When AC/DC released Power Up in 2020, the impossible seemed possible again: longtime frontman Brian Johnson, bassist Cliff Williams, and drummer Phil Rudd returned to the band for studio duties and reunited with iconic guitarist Angus Young. Despite the release of a welcome new album, the band did not tour in support of Power Up until its summer 2024 European stadium and festival performances. The 2024 dates marked the first for the band since a North American tour in 2016. At long last, the legends were back on the road.
In December 2024, AC/DC announced its triumphant return to North America, with thirteen stadium shows across the United States and Canada (twelve in U.S. cities, one in Vancouver BC) starting on April 10 and concluding on May 28. Joining the legendary Johnson/Young duo on the Power Up tour were guitarist Stevie Young (Angus’ nephew and son of late guitarist Malcolm Young), drummer Matt Laug, and bassist Chris Chaney. The Pretty Reckless – fronted by Taylor Momsen – received the prestigious opening role.
The Australian hard rock gods brought the tour to Massachusetts’ Gillette Stadium on Sunday May 4, and laid to rest any doubt that they are still peerless. During the 2.5-hour performance, the band played numerous rarities from the Bon Scott and Johnson eras, along with many of the most well-known songs in the history of the hard rock genre.
By opening with Scott track “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)”, the band made it eminently clear that this would not merely be a performance of the post-1980 “hits”. Rather, it would be a celebration of a storied fifty-year career that featured two of rock’s titans on lead vocals, along with some of its most explosive live performances. The set paid homage to Scott with an incredible ten cuts: three from the outstanding Highway to Hell (the set opener, title track, and “Shot Down in Flames”); the title song and “Whole Lotta Rosie” from Let There Be Rock; “Sin City” and “Riff Raff” from Powerage; “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”; and a pair from the band’s first LP (“TNT” and title track “High Voltage”).
AC/DC performed a pair from Power Up, with “Demon Fire” and “Shot in the Dark” appearing during the early portion of the show. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train” from 2008’s Black Ice and 2000's “Stiff Upper Lip” were the only other songs released this century (or during the past 30 years).
The seven additional Johnson-era releases came from three albums. The landmark Back in Black was well-represented, with five of its ten anthems making the cut. The title song was the second of the evening, with the fantastic “Have a Drink on Me” exciting and surprising the crowd members who didn’t research the set in advance of their trek to Foxborough MA. The other three Black tracks were the incredible “Hells Bells”, party anthem “You Shoot Me All Night Long”, and the driving “Shoot to Thrill.” The bombastic “Thunderstruck” was – as usual – extremely well-received, and “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” literally blew the crowd away with cannon fire to close an absolutely epic evening.
For concert merch afficionados, AC/DC delivered the goods. The band offered a wide variety of shirts and other band items, as well as city-specific tour posters and shirts. This is the definition of a must-see event.