the lights went out, and the X-rated intro video on the locomotive began to air on the big high definition screen at center stage (won't spoil it for those who intend on going to see them anytime soon). As it ended, the band broke into their first song, which coincidentally was the first single off Black Ice, "Rock N' Roll Train." The fans went insane, and weren't afraid to sing every word to the newest addition to AC/DC's hit collection. Following that was a fan favorite from the former-and-late vocalist Bon Scott era, "Hell Ain't A Bad Place to Be" from 1977's Let There Be Rock. But after the reaction to their next song, 1980's "Back In Black," the crowd seemed rather tame. The placed exploded once Angus Young began the opening riff to that very popular favorite.

With the crowd now fired up and ready for more, vocalist Brian Johnson introduced another new song, this time "Big Jack," which the crowd promptly caught on to and sang along. Following that would be my personal favorite song of the evening, 1976's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," which Brian Johnson got the crowd into with ease. The band wasted no time segwaying from that to one of the band's most popular songs, 1990's "Thunderstruck," which saw 20,000 fists of the sold out crowd pumping in the air.

After an outrageously hot start, the band decided to mellow out a bit, starting off with the title track of their latest album, "Black Ice," and moving on to a concert staple for many years, 1975's "The Jack." "The Jack" was very well received, with Johnson doing a very respectable job replacing Bon Scott's vocal and Angus Young even doing a rather humorous strip-tease in the middle of the song, allowing the crowd to go just insane.

We heard bells quietly in the background and saw a giant church bell drop from the ceiling, so we all knew what song was next. As Johnson swung around on the bell, Angus began to play the opening riff to the first song off 1980's masterpiece Back In Black (and also Johnson's first album as AC/DC's vocalist), "Hell's Bells." Next up, ironically in the same order as the album, came "Shoot To Thrill" off the same album. A personal favorite of the night for me, and clearly a favorite of the crowd as well. Following that would be two more new tracks, "War Machine" being the first (and probably the best new track of the night) and the considerably poppy "Anything Goes," two of the albums best tracks. The band did a very solid job in their choice of new songs to put in the setlist, I'd say.

After that we'd get the one AC/DC song everyone on the planet knows, the generally very tiring 1980 staple "You Shook Me All Night Long," which wasn't so bad in concert because of the crowd energy. Still a song I like to avoid on all costs. A nice compliment to "Anything Goes" though, no question. Next up was one of the band's very first singles, 1975's "T.N.T.," which was given a nice touch by the pyrotechnics and also by the emphatic "fight!" chant by Angus Young. Following that were two classics from Let There Be Rock, the first being "Whole Lotta Rosie," which featured the giant inflatable Rosie in the background and drove the crowd insane. The second tune was "Let There Be Rock" itself, clocking in at over ten minutes featuring an absolutely outrageous solo by Angus. It's easy to underestimate him as a guitar player, but seeing that solo really convinced me that he's much better than what comes off on record. Simply astounding.

The band left for a few minutes, and promptly came out for an encore with Angus rising from the ground, sporting his devil horns. He broke out with the riff to the 1979 hit "Highway to Hell," which featured plenty of crowd participation. The band would shortly after start their 1981 concert anthem and traditional concert closer "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)," with the cannons intact on top of the stack of amps. Several cannon explosions (on cue, no less) were one last calling for the crowd to go absolutely ballistic, and capped off a very solid show in very effective fashion. 20,000 fans left the Allstate Arena very satisfied.

Me? I went in as a casual fan of AC/DC, I left a HUGE fan of the band. I actually went out the next day and bought three of their albums I never had before. I've never been able to say that a concert made me a much bigger fan of a band I casually liked before, but this one did just that. Of the seventy-or-so bands I've seen, this can safely be considered one of the Top 3, up there with Rush, Genesis, and probably Van Halen in 2004. This band lives up to their title as one of the loudest and most rockin' bands of all-time, and I didn't leave disappointed.

As for the setlist, it'll please casual fans and those who've never seen them before, but die-hards will be disappointed by the over-abundance of hits (noting off 1978's Powerage, no "Moneytalks," one from Highway to Hell, nothing off their last new release Stiff Upper Lip from 2000, to name a few examples). For someone like myself, I found it considerably enjoyable, to see one of history's greatest rock n' roll bands doing what they do best. Not to mention, my ears are STILL ringing vehemently!

If you're not a big AC/DC fan but are willing to go into a concert with an open mind, I GUARANTEE you'll leave a bigger fan than you went in. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. Certainly worked for me.

Setlist:

Rock N' Roll Train
Hell Ain't A Bad Place to Be
Back In Black
Big Jack
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Thunderstruck
Black Ice
The Jack
Hell's Bells
Shoot to Thrill
War Machine
Anything Goes
You Shook Me All Night Long
T.N.T.
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock

Encore:

Highway to Hell
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

-Zach