Writing a review for an AC/DC concert is about as straightforward as the band’s blues-based metal. Just dig up a report from any of their shows in the last 28 years, change the date, venue and name of the new album, and no one will know the difference.
The veteran Anglo-Australian rockers, who played the third official show of their “Black Ice” world tour in Chicago on Saturday, are nothing if not consistent.
The same props are used on each tour. A bell descends from the rafters for “Hells Bells,” although it seemed a bit smaller this time; a half-dozen cannon fired throughout show closer “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)”; a giant blow-up doll added some heft to “Whole Lotta Rosie”; guitarist Angus Young stripped out of his schoolboy uniform during “The Jack,” and rolled around on his back atop a raised platform during “Let There Be Rock.”
Young and his bandmates came onto the stage at the Allstate Arena following a mildly sexual cartoon video that culminated in a life-sized train crashing onto the stage. The usual pyrotechnics ensued.
“Me and the guys are gonna mix it up tonight,” singer Brian Johnson said at the outset. “Come along for the ride.”
The band played five of the 15 tracks from their new chart-topping album “Black Ice,” including the title track and the show opener “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train.”
The rest of the set list was basically unchanged since 1980. Some fans may grouse about the proliferation of unfamiliar material, while others despair of AC/DC ever dusting off old album tracks. For example, while they play “For Those About to Rock…” every show, why not dig deeper into the album of the same name and play “Evil Walks” or “C.O.D.,” a fan complained while we endured the public transport to the venue.
It’s not like AC/DC were short of time. They raced through 18 songs — the same ones also played on the first two dates — in exactly 100 minutes, and quickly exited at 10:10 p.m. Perhaps it’s the inevitable limitations of Johnson’s raspy vocal cords. I shouldn’t complain about his difficulty hitting the high notes of “Back in Black” and the rare late-era catalog entry “Thunderstruck,” when I was coughing after chanting “Oy!” “Oy!” at the start of “TNT.” 
His colleagues, who largely ignored each other, endured less of a workout: Angus’ older brother, Malcolm, on rhythm guitar; drummer Phil Rudd, whose kit is twice as big as necessary; and bass player Cliff Williams, who recently told Rolling Stone that he play the same chords in every song.
One aspect of the show is hilarious no matter how many times it’s been done. During “The Jack,” a wistful ode to venereal disease, the giant video screen shows random unsuspecting women in the audience as Johnson sings “She’s got the jack” over and over.
- Posted by Dean Goodman. Photos by Reuters.
Break out the flashing devil horns and industrial-strength earplugs. AC/DC will return to North America in the summer for the second leg of their “Black Ice” world tour.
