WHEN AC/DC ended a six-year live hiatus in 2015, they chose the polo club in Indio, California as a venue.
That night they were somewhat outsiders at the hip Coachella festival, where well-heeled youngsters from Los Angeles asked each other what the band’s name meant.
At the weekend, it was very much a case of preaching to the converted at a dedicated hard rock and heavy metal festival that you still needed to be pretty well heeled to attend, with the very cheapest tickets costing US$599 – without consideration for where you would sleep between the three days of Power Trip.
This was also the venue where Angus Young joined Guns N’Roses on stage to signal the polarising live collaboration of AC/DC and singer Axl Rose.
With Brian Johnson back out front at the weekend, Cliff Williams reverse a retirement decision and Matt Laug making his debut on drums, Ackadacka opened with “If You Want Blood (You Got It)” for the first time ever.
“Demon Fire” and “Shot In The Dark” off 2020’s Power Up got their first live airings, “Stiff Upper Lip” was performed for the first time in 20 years and we had “TNT” and “For Those About To Rock” as encores.
Some expected a tour announcement to coincide with the show. That didn’t happen. But although a fully grey Angus Young now resembles a Harry Potter character, no-one basking afterwards in the warm desert air was suggesting AC/DC are past it.
