AC/DC, Wembley Stadium June 26th
AC/DC: Wembley Stadium June 26th
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Saturday, 27, Jun 2009 04:37
Richard Chamberlain sees sound problems prove more of a barrier than age as the rock legends shake north London all night long.
After a highly successful jaunt around the UK a few months back AC/DC return to a sold-out Wembley Stadium for their biggest date on British soil for the best part of ten years.
But, before the masters of toe-tapping, boogie rock set foot on stage the London audience is first treated to Irish up-and-comers the Answer. Regarded as one of the top classic rock prospects of the millennium, the boys sure know how to put on a show.
Frontman Cormac Neeson is a bundle of electric energy and soaring vocals, Robert Plant, Jim Morrison and Paul Rodgers all rolled into one. The band belt out the majority of their superb Everyday Demons album, however, they are blighted by a dreadful, muddy sound quality which you would expect in the dingy backroom of a pub, not at a gig which should be just about the pinnacle for any band.
Next up are the Subways, who stepped in at the last minute to deputise for Thin Lizzy. While Lizzy would have been expected to whip the crowd up into a pre-DC frenzy with a succession of hits, the Subways - on the other hand - seem to bore the majority of the capacity crowd with their formulaic, rock-by-numbers performance.
Thankfully, we don't have long to wait until the band that we're all here for take to the stage. Now in their 50s and 60s, AC/DC have been rockin' audiences into submission for more than 30 years and they know exactly what to do.
Set full of hits? Check. Massively over-the-top stage show? Check. Flat-capped frontman, schoolboy-suited guitarist and chain-smoking drummer? Check, check and check.
DC storm out onto the stage and grab Wembley around the throat, keeping all inside the vast venue under their control for the next two hours.
Rock 'N' Roll Train, Hell Aint a Bad Place To Be and Back in Black provide a perfect opening trio, summing up the vibe of the show, which combines a perfect blend of new material with classic Brian and Bon tracks.
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Thunderstruck deliver mid-set knockout punches, before Angus performs his usual strip routine during The Jack, much to the delight of the tens of thousands of punters packed inside Wembley.
However, it isn't all plain sailing. The sound problems that dogged the support acts show little sign of letting up for DC. Brian Johnson's shrieking vocals are lost for much of the set thanks to this, while there is a split-second delay between the band's onstage actions and the sound of these bursting out of the huge speaker system. While this may be acceptable during the national anthem before the FA Cup final, it is an absolute disgrace when thousands of people have shelled out £65 to see a gig.
Despite this, the boys brush the problems aside and deliver an absolute belter of a performance. A final foursome of You Shook Me All Night Long, TNT, Whole Lotta Rosie and Let There Be Rock leaves the stadium in a state of rock and awe, before the Highway to Hell and For Those About to Rock encore fittingly rounds off what could be the final London performance by the oldest - and hardest - rockers in town.
Richard Chamberlain