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Friday, November 6, 2009
Live review: AC/DC at the Erwin Center
“Thunderstruck” whimpered where it once roared, the set sagged badly in the middle half hour, the four new songs were plain awful and “You Shook Me All Night Long” sounded warped, like someone left it out in the sun at the last Yellow Rose picnic. Friday night’s concert at the Erwin Center was far from being the best AC/DC show I’ve ever seen.
And yet it succeeded as a tribute to the awesome power of good, hard, rock n’ roll. The capacity audience of over 13,000 (staging took out about six seating sections) made the show; in fact during the “T.N.T” and “Highway To Hell” chant-alongs, it sure felt like seeing the band in metal-crazed San Antonio. When the two-hour set ended with “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You),” with cannons, of course, the band seemed genuinely appreciative of the energy they got back.
AC/DC hadn’t played Austin in 13 years, but much of the set was unchanged since then. Besides the aforementioned cannons, there’s still the drawn out strip tease by guitarist Angus Young during “The Jack.” Singer Brian Johnson once again took a running leap to ring the bell during “Hell’s Bells” and “Let There Be Rock” ended with the most self-indulgent guitar solo of all time.
But AC/DC is a band you don’t want to change. The show was as much a thanks and celebration of all the great music through the years, as it was a high dollar, two-hour show that found a veteran band proving that they can still do what made them beloved. AC/DC is a memory machine, KISS with talent instead of makeup, taking fans back to their discovery of rock. Where were you when you first heard “Whole Lotta Rosie”?
With the three-piece rhythm engine of guitarist Malcolm Young, drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams clustered together in the back, like they were playing the Continental Club, the throb was relentless on “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place To Be” and “Rosie,” probably the band’s two best songs.
But as Angus and Brian, “the new singer,” worked the crowd shamelessly I had to ask myself if I could actually be this bored during a show by the world’s greatest hard rock band, I couldn’t control the yawns that stretched out during “Dog Eat Dog,” which has no place in a career-spanning AC/DC concert.
Much of the set seemed programmed by the concessionaires, whose favorite words were “Here’s another one from the new album.” The new “War Machine” is quite possibly the dullest song ever played at the Erwin Center during a sold out concert.
Part of the reason I couldn’t get fully into the show is because my seat in section 20, row 16, was separated from a 20-foot drop over an exit by a railing that went up to my knee. I get shoved and I’m dead. (Dying during a concert by my alltime favorite band would’ve made for some nice “at least he died happy” talk, but I’m kinda holding out for the 25-year anniversary show of Them Crooked Vultures.) Even though my seated view was unobstructed, sitting down during AC/DC is like standing up during a lap dance.
It would be a shame if it took the death of a fan for the Erwin Center to rectify this blatant safety hazard. How about some webbing below the rail to catch clumsy fans? Then us 20/ 16 folks can rock out like everybody else.
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KGSR ‘Broadcasts’ coming Nov. 27
The 17th volume of KGSR’s “Broadcasts,” featuring Steve Earle and Hayes Carll on the cover, hits stores the day after Thanksgiving. As always, all songs on the two-CD set ($15) are live performances originally broadcast on KGSR
The best-selling series has raised a remarkable $2 million for the SIMS Foundation since it became beneficiary with “Volume 5.” (Last year’s donation was $137,000.)
This year’s CD is dedicated to Stephen Bruton, who has a hidden track on the set.
