Rogers Centre
Toronto, Ontario
November 7, 2009

After spending 3 hours on the fucking 401 with bumper to bumper traffic crawling towards downtown Toronto we were getting pretty antsy.  The smokers in the car were Jonesin for a toke and the radio kept reminding us that the show was gonna start at 7:30.  With the CN Tower looming in the distance and the clock sitting at 7:20, we thought for sure we were gonna be late. 

Opening the night with “Runaway Train”, a full sized steam engine complete with smoke stack belching forth clouds of smoke, broke through the video screens hanging directly above drummer Phil Rudd’s head.

The new tunes were dead on and the old boys rolled em out flawlessly.  It took a few tunes for Angus to get really moving but once the joints were worked in, he laid all his classic moves on us.  From his schoolboy uniform and the devil horns to the Chuck Berry duck walk and the striptease during “The Jack”, Angus showed us that even well into his 50’s, he can still rock.  I was kinda bummed that “The Jack” being one of my favourite AC/DC tunes cuz singer Brian Johnson completely changed the lyrics preventing me and probably a few others from singing along.

With all the old faves being pulled outta the bag, it’s just amount of time before you hear the age creeping in to mess with a few tunes.  As much as I love and respect AC/DC, and I really fuckin do, the cold, hard, truth is that these guys have seen better days musically.

Brian Johnson used to hit some pretty high notes.  Just take a run through one of the highest selling albums of all time, “Back in Black” or it’s very successful follow up “For Those About to Rock” and you’ll hear notes he just can’t hit anymore.  Lots of them.

Third song into the show, Angus is just getting his legs back and they lay the title track from “Back in Black” on us.  Always a crowd favourite played live, this tune never ceases to satisfy the untrained ear.  Hell even the untrained ear MUST HAVE heard Johnson butcher the fuck outta one of their best tunes.  To be honest with you, I’ve NEVER heard Johnson pull that one off live without dropping the high notes to a whole other level.

20,000 of the 45,000 are fucking clueless to the butchery, another 20,000 are hearing it but are just so happy to be in front of their favourite bands to acknowledge it and the other 5000 are looking at the price tag on their ticket while they fight back a nosebleed and wonder what the fuck the sound man was thinking when he gave two thumbs up to get the show on the road.

Another song I think Angus butchered was “Thunderstruck”.  3 notes into it I was cringing at the missed notes and fumbles.  I always thought that was a tough one to pull off perfectly.  It’s just too easy to miss a note or 10 in that song to make it sound awful real fuckin fast.  That being said, “Thunderstruck” got everyone on their feet with fists pumping and hair flying.  I really gotta say though, thank God for the layman in the crowd cuz while they’re having fun and rocking on, I’m wincing at every missed note and hoping nobody noticed.

“Hells Bells” was another HUGE crowd pleaser that got fucked right from the get go.  As the bell tolled, Angus missed his cue and had to quickly restart the song and correct himself as he jumped in a bit too early.  You’d think after 28 years he would have the timing down in his sleep!  Again, Johnson couldn’t hit the notes so he lowered em down so his gravelly old throat could pull em off without cracking or injuring his vocal chords.

After busting “Hells Bells” came the redeemer.  The one that I thought saved the bacon for all those old tunes was “Shoot to Thrill”.  Sure it aint the most popular or flashiest tune from “Back in Black” but it is a solid example of the rest of the album which proves that every song was an instant classic.  Johnson hit all the notes, Young nailed down all the solos and there was just no fucking around involved at all.  Straight up, in your face rock n roll.  Why was it that one that really tickled my nuts?  It seriously was the musical highlight of the show for me.  I woulda loved to hear “Shake a Leg” which is my favourite Johnson era AC/DC song, but I was just happy to hear the “Back in Black” album fairly represented at all.

So other than a few technical difficulties and musical shortcomings, AC/DC really put on a great show.  The sold out crowd of 45,000 left with ears ringing and still enough time on a Friday night to keep the party going.  After 100 minutes of drinking music cranked out by one of the greatest party bands in the world, if you didn’t feel like partying, you were a fuckin loser.

The highlights of the night included the set itself largely consisting of the life sized steam engine.  A runway which jutted 50 rows into the centre of the crowd featured a 10’ diameter glass looking punch bowl that hoisted Angus into the air on scissor lifts during his big guitar solo. 

Of course one of their oldest tricks in the book proved to be one of their most loved when they lowered the massive “Hells Bells” bell down from the top of the lighting rig.  Johnson takes a running leap at the rope hanging down from it and playfully swings around the stage a bit.

TNT is the tune that gets EVERYONE singing Oi Oi Oi… I remember at a party one time a dozen guys hanging around playing guitar and singing.  The 3 guitarists and 9 or so wanna be singers barely even knew each other so the game seemed to be “does anybody know this one:” and buddy would fire up whatever tune on the guitar only to be joined by one or two people… Out of the whole night, the only tune that EVERYONE could jump in on was TNT.  I mean these guys went through a shitload of tunes trying to find something we ALL knew.  TNT baby!  That speaks fucking volumes.

The coolest yet funniest prop was the massive blow up doll dressed in red frilly lingerie and sporting quite possibly the largest set of breasts I’ve ever seen in my life.  Rosie, subject of “Whole Lotta Rosie”, was perched up there behind Phil’s drum kit and I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought that some dude’s job for the night was to work Rosie’s hand so that she appeared to be rubbing herself in between her massive thighs.  Although she never did get herself off, she cracked me up and gave me some great shots.  I also couldn’t help but wonder if they’d given her the same measurements she had in the tune.. 42-39-56… FEET that is…

The big finale as usual is when they roll out the 6 cannons to add some punch to the anthem “For Those About To Rock”.  The cannons always climax the show with a deafening volley keeping time with the song.

All in all, I was damn glad to have been there to see one of my favourite bands of all time.  Though the show is a top dollar production, if you’re planning on taking in a show in the near future and you can get your hands on some AC/DC tix, fuckin do it.  Hell, even take the kids if you can. Introduce them to some good old fashioned hard rock n roll.  Just get ready to explain what old Rosie’s doing twiddling her twat up there in front of 45,000 of her closest friends.