Written by Flynn Herondale
July 2024
Rock legends AC/DC brought their Power Up Tour to the UK this week, kicking off with a sold out Wembley arena! Wednesday night (3rd July) saw 80,000 fans turn up to celebrate 50 years of rock with the Australian powerhouses.
Starting only half an hour after supporting act The Pretty Reckless finished their set, the band blew the crowd away from the first track If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It). The set list was well crafted with huge fan favorites dotted throughout such as Back In Black being second in the runtime. You Shook Me All Night and Highway To Hell, being screamed back at the band, appeared to be a highlight for the frontman Brian Johnson and guitar legend Aungus Young.
Backed up by Phil Rudd on drums, Chris Chaney on bass and Stevie Young (Angus Young’s Nephew) on rhythm guitar, the entire band gave it their all from the moment they stepped onto the stage.
Visually the show was interesting and not just for the on stage and screen production. Aside from themed loop logos and appropriately filtered live feeds of the members on the two large screens flanking the stage; Back In Black was monochrome and Highway To Hell featured a flaming Brian Johnson! Some of the best sights were in the audience; from little pockets of jumping fans, to a decked out air guitarist, it was the fans who made the show come alive. People were out of their seats and dancing in aisles and on steps throughout the massive arena, right up into the highest rows of the ‘gods’!
Audibly some people felt the show was lacking; stating Johnson’s mic needed turning up. However, considering the size of the venue, the man’s age and the fact he made a joke out of his voice beginning to crack a third of the way through the show, I’d say the sound was pretty good. All the band members gave the entire show everything they had, and it was both inspiring and a joy to witness Johnson and Young living their best lives but also so full of energy and enthusiasm for their performance.
Young in particular blew the audience’s minds with a 15 minute solo section that many younger guitarists would have crumbled during! From riding a rising platform on the strut to an arena filling wall of sound from the backstage bridge, and even his signature floor twist; Angus stole the show!
Both he and Johnson had great crowd work and not only for the fans in the front floor standing section, they made sure to include the fans in the stands and Johnson checked that the “Fans up in the back” were having a good time!
Yet if the deafening applause and cheers didn’t give it away; the firework lit standing ovation after an encore of T.N.T and For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) certainly did!
As fans we hope this concert has cemented for the band that this once in a lifetime farewell tour is proving to be a rocking success and a gift for rockers of all ages!
AC/DC are set to play their final UK show Sunday 7th July (2024) and the Power Up Tour continues its run across Europe until the final show in Dublin on August 17th.
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