Merkur-Spiel-Arena, Duesseldorf, Germany 8th July 2025
AC/DC - “Porwer Up Tour” Europe 2025 - Special Guest: The Pretty Reckless
“These guys are still touring?” This incredulous question from an average person who does not compulsively follow the music scene illustrates the conundrum of the evening: What to expect from a band made up of people way past retirement age, where only one member is still from the original formation from back in 1973, when they started out to conquer the world?
The answer is: a lot! No wonder, bands like METALLICA, or FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH use their songs before they enter the stage to hype up the audience. AC/DC have become immortal during their lifetime and today was a celebration of their live legacy in front of a sold-out arena. The confusion around the venue change (as the concert was originally scheduled to play in a newly to be created Open Air arena, and only moved to the Merkur-Spiel-Arena recently) was forgotten, as thousands of fans excitedly entered the stadium, and - besides beer and chips - bought AC/DC merchandise, such as red blinking devil horns.
The Pretty Reckless
The quartet from New York was founded in 2009 around front woman Taylor Momsen, an actress and model. With their album ‘Who you selling for’ and the hit single ‘Take me down’, which was released in 2016, they enjoyed some commercial success. Their last album ‘Death by Rock and Roll’ did not quite achieve the same level of recognition. Nevertheless, they have been opening for AC/DC for the duration of the “Porwer Up Tour”, which gave them the once in a lifetime chance for widespread exposure. www.theprettyreckless.com
Music & Performance
The arena was already pretty packed and brimming with anticipation, when the band started their show at 7:30pm. And certainly, the spectators had no reason to be disappointed. With the opener ‘Death by Rock and Roll’, a seemingly well-spirited Taylor Momsen joined her band members on stage to deliver a solid dose of Hard Rock accompanied by some remarkably good looks. Although it is fair to say that the latter mainly originated from singer Taylor Momsen, who in her knee-high black boots, her black leather coat, nice summer dress, and her wild blond hair probably represented the adolescent (not to say ‘wet’) fever dream of the majority of people present.
And Taylor knew how to play her cards. During instrumental sections, she danced in front of the drum set, and - while singing - used the expansive stage to interact with the audience, who embraced the band’s Southern-style Hard Rock. So, I guess several people made a mental note to check out the studio albums of THE PRETTY RECKLESS, as this has been a pretty (sic!) solid performance, and a worthy warm-up for the main act.
Setlist
01. Death by Rock and Roll
02. Since You’re Gone
03. Follow Me Down
04. Only Love Can Save Me Now
05. Witches Burn
06. Make Me Wanna Die
07. Going to Hell
08. Heaven Knows
09. Take Me Down
AC/DC
The band goes way back to 1973, and this space is certainly not enough to summarize the musical impact of the pioneers for Hard Rock. However, the fact that this band is still around, and that they sold out the world-wide stadium tour in no time speaks for itself. The band played their very first concert on December 31, 1973, at the Chequers Nightclub in Sydney, Australia. Over the years, they have become one of the most influential rock bands in history, selling over 200 million albums worldwide.
Their legendary album ‘Back In Black’ holds the record as the “best-selling album by a band of all time” and the “third best-selling album by any artist,” with over 50 million copies sold worldwide - and counting! In 2003, AC/DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame® and the Music Victoria Awards Hall of Fame in their home country, Australia. Even after five decades, AC/DC continues to sell out stadiums worldwide, generate billions of streams, and sell millions of albums annually. To celebrate their 50th anniversary as the greatest Rock’n’Roll band in the world, AC/DC is back, featuring Angus Young (Lead Guitar), Brian Johnson (Vocals), Stevie Young (Rhythm Guitar), Matt Laug (Drums) and Chris Chaney (Bass). https://www.acdc.com
Music & Performance
Shortly before 8:30pm, the level of anticipation peaked among the crowd. The video screens on the stage sides sprang to life with an animation of the band members driving a muscle car, while the deafening sound of roaring motors and screeching tires filled the arena. Cheers erupted with the arrival of the band members on stage, with guitarist Angus Young clad in his signature school uniform breaking into the guitar riff of the opener ‘If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)’.
These initial moments made it abundantly clear that this evening would not be a stale reheating of worn-out classics, but instead a full-throttled, unbridled celebration of Rock’n’Roll. Singer Brian Johnson and lead guitarist Angus Young - even though they both measure around 1,60m - delivered a larger-than-life performance in the way they flooded the Düsseldorf stadium crowd with kinetic energy. Especially Angus - obviously lacking the ability to stand still for a minute on stage - exuded sheer musical joy the way he practiced his signature duckwalk through solos, as well as ending each song with his jump into the drummer’s direction.
The band powered through the setlist like a well-oiled steam engine. The rhythm section, made up by guitarist Stevie Young, touring drummer Matt Laug, and bassist Chris Chaney delivered a pumping baseline for both front men Brian and Angus, who visibly relished the spotlight. And the band churned out all their major hits. For ‘Hells Bells’, a giant Bell with an AC/DC logo was lowered from the stage ceiling, ‘Highway to Hell’ saw some pyrotechnics, for ‘Thunderstruck’ the visuals of the performing band members were overlayed with lightning effects, but all these bells and whistles were no integral part of the show. Instead, the relentless energy displayed by Angus and Brian was what made this evening special, and no flabby arms or garbled vocals could change that.
The fans in attendance were completely drawn in and fired up their idols by steady screaming and clamouring. And AC/DC kept the pace. After two hours of playtime towards the end of their set, for the song ‘Let there be Rock’, the song culminated in an over ten minute-long guitar solo by Angus, who pulled out all the stops to entertain the crowd: Playing while running back and forth on the giant stage, playing by lying on the back of an elevated part of the centre stage walk in the middle of the front crowd, or staring at the camera with bloodshot eyes, while standing on an ungodly amount of Marshall guitar cabinets, Angus celebrated the raw energy of his signature Gibson SG guitar sound with almost religious ferocity, while the main part of the set ended with shots of white confetti filling the air.
After disappearing for a short while, the band members returned for a two-song encore, during which the band brought out the big guns - literally. For the final song ‘Those About to Rock (We Salute You)’, old-fashioned cannons were rolled onto the stage and appeared to the sides of the stage, and fired 21 deafening (dud) shots, and after the end of the song, indoor fireworks were launched, covering those people in the front with ashes, which marked a fitting ending for this volcano-like performance.
Setlist
01. If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)
02. Back in Black
03. Demon Fire
04. Shot Down in Flames
05. Thunderstruck
06. Have a Drink on Me
07. Hells Bells
08. Shot in the Dark
09. Stiff Upper Lip
10. Highway to Hell
11. Shoot to Thrill
12. Sin City
13. Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be
14. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
15. High Voltage
16. Riff Raff
17. You Shook Me All Night Long
18. Whole Lotta Rosie
19. Let There Be Rock (With Angus guitar solo)
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20. T.N.T.
21. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)
