Concert review: AC/DC, Western Springs Stadium

When the promoters behind AC/DC announced they were bringing the show to New Zealand, they wanted to stress a point - these days, AC/DC is not a rock show. Rather, they said, it's family entertainment. Fun for everyone, not just bogan rockers.

In fact, they said, more than half of AC/DC audiences are female - 30-something-year-old females.

This seemed unlikely. I am a 30-something-year-old female and have never considered going to an AC/DC show. Nor have any of my friends or acquaintances ever suggested it.

Image 1 of 11: Photo / Brett Phibbs

The only person I know who was excited about the prospect was the editor of this fine paper. He is Australian and called Muzz. Australians called Muzz are the type of people you expect to attend an AC/DC show.

But perhaps I was wrong? Clearly, the only answer was to go. And so last night I joined 40,000 fans at Western Springs Stadium for my first AC/DC experience.

The first thing I noticed was that yes, nearly half the audience was female, if perhaps not all 30-something. The age range - both men and women - easily spanned six decades.

There were families, including one father-daughter pair in matching school uniforms. And, of course, a sea of black T-shirts and glowing, red devil horns.

The people-watching alone was almost worth the ticket price. But then came the show - in all its thundering, guitar-thrashing glory.

As a cloud of fireworks erupted around the stage, Angus Young began his one-legged bunny hop and didn't stop moving for the next two-and-a-half hours.

What they played remains somewhat of a mystery. I have it on good authority from official fans, all their songs sound the same. It's one of the things they love about them.

But even a noob like myself could tell their biggest hits - and not just from the increased frenzy of headbanging. Songs like Back in Black, Dirty Deeds and Thunderstruck have featured in so many films, ads and TV shows, you can't help but singalong.

As darkness fell and Angus' clothes came off, the band's stamina never waned. I'd be lucky to have that much energy tomorrow, let alone in my 60s (frontman Brian Johnson is 68).

But never was it more impressive - and dumbfounding - than when Young embarked on an epic 15-minute guitar solo.

Some have compared the band's show to a circus - with Brian Johnson as ringmaster and Young the clown, acrobat and daredevil.

But given a choice between AC/DC and a night at the circus, I'd definitely chose the former.

With the exception of Rosie - the excessively-endowed, thigh fondling, blow up doll - it was surprisingly wholesome family fun.