The AC/DC Experience
Its just over a month that I witnessed the great AC/DC performing live. They have been a band that has inspired generations of musicians and listeners over and over again. The ardent fan will argue that they have been the pioneers of heavy metal but I have a feeling they prefer themselves just to be a 'rock and roll' outfit. It was 1975 when the band first came out with their album and over the years they, like many successful long running bands - have also gone through line-up changes but the classic AC/DC signature has never been compromised. One great thing about such huge bands is that even when we listen to their songs or see them perform songs that were written some 40 odd years ago, the lyrics, composition, arrangement and execution still remains relevant and does never sound dated. There is this rawness and the rock and roll beast element that has always made AC/DC maintain their larger than life persona.
After the 'Rock Or Bust' album when finally they announced their show in Auckland (without Phil Rudd as he is involved in a legal mess). I could not wait.
Many of us were bitten by the music of bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera, GnR and AC/DC (to name a few) long back. The music produced by these rock gods had got truly injected in our veins much before we actually realized and acknowledged it
15th December 2015, I finally witnessed the AC/DC experience. For me, it was a never-felt-before experience. Watching the iconic band live was not just attending a big rock concert but a slide show of all those years, the pinch of that maddening spark whenever the guitar riff started, the endless hours of discussing the music, the euphoric feeling of returning home. I honestly was a bit disappointed with the Auckland crowd as all the songs AC/DC performed can easily be regarded as anthems but very few people actually knew the songs properly. Example: you do not need 2 secs to realize that AC/DC has just started 'Highway To Hell'.
Yes there will always be a group saying bands like AC/DC and Black Sabbath are not what they used to be. Guess what, AC/DC's 'Rock or Bust' got crowned the top selling hard rock album of 2015!
Also, get this - we have lost enough legends already (just past one year has taken away B.B King, Lemmy, David Bowie and two dozen more). Rock and roll is in its seventh decade, the pioneers are ageing. But we should be lucky to have some still touring 'coz they will always be regarded as the ones who started it all and one day we would be telling our grandchildren how lucky we were to share a part of the era the legends were around. That day will come, if it comes to you....as AC/DC said - we salute you!
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