AC/DC’s triumphant homecoming led by Angus Young’s guitar masterclass

3 months ago 8

MUSIC
AC/DC ★★★★½
MCG, November 12

A decade after they last performed in Australia, AC/DC delivered a rock’n’roll masterclass spearheaded by Angus Young’s virtuosic, non-stop, age-defying guitar work. It was quite simply breathtaking.

At 70, the sole remaining member of the original 1973 line-up looked instantly familiar and faintly ridiculous in his trademark school uniform: shorts and blazer in red velvet, white short-sleeved shirt, tie, and a baggy green cap that was perfect for the Melbourne Cricket Ground. But as the show wore on and he shed layers – ultimately ending up in shorts and an unbuttoned shirt – he seemed to grow younger by the track.

For two and a half hours, he did not stop running, jumping (just a little), and dazzling with a non-stop display of indulgent, exhilarating and occasionally hilarious fretwork.

After a powerful punk-tinged hard-rocking set by warm-up act Amyl and the Sniffers (who were neither awed nor overwhelmed by the scale of the venue), Accadacca started strongly with If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It), from 1979’s Highway to Hell album. Brian Johnson sounded decent on vocals, and the rhythm section of Stevie Young, Angus’s nephew, drummer Matt Laug and bassist Chris Chaney were tight.

Back in Black followed, one of five tracks from the album of the same name that they played throughout the night. And why not? The 1980 record, most of which was recorded after Bon Scott’s death from alcohol poisoning, is the second-biggest-selling of all time.

Johnson’s stint as the band’s vocalist started with that record, but looked to be over in early 2016 when he was forced to withdraw from their last tour with 10 dates still to play (Axl Rose stepped into the breach). The issue then was his ears – he was at risk of permanent and total deafness if he continued to perform.

Now, while he’s an enthusiastic and swaggering presence on stage, the issue is with the voice: at 78, it simply doesn’t have the power it once did. He frequently struggled, especially when dealing with the higher register of the Bon Scott-era songs.

There were plenty of them, too. Though the Power Up tour is named for the band’s 17th and most recent studio album, there was only one song from that 2020 recording in the set, and only five from the 45 years and 10 albums that followed Back in Black.

In a remarkable burst of creativity between 1975 and 1979, AC/DC released six albums, containing some of the most memorable riffs in rock music. Highway to Hell, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, High Voltage, T.N.T., Whole Lotta Rosie all got an outing here, as they have elsewhere on a tour that will ultimately see the band play to more than 3.5 million people in 28 countries. But to the absolute delight of the audience, so did Jailbreak, a song that was a surprising and very welcome addition to the set.

AC/DC’s Angus Young at the MCG for the Power Up tour, November 12, 2025.

The bank of video screens occasionally lit up with moments of trickery – lightning bolts and mountain ranges for Thunderstruck, video crackle for High Voltage, and a strange neon-light sex-doll for Rosie – but mostly it was just the band.

And more often than not, it was Angus up there on his own, skipping across the stage, wheeling out solo after solo, even at one point playing his guitar with his tie (an echo of Jimmy Page’s famous efforts with a violin bow, perhaps). Johnson might nominally be the frontman, but there was never any doubt who the real star of this show was.

For Hell’s Bells, a giant bell descended from the rafters and hovered above the musicians. But fears of a Spinal Tap-style tragedy thankfully came to naught.

Angus didn’t break out his famous duck walk until halfway through the show on Shoot To Thrill, another track from Back in Black. But once it was out there, there was just no stopping him.

The solos become more playful too, edging into blues-boogie territory on High Voltage, sidling up to Chuck Berry on Riff Raff, and absolutely shredding on Whole Lotta Rosie, which brought the axeman out to the very tip of the catwalk stage for the first time.

But nothing could quite prepare us for the extravagant, exuberant, excessive and utterly brilliant 20-minute wig-out that was Let There Be Rock. This was all Angus, Johnson literally fading into the background, the rhythm section stepping back to the drum riser and chugging along like a train and then exiting, leaving just Angus and the drummer. And then it was just Angus.

The others rejoined him for a final hurrah on the track, but just when it all seemed to be over, he started up again. Just a slow chug and shuffle, as if he was finally acknowledging his age. Chunka-step-chunka-step-chunka. And then he was off, for another six and a half minutes, with detours to hell and Bach.

It was virtuoso, it was hilarious, it was incredible. And, when it was done, Johnson asked, “Where did that come from?” Where indeed.

They came back for a two-song encore, T.N.T. and For Those About to Rock, and then it ended with a flourish of cannon fire and fireworks.

Logic says this is the last time we’ll see AC/DC tour. Johnson is 78, Stevie Young 68. Sure, the rhythm section is sprightly by comparison – drummer Laug is 57, bassist Chaney a spring chicken at 55 – but once Angus hangs up his school cap for the last time, you’d have to assume the power will be off, not up, for this crew.

Then again, maybe not. On this showing, I reckon Angus Young might yet have it in him to defy logic, and time, for a good while longer.