AC/DC @ Parc Jean-Drapeau▪

Any other band that broke through in the 70s would probably be grateful to have any kind of following 50 years later. But AC/DC are not like any other band; they are more than just relevant. Their return to Montreal tonight is greeted by 45,000 rabid fans, packed into Parc Jean-Drapeau, many of whom have come from far and wide; on one side of me is a guy from Chicoutimi, and on the other, a couple from Gaspé. From what I can tell from a stealthy photo on the phone of a guy in front of me, even Habs superstar Cole Caufield is here too, I think. 50 years on, AC/DC are still one of the biggest bands on the planet.

The stage setup is every bit as rock ‘n’ roll as you would expect. I can count around 45 Marshall amps stacked along the back, though there might be even more that I don’t see. The show starts with an animated video of a car speeding through a city, possibly a Jaguar, but with the regular feline motif on the bonnet replaced by a model of guitarist Angus Young in the pose of the Stiff Upper Lip artwork. The car whizzes through the doors of a stadium called “Parc Jean Drapeau” – probably not enough time to make a second video for outdoor park venues on the tour I guess – and then the doors close, the lights drop, and the legends arrive on stage.

The set kicks off with If You Want Blood (You Got It), and right away, Angus is busting his iconic duckwalk move down a gangway that extends into the crowd. 71 years old, and he still rocks the school uniform, right down to the tie and cap. Vocalist Brian Johnson can still hold his own too – some of the higher notes are getting a little out of reach, but it’s something I only catch watching back videos after the show. In the moment, with the roar of the guitars and the drums, you really don’t notice it. Angus and Brian roam to the extremities of the stage throughout the show; the rest of the band (guitarist Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug, and bassist Chris Chaney) are mostly fixed at the back of the stage between Marshall stacks, though Stevie and Chris come forward a few feet on songs like Have a Drink on Me and Jailbreak when they are on harmony duties.

Back In Black – just wow. It’s insane to hear a song that I’ve heard countless times actually being played by its creators. Thunderstruck too – I always imagined how incredible that must sound live; now I don’t have to. The delightfully cheesy lightning bolts that project on the screens only add to the awesomeness. Sections of the floor bounce as the drums arrive, though most on the floor seem more preoccupied with recording the whole thing on their phones; Apple will need a whole new Cloud to accommodate all those terabytes!

The opening gong of Hells Bells sees a huge bell descend from above center stage (more terabytes created), before the relatively delicate intro of Stiff Upper Lip allows the singalong of 45,000 voices to really stand out; it’s truly deafening. But it’s nothing compared to Highway To Hell which immediately follows, with flames flaring up from the Marshall stacks, and Angus donning a set of horns before duckwalking to the end of the gangway for the solo. What a spectacle! Shoot to Thrill has a similar conclusion, Angus raising his ‘goblet of rock’ (his plectrum) to the crowd before shredding that particular solo. Yes, I did think of the movie School Of Rock on more than one occasion tonight, full disclosure.

Let There Be Rock is my only gripe of the set. It starts off great, an extended outro in conjunction with a shower of confetti setting it up nicely, but then the outro goes on… and on… and on. I swear it’s at least 20 minutes all-in, with at least 10 minutes consisting of Angus playing a few improv notes, stopping to soak up crowd cheers, then playing a few notes, then soaking up cheers… and on and on it goes. You could easily fit in a couple more songs in the time that gets wasted on it. Chunks of the crowd elect to ditch early in an effort to beat the crowd onto the Metro, and it kinda kills the euphoria a little, as the main set closes with a bit of a whimper.

All is redeemed in the encore though. The roars that greet the opening notes of T.N.T. suggest everyone is happy for normal service to be resumed – it’s dyyy-na-mite. A random firework shoots up into the sky near me, which seems to originate in the crowd I think?! No idea who they managed to get that in here… The real fireworks arrive on show closer For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) though, a battery of cannons set atop the Marshalls firing one by one before every “we salute you!”

And the feeling is mutual. Over 50 years at the top, a spectacle lasting almost 2½ hours; AC/DC, we salute you!