AC/DC at HSBC Arena, Buffalo

Posted by Frankly Francis on October 19, 2009 under Music/Musicians | Be the First to Comment

AC/DC: They Bring It

Angus Young

Tonight, I thoroughly enjoyed myself at AC/DC’s sold-out show in Buffalo, New York.  Thought I’d share some concert thoughts:

Formed in 1973, AC/DC continues to rock in their straight forward, no frills way.  It has always been and continues to be pure guitar driven music.  And these guys are not the pansy rockers from the last few decades – they are the real deal.  I have a feeling that they’d just as soon fight as have a drink in a bar…well, maybe both.

AC/DC has the unique ability to make you feel good about being bad, but that is what Rock & Roll has always been about, isn’t it?

They played a lot of standards with a nice sprinkle of new material that presumably will become future standards, notably among them were “Big Jack,” “War Machine,” and I especially enjoyed “Anything Goes.”  Personally, I was very pleased that “The Jack,” “Whole Lotta Rosie,” and “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” were still in the set list.

Angus Young is one of the most physical guitar players I have ever seen perform.  His solo at the end of the show was tremendous – a real treat!

Can’t say that I was awed by the sentry positions that the rhythm guitar player (Malcolm Young) and bass player (Cliff Williams) took around the drummer (Phil Rudd, who I might add smokes like I do) – it left a lot of unused stage.

Also, lead singer Brian Johnson’s voice seemed to weaken as the show went on.  I can’t imagine how anyone could sing AC/DC material for nearly two hours without some loss of vocal chords, but by the end of the show he was back in command.  Hopefully he can keep going for the shows ahead.

Nonetheless, these are the most minor of criticisms and are probably only my own.  The crowd sure had a great time.  And as I said before, so did I.

Now, for a little local flavor: Buffalo is a drinking town with a sports problem.  As the fates would have it, The Buffalo Bills were playing the New York Jets in overtime while the opening act, (The Answer) was on stage.  Almost everyone was in the hallways (including myself) watching the game on the plethora of TV screens and only a few people were inside hearing the band – tough time for an opening act.  I would hazard to guess that in all of Rock & Roll history, never have so many people been inside an arena for a show without watching the band.

All in all, an excellent evening.

Frankly,

Francis