AC/DC- Live At Donington
This amazing piece of concert footage was shot live at Castle Donington in the U.K in summer of 1991.This is where the famous 'Monsters of Rock' festival is held. On 1991, AC/DC showed up with a full arsenal of what are basically their greatest hits, along with Metallica, Motley Crue, Quuensryche, and The Black Crowes. And you can bet your ass it was an amazing show. It was later loaded with great audio and picture, and made into one great DVD experience. AC/DC gets up on stage as soon as it starts getting dark, and as the night goes on, the tunes get louder and much more explosive. This time, they're bringing along drummer Chris Slade (The Razor's Edge) who does everything in his power to make the show more enjoyable and complete. Loaded with giant balloons, a 3-ton brass bell, cannons, and a subtle moment of some striptease, this is a show that won't under any circumstances dissapoint.
AC/DC-
Angus Young- Lead Guitar
Brian Johnson- Vocals
Malcolm Young- Rythm Guitar
Cliff Williams- Bass
Chris Slade- Drums
Like I said before, AC/DC rips right through this setlist like its no one's business. The second the awaiting audience hears the light hi-hats they go completely wild, and when Angus comes out in his classic school-boy uniform, Thunderstruck gets going, and ranks in as the most explosive intro to any concert Ive ever seen. That riff gets the crowd crazy and almost overpowering the actual band. Brian comes out yelling 'THUNDER' until the actual song starts up. This first song lets you know how perfect the boys sound live. Better than the recordings, I would say. The main highlights in the concert are AC/DC's bigger or more faster songs. When these songs come on, the audience powers the band, making them sound better than usual. And the highlight instrument without a doubt is angus' Gibson SG, which causes SOME comotion during solos and intros. Its great to see Angus live, because he's a hyper maniac on stage. At a point, hes on the floor wiggling around while closing the end to a song.
The balloons on Hell Aint A Bad Place To Be, and Whole Lotta Rosie are great features of the show, and they know what the crowd wants.When they want it louder, it gets louder. When they want more fills, they'll get more fills. When they want more solos, they'll leave it up to Angus to improvise for about 15 minutes. The imrov session leading up to Jailbreak and it's bridge is a love/hate thing. If you enjoy watching Jimmy Page's hands squirm up and down that fretboard, then I'm sure it wont be any different for Angus' stuff. The guitar always takes center-stage (well literally) on every single song. It sounds just as great as the recordeings, but with an extra kick that seems like it was written for a live audience. Angus shines big-time on Jailbreak, Moneytalks, Hells Bells, T.N.T., and Highway to Hell. If you already appreciated Angus' playing on the albums, seeing him live for a full 2 hours will make you see him in a brand new way.
Malcolm doesnt dissapoint either. He's the man behind every riff and pretty much all of the material in every song. Him and Cliff dont exactly stand out at the show, but their echoes from the shadows beside Chris's Pearl set set off amazing rythmic section-material. Even though Malcolm shines in Fire Your Guns, High Voltage, and For Those About to Rock, and Cliff shows his talent best on Dirty Deeds, Let There Be Rock, and The Jack, they both combine to create mass chaos, backing up Angus' stuff in the best possible way.
Mr. Chris Slade has some major concentration and speed that makes every other pre-verse and outro the most amazing one youve ever heard. He'll change little things from the original-written beats and fills and make it seem like he changed everything at the same time. He makes his material on Hell Aint A Bad Place To Be, Fire Your Guns, and For Those About To Rock seem like its nothing. And I must say, this man ceratinly fired HIS guns, cause hes able to withstand plenty of movement and strokes for an 18-song setlist, only resting when Angus does his thing on Jailbreak. Him, along with Johnson get my ***ing stamina-award.
Brian sets the night on fire. He assaults the audience with his legendary voice, that seems like his material is right out from the recordings. He knows what to give the audience, and gets it fired up with commentary and plenty of raunchy body-language. Saying that, I must quote one of the lyrics that made me crack up as I say brian. "She told me to come but I was already there." Guess what motion he did with his hand there. :lol: makes me crack up every time. But away from the night's raunchy ***, Brian does a great job with stamina also. And as Angus' does his Jailbreak soloing, you can tell hes gone backstage and rested up his throat a bit. And he deserves every second. His vocals on Thunderstruck, Jailbreak, T.N.T, and Let There Be Rock make them memorable. For whoever said he ruined AC/DC, I laugh at your ignorance.
The show keeps going at lightning fast speed with great sounds. Once it finally gets down to the 3 crowd favorites, Let There Be Rock, Highway To Hell, and For Those About To Rock, they grab onto the audience for the last blow. (I bet Brian would have something funny to say to that.) :lol:
Setlist's Best- Thunderstruck, Fire Your Guns, Jailbreak, Hells Bells, Let There Be Rock, Highway To Hell, For Those About To Rock. :thumb:
Concert- 4.5/5
The special features on the DVD arent much. But for whats on there, Its not bad at all. The first feature is the commentary with Angus and Malcolm. They let you know everything you ever wondered when you watched the concert the first time around. The second feature is the Band's 'cams'. They show you an upclose view of every band member except Chris (for some gay reason) on their 'specialty' songs. Great for Brian and Angus. The last feature is a display of all of AC/DC's albums, showing you the tracklists for every one plus The Youngs telling about the story behind each one. Very smart idea. Not bad at all.
Features- 3.5/5
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Pros-
+Sounds twice as better than the recordings
+Great ambience and location
+Great crowd
+Basically AC/DC's greatest hits in concert
Cons
-Quality (but it was 91', you cant expect much)
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Hands down, this DVD is a must-have for ANY AC/DC fan. The boys rock live, and never seem like they're going to stop. They shine better live in every single way. With the tunes you love, plus some surprises, this show is something a fan wont be wanting to miss. Besides, that Angus striptease in the smack-dab middle of the show has to be one of the funniest things they have ever done. The DVD is sold for the low price of around 10 bucks. Now, thats money very-well spent if you ask me. Do yourself a favor.
Enjoy the show.
4.5/5
