AC/DC, Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois

AC/DC’s show sold out quickly and ticket prices remained a couple multiples above face in the days leading up to the show. I suspect the high prices were at least partially because the beloved hard rock Aussie legends haven’t toured in about five years. The fans pouring into the stadium were older than most of the other shows that I go to, obviously, and also fitting with AC/DC hard rock style, many were dressed like they had just come from biker rallies. Having never seen them before, the show was definitely on my bucket list, and I wanted to get inside the venue and into a seat in which I could hear, if not see, well. Luckily for me, my uncle has an ongoing relationship with someone in AC/DC’s technical crew through which he was able to get us some amazing tickets. Our seats were in the very first row of seats on the field, slightly house right of center, directly behind the large GA pit. While tough to gauge, I’d estimate that we were somewhere between 50 and 100 feet from the stage. On the way into the venue, the band’s vendors were peddling red illuminating plastic devil horns. I couldn’t believe how much they were asking for the glowing pieces of plastic, nor how many fans were actually buying them. Though I do admit that the thousands of horns illuminating the entire interior of the venue was a captivating site.

A massive stage was erected in the outfield of the stadium, including a large pair of devil horns built into the stage to match the fans’. The show opened with an elaborate video introduction featuring a train from the moon crashing into earth. I found it kind of strange to open the show by obliterating your audience and the rest of the world. As pieces of earth floated off into space on the screen, AC/DC took the stage to the sound of a driving guitar and the thunderous applause.

The backbone of AC/DC has traditionally been the Young brothers, Scottish born Australians, including lead guitarist Angus Young and his brother Malcom. Angus took the stage in his trademark schoolboy uniform complete with jacket, white shirt, tie, and shorts. As the night wore into his energetic performance, he got sweatier and sweatier and started wearing less and less of the uniform. Though he started the band with his brother, Malcom retired as the band’s rhythm guitar player permanently the previous year following a diagnosis of dementia. He was replaced by Stevie Young, the son of Malcom and Angus’ eldest brother. His departure left Angus as the sole remaining founding member of the band. Also taking the stage was lead singer Brian Johnson, wearing his signature Newsboy cap. He was animated, but did a whole lot less moving that Angus. Johnson famously joined AC/DC after original lead singer Bon Scott’s death in 1980. The band is rounded out by long time member Cliff Williams on bass guitar and drummer Chris Slade. Both were more in the background of the show. The show mostly featured Malcom and Brian, plus a bit of focus on Stevie.

Not surprisingly, AC/DC spent the evening cycling through all of their hits, throwing in just a couple newer songs for good measure. They also included a few novel theatrics during the show which synced up some of their famous songs. At about the halfway mark, a large bell descended from above the stage, swinging in time with the opening of “Hell’s Bells.” A bit later, they flashed the chorus of “You Shook Me All Night Long” on the LCD screen behind them in time with the lyrics, as if anyone needed help. Perhaps the most outrageous bit was the addition of an enormous inflated sculpture of a corpulent exotic dancer during “Whole Lotta Rosie.” The billowing character was complete with dollar bills hanging from her garter belt and an ability to jiggle and stroke her inner thigh.

The main set ended with an extended Angus guitar solo, as he thrashed around the stage and performed his own variation of the Chuck Berry duck walk. By this point, he had stripped off his jacket and tie and unbuttoned his shirt. It was good the show was ending because I really didn’t want to see him take off any more clothing. He jammed on a raised metal platform before the stage exploded in showers of confetti. After a brief break, the band returned for a short encore.

Setlist:
Intro
Rock or Bust
Shoot to Thrill
Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
Back in Black
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Thunderstruck
High Voltage
Rock 'n' Roll Train
Hells Bells
Baptism by Fire
You Shook Me All Night Long
Sin City
Shot Down in Flames
Have a Drink on Me
T.N.T.
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
Encore:
Highway to Hell
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)