This entertaining and very enlightening show, starring Nick Barker on vocals, Tommy Boyce and Justin Garner on guitar, Alex Raunjak on bass and Steve Brown on drums, made its debut non-theatre appearance at The Corner to mark the 33rd anniversary of the passing of Bon Scott, who died at age 33.
Nick Barker proved to be an entertaining frontman adept at narrating Scott’s tale with passion, gravity and humour. He also rocked out very convincingly and brought his own style to each of the songs and even indulged in a cheer-inducing spot of ’70s style skinhead dancing. The thunderously powerful “raw, loud and primal” band generated a great deal of excitement as they delivered each song with precision and force. Ten points to Steve Brown for donning a “Kerrang!” T-shirt! A most appropriate sartorial choice.
It was interesting to hear Scott’s pre-AC/DC songs being given a live airing. For instance, Barker and the band performed obscure gems such as a 1969 B-side from bubble-gum popsters The Valentines called Getting Better and a surprisingly country-flavoured roots number called Been Up In The Hills Too Long originally written by Scott back in the early ’70s after he left prog rockers Fraternity (“’a band with a distinctive hippy flavour,” as Barker says).
Nick’s narrative provided a plethora of insights into Scott’s life. We discovered how Scott was a “tough little bugger” at school, that he played drums in a pipe band, had run-ins with the police, endured a sobering spell in a “boy’s home”, straightened his hair with sticky tape whilst in The Valentines and that he was a “street poet”. As Barker spoke about the local pubs that AC/DC played in during their early days pockets of the audience screamed to indicate that they had been there.
The crowd’s enthusiasm spilled over during AC/DC classics such as Highway To Hell, TNT, Whole Lotta Rosie, Let There Be Rock, Jailbreak, High Voltage and Down Payment Blues. Barker pointed out that to gain a glimpse of Scott’s innermost feelings we have to look to his lyrics as “the clues are in the songs.” The band then kicked into a powerful version of Ride On.
The sad tale of Scott’s lonely “death by misadventure” was followed by a rousing Long Way To The Top which featured a kilted bagpiper on stage. Barker wore a vintage denim vest with tongue-in-cheek pride during a raucous encore in which Dirty Deeds gave us one last adrenaline-rush before the curtain feel on this sterling tribute to “one of Australia’s folk heroes.”
BY GRAHAM BLACKLEY
LOVED: Everything!
HATED: That the show had to end – I could have listened for hours.
DRANK: Coopers Sparkling Ale and Mountain Goat Hightail Ale.
