AC/DC in the Power Age

I grew up at the north end of Toronto. When I was teen and into rock and roll I would head downtown every Saturday afternoon to check out the new records that had been releasedthat week. I climbed aboard the #53 bus to Finch station and then rode the subway down to Dundas where I'd climb up to the street and head over to Sam the Record Man, A&A's and Jean Machine before walking uptown to stop in at Record on Wheels, the Record peddler and Round Records (?).

One day I walked into the jean machine record section and heard a crunching guitar that became one of many pivotal moments for me. The beat was relentless and the guitar was manic. The voice coming thorough the speakers was the most wonderful sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. I checked the "now playing" stand behind the cashier and immediately went to the racks to retrieve my own copy of AC/DC's Powerage.

As a fledgling young guitar god oh how I worshipped at the alter of Angus Young. Oh those fingers fleet of foot and riffs hard as...well, rock! I was a KISS fan but thought this was more sophisticated. I was an Aerosmith fan and thought that this was easier. AC/DC was about fun. AC/DC was about power. Hell, they even put that in the title.

I bought TNT. I bought Dirty Deeds. I played everything he best I could spending hours repeatingthe riffs on my own Mann electric guitar. And then they came to Toronto. AC/DC headlined at Massey Hall. Bon Scott was still alive then. It was AMAZING!

I took my camera to the show and got some great shots. Someone threw a beachball up on stage with a sign attached that said "We've got the biggest balls of them all." I was pushed up against the stage and lost myself in the electricity coming out of the Marshall stacks. Angus came stomping his duck-walk across the stage and almost crushed my camera. Good times!

I saw AC/DC with Bon Scott one more time, opening for Aerosmith at Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium. Like everyone else, I've seen the band a number of times since with Brian Johnson.

What inspired this posting though was the Juno award nominations announced yesterday. It reminded me of the last time the Junos were held in Toronto. They took place at the Skydome. warner held it's afterparty in the Founder's Lounge at the Skydome. It happened that Angus, Malcolm and Phil Rudd were in town to promote the band's latest release, Stiff Upper Lip. They came to our party and were hounded for hours by industry fans who elbowed each other to have their picture taken with our rock heroes. To their credit, the guys were phenomenally patient.

We had a cover band playing our party and around 1:00am the guys were coerced into taking the stage. Angus sang and played his heart out. Malcom and Phil held down a solid rhythm along with the cover band's bassist playing an upright acoustic. Angus sounded just like Brian or was it Bon? Who cares. It was aural bliss. Everyone rocked to "Back In Black," "Highway to Hell" and "Stiff Upper Lip."

If you live for rock and roll you live for bands like AC/DC!