LiveWire DC

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Date/Fri 29 September, 2006
Reviewed by/Denis Hill

If it were possible (maybe it is!) to judge loyalty to a rock institution like AC/DC by the number of logo’d tee shirts on view at gigs, then this band must have an enviable fan-base! Rarely have I seen so many as at tonight’s tribute show. I did spot the odd Metallica and Def Leppard imposters but apart from that it was solid and wall-to-wall sartorial support from the 300 strong crowd. (I was almost tempted to buy a tee myself from Livewire’s busy merchandise stall, but the shirts were called “skinny” which didn’t sound like me).

The mass exodus from the bar at 8.30 precisely heralded the arrival on stage of six-man Livewire, making their third appearance at Plinston.

Predictably enough, it was the signature track ‘Livewire’ with which they chose to open and the skilfully layered vocals gave an immediate stamp of authenticity. The high tempo ‘Riff Raff’ came next, followed by the throbbing ‘Sin City’, by which time I swear I could feel the fillings I had put in my teeth a few hours earlier starting to work loose.

This was a thumping set already and ‘Gone Shootin’’ which sounded a bit ZZ Top to me in places only added to that impression, producing a highly vocal reaction from a crowd not normally so animated so soon!

As this frenzied duck-walking and head-banging march through the classic AC/DC discography moved up yet another gear, I recalled the conversation I’d had with boys from Livewire before the gig. Following the usual format, I had asked the band to split their two-hour set into two parts with interval but they refused, explaining “you don’t bring a sports car engine up to optimum performance and then turn it off for twenty minutes!” Now I could see what they meant as intensity was clearly the all-important ingredient here.

The set raced by breathlessly with the most notable highs being the pounding ‘Shoot to Thrill’, my personal favourite ‘Hells Bells’ and the individualistic ‘Back in Black’ with its strange staccato beat – slight shades of Aerosmith in there somewhere.

By now, I must have been getting carried away with the comparisons, because some of the vocals on ‘You Shook me All Night Long’ sounded very Noddy Holder!

The obligatory encore gave us the memorable ‘Highway to Hell’ and ‘For Those About to Rock’ (surely that title belongs at the start) – cementing Livewire’s place in the affections of the Garden City faithful.

Will this mean an invitation back? Can duck’s swim?!