Reviewer / Photographer: Wezzy Cruze
Friday, November 28th, 2014 marked a great day for rock n’ roll enthusiasts.
With the highly anticipated release of ‘Rock or Bust’, the 16th release from AC/DC hitting the shelves of stores worldwide, it was in Brisbane, Queensland that the locals were treated to a one of a kind performance being put on by one of Australia’s greatest pub rock bands, The Choirboys, as they performed the classic AC/DC album, ‘High Voltage’ in its entirety.
The Choirboys were doing a six date tour over three different cities, with ‘High Voltage’ being preformed on the Friday night, and ‘Highway To Hell’ on Saturday evening. Each album’s set was also followed by a great hour long performance consisting of classic hits from The Choirboys back catalogue.
Front man and lead singer, Mark Gable, takes the microphone and says ‘We’re not a tribute band, we’re just paying tribute’, as he speaks of the late Bon Scott, with the tour being held to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the legendary front man joining AC/DC in 1974. Gable explains to the intimate crowd of the New Globe Theatre that both AC/DC and The Choirboys shared the same record label (Albert Records) and recording studio in the early years of their career.
8:30pm, the show is about to begin and the members of the band take to the stage. The lights stay dim as an audio recording of AC/DC being interviewed by Countdown from 1976 plays through the speakers. After a quick snippet of the recording, it’s special guest James Morley of The Angels who starts the show off with the raw opening riff of ‘It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock And Roll)’. The stage lights up and the crowd start cheering, arms and beers in the air. The band take on the rock anthem as if they were the original ones to record it, with Gable delivering a performance that Bon would be proud of, and the band encompassing the spirit and delivering it with an energy that serves it true justice.
‘The Jack’ sees Ian Hulme bring his chugging bass guitar to the front as everyone cheers along to the chorus. It was at this point during the show that one of the patrons grabbed me and yelled in my ear about how great it feels to be reliving such an album in a live environment. I couldn’t agree more.
With the time between each song consisting of more audio recordings of interviews with Bon Scott, the crowd gets a bit of a laugh when the segment of how a sewing machine was the origin point of the band’s name is played.
’T.N.T’ sees more beer being spilt as members of the crowd begin foot stomping and bobbing their heads along to the iconic rock n’ roll hit, shouting ‘oi, oi, oi, oi…’ as the song rips into action. Lead guitarist, Brett Williams, pulls off the solo to a T, with the signature sound that’s almost uncanny to that of Angus Young.
‘She’s Got Balls’ keeps the crowd pumped, with the lead riff from ‘Little Lover’ keeping the energy alive as The Choirboys come together on the gang vocals for the chorus.
The tribute comes to a close with the album’s title track, ‘High Voltage’, with the set being summed up perfectly in those 2 words alone – High Voltage. After witnessing the show, it becomes clear that The Choirboys were always going to be the perfect choice for pulling off a tribute to the iconic front man. With a career spanning some 35 years, they pull it off and make it an experience that no one in that theatre would ever forget.
Band: The Choirboys – www.choirboys.net/
Event: The Choirboys perform AC/DC’s High Voltage album at the New Globe Theatre – Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. 28/11/14
Reviewer / Photographer: Wezzy Cruze
www.wezzycruze.com
Click Here for photos from the night…