There are concerts, and then there are lightning-strikes-from-the-heavens, heart-pounding, soul-shaking rock and roll rituals.<\/em> Last Saturday night at Soldier Field, AC\/DC didn\u2019t just play a show \u2014 they summoned the gods of thunder and turned the historic stadium into a roaring cathedral of power chords, pyrotechnics, horror props and pure, electrified chaos. All this, 50 years after it all began down under.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the sun dipped below the Lake Michigan horizon and painted the sky with shades of purple and gold, the stadium\u2019s 60,000+ fans \u2014 many in timeworn “Back in Black” shirts and devil-horn headbands \u2014 surged with anticipation. It wasn\u2019t just another stop on the \u201cPower <\/em>Up Tour<\/em>“. This was Chicago<\/em>. This was Soldier Field<\/em>. And this was the second-to-last<\/em> U.S. date of a global tour that\u2019s been melting faces since Sydney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And boy, did AC\/DC know how to mark the occasion. This tour, a slight delay from the initial album releases back in 2020, finally hit the road last year and the band are wrapping up the ride with this stop being the next to last for the US tour dates. This almost didn’t happen at all as turmoil in the band, health concerns and even legal matters nearly prevented this tour from even happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 9:00 PM, the stadium lights cut to black, the speakers let out a low revving rumble, and a demon car (Christine) blazed through hellish flamed highways to get to Chicago as it rolled into Soldier Field on the giant video wall, igniting the opening riff of \u201cIf You Want Blood (You Got It).\u201d A monstrous wall of flame erupted along the stage, briefly singeing the eyebrows of the front row faithful (figuratively\u2026 we hope), and Angus Young burst from beneath the floor in his classic schoolboy uniform \u2014 now slightly more grizzled with flowing locks of white wizardry hair, like a valedictorian of badassery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brian Johnson, seemingly powered by some internal amp set to 11, sprinted across the stage with the energy of a man half his age and the vocal cords of a power drill married to a chainsaw. \u201cHello Chicago! It’s been too long. Where Ya been?\u201d “Let’s have a party so let’s go.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The setlist was a fever dream of greatest hits and fan favorites. \u201cBack in Black\u201d had the crowd punching the sky in rhythmic unison, while \u201cShoot to Thrill\u201d rolled in like a freight train \u2014 horns, fists, and beers aloft. Even a couple off the last album the tour is based on with two tracks, “Demon Fire” and “Shot in the Dark”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the bands lineup is slightly different these days, they still rocked as they always do. A standard for 4\/4 rock bands. Joining Angus and Brian are seasoned rockers in their own right. Another Young family member, Stevie Young providing rhythm guitar since 2014 when Malcolm stepped out for health issues and ultimately passed in 2017. Filling in for Phil Rudd on drums was Matt Laug. The low end was helmed by a LA based bassist, who’s played with just about everyone, Chris Chaney, the new guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The stage show was part Mad Max, part Vegas, and all AC\/DC. Giant robotic cannons fired sparks during \u201cFor Those About to Rock (We Salute You),\u201d while a 30-foot inflatable Rosie made her predictably decadent appearance during \u2014 what else \u2014 \u201cWhole Lotta Rosie.\u201d When Angus launched into his legendary duckwalk across the 150-foot runway, it was like watching a national treasure refuse to age. The man\u2019s solos were blistering, sweat-soaked sermons. His final solo lasting a whopping 8 minutes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the fans? Every last one of them \u2014 from the old-schoolers who saw Bon Scott at the Aragon Ballroom to teenage first-timers raised on YouTube \u2014 knew they were witnessing something mythic. Chicago, the birthplace of electric blues, embraced AC\/DC\u2019s high-voltage spirit like a long-lost sibling. When Johnson paused to say, \u201cThis town knows<\/em> its rock and roll,\u201d the roar from the stands could\u2019ve toppled the Willis Tower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the final cannon blast echoed over the lakefront, it brought the entire city to the brink of joyous combustion, there was an unspoken awareness in the air. This was one of the last chances to see the legends live in our home town. Their final U.S. stop? Just a few days away in Cleveland. But this<\/em> night, in Chicago \u2014 on sacred Soldier Field ground \u2014 was one for the annals of rock. Johnson ended with, “Thank you Chicago, you’ve been brilliant.” As have you sir, as have you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fireworks lit up the sky and AC\/DC took their final bow beneath a shower of sparks and devil-horn salutes, one thing was clear: Rock ain\u2019t dead. It just wears a schoolboy uniform and carries a Gibson SG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And Chicago? You\u2019ve been thunderstruck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AC_DC-Soldier-Field-Chicago-Power-Up-Tour-2025-1.jpg\")
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