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Concert Review: Timing and staging help sell AC/DC's heavy metal
Monday, August 07, 2000 By Ed Masley, Post-Gazette Pop Music Critic
It was 20 years ago, well, not today but earlier this summer, that Australian heavy-metal icons AC/DC bounced back from the alcohol-related death of vocalist Bon Scott with as fitting a tribute as any, "Back in Black," on which they tipped a glass to Scott with "Have a Drink on Me" and started, AC/DC-style, with "Hell's Bells" tolling for their fallen comrade.
And as AC/DC proved again last night at the Mellon Arena, things have stayed remarkably the same since bringing Brian Johnson in on vocals with that album, certified as recently as 1997 for sales of no fewer than 16 million in the United States.
Angus Young still drops his knickers -- stopping short at boxers this time.
Johnson's voice is still the shriek of one who gargles whiskey cut with razor blades.
And "TNT" is every bit as dynamite as ever.
So are nearly all the standards, once you get beyond the schoolboy locker-room mentality with which the band pays not-exactly-loving tribute to the singer's favorite subject, women (or whatever he would call them). Booze and hell are close behind, for those who may have lost track years ago.
What gives the music half its charm, or maybe more, are Young's guitar riffs, as classic as any in metal history, from "Shot Down in Flames" to the solid-gold chorus of what remains their greatest hit, "You Shook Me All Night Long."
They played it first last night, surprisingly enough. And it was nothing less than brilliant, from the whiplash-compatible rhythm to the solo Young played nearly note for note the way he laid it down in 1980.
And somehow they managed to follow it up with the clearly inferior title track of their new album without losing any steam. But they were smart enough to hold off on the giant Angus statue -- clad, like Young, in vintage schoolboy garb -- until they hit the new one. That's the kind of showmanship you get with AC/DC. Every smile-inducing moment came exactly when they needed it and not a moment sooner. Check the way they held off on the pyrotechnics for an hour, maybe longer, just so it could really work its magic when they hit you with the mighty riff that lets you know you're on the "Highway to Hell."
There was just enough staging -- a runway Young and Johnson used to great effect, a mechanical lift or two for Young and Johnson's giant bell on which he was able to swing for a matter of seconds on the opening tolls of "Hell's Bells."
Drawing heavily on "Back in Black" ("Shoot to Thrill," the title track, "Hell's Bells," "You Shook Me All Night Long," and "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" all in one amazing set), they still found time to throw in a handful of classics from the Scott years, from the blues explosion of "The Jack" to "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap."
While they're not the type to dwell on new material, they knew exactly how to sell it. For "Hard as a Rock," from '95, they had a video of pornographic cartoons, vintage nudie flicks and animals engaging in the act. They know their audience.
In fact, about the best thing you could say for AC/DC is the crowd was on its feet, from the front of the stage to the nosebleed section, for the band's entire set.
And if, by chance, you saw a critic sitting, trust me when I tell you that it wasn't me, my friend. I was too busy waving the metal salute. It was that kind of show.
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