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Dressed in a schoolboy uniform complete with shorts, tie, cap and book bag, Angus Young, the nineteen-year-old lead guitarist for AC/DC, is the perfect picture of a hyperactive adolescent. From the beginning of his band's set at New York's Palladium Theater to the end of the encore, he covers every available inch of space -- duck-walking and foot-stomping, bobbing his head and running back and forth the whole while.
The show's climax comes when Angus, by this time stripped to his shorts, hops on lead singer Bon Scott's shoulders and rides piggyback around the auditorium, soloing on his cordless electric guitar. There's nothing new going on musically, but AC/DC attacks the old cliches with overwhelming exuberance.
After three albums, this five-man Australian band is finally starting to attain success in America to rival its massive popularity at home and in England. Their latest LP, Powerage, has sold over 200,000 copies, more than the first two combined, and is still on the charts after four months.
The AC/DC sound is loud, high-powered rock & roll, played with all the subtlety implied by titles such as "Gimmie a Bullet" and "Kicked in the Teeth," two cuts from the current album. Like the rest of AC/DC's material, these tunes were written by Angus and his brother Malcolm, who plays rhythm guitar. Words are provided by Scott, and drummer Phil Rudd and player bass Cliff Williams to round out the band.
Malcolm Young doesn't believe that AC/DC'S tremendous onstage energy results solely from the band's youthfulness. Nor does he worry about AC/DC getting too old to rock and roll. Appropriately, he cites Ted Nugent's years of touring in search of super-stardom as an example to emulate: "Now that he's famous," says Malcolm, "he's not gonna get old." Malcolm sees no reason why his group can't do the same.
In addition to mentioning Nugent, Malcolm laces his statements with the names of artists whose music his fans will probably never hear, like Count Basie and Fats Domino. Bon Scott also mentions some influences that are difficult to glean from listening to his music. He is particularly impressed by the way Frank Zappa has been able to Manipulate his image over the years. Fondly remembering the old PHI ZAPPA KRAPPA poster of Frank sitting on the toilet, Bon suggests a successor: "Bon Scott pulling himself."
If nothing else, the members of AC/DC are enthusiastic, able to see the bright side of being an opening act (you get to go home early) and to laugh away the bad shows, like a performance at CBGB's a year ago. In front of the punk patrons, the hand played what its members say was one of their best sets ever, yet they were met with silence. The experience was not in vain, for it taught them one of the truisms of rock concerts. As Malcolm put it: "You play shitass, the kids go wild. Play great, and everybody sits there."
[From Issue 278 — November 16, 1978]