Fan-filmed video of AC DC‘s July 21 concert at Old Airport Vajnory in Bratislava, Slovakia can be seen below (courtesy of the Milos Pavlik Youtube channel).
The setlist for the show was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:
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. Shoot To Thrill
eleven. Sin City
12. Rock ‘N’ Roll Train
13. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
14. High Voltage
fifteen. Riff Raff
16. You Shook Me All Night Long
17. Highway To Hell
18. Whole Lotta Rosie
19. Let There Be Rock
Encore:
twenty. TNT
twenty-one. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)
The “Power Up” European tour marks AC DC‘s first with the band’s new touring lineup consisting of singer Brian Johnsonguitarists Angus and Stevie Youngdrummer Matt Laug and the latest addition to the group’s touring lineup, bassist Chris Chaney.
The 24-date trek will run through August. The trek will move on to Germany, Belgium and Paris before winding down at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. The European tour is the first run of gigs since AC DC‘s return to the stage at last year’s rock Power Trip festival in Indio, California.
AC DC‘s last tour took place in 2015 and 2016 and had a $180 million gross, with 2,310,061 sold tickets reported to the Pollstar box office.
Laug is an American drummer who has played with many bands/artists such as Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, SLASH’S SNAKEPIT and Vasco Rossi. Matt moved to Los Angeles after graduating from South Florence High School in 1986 and after attending college in LA, Matt became a sought-after studio drummer.
In 2001, Laug supported AC DC as part of SLASH’S SNAKEPIT on the North American and European legs of the “Stiff Upper Lip” tour.
In its announcement about Laug‘s addition to the band’s Power Trip lineup, AC DC offered no explanation for the absence of the band’s longtime drummer Phil Ruddwho rejoined AC DC for the recording of the group’s comeback album, “Power Up”which came out in November 2020.
Rudd were you from AC DC when he was sentenced to eight months of home detention by a New Zealand court in 2015 after pleading guilty to charges of threatening to kill and drug possession. He was replaced on the band’s “Rock Or Bust” tour by Chris Sladewho had previously served as AC DC‘s drummer between 1989 and 1994, playing on the album “The Razor’s Edge”.
Ruddwho appeared on all but three of AC DC‘s 18 previous studio albums, toured in support of his 2014 solo debut, “Head Job”. It was the release of that album that led indirectly to Rudd‘s arrest, with the drummer allegedly so angry at a personal assistant over the way the record was promoted that he threatened to have the man and his daughter killed.
AC DC postponed the last 10 dates of its spring 2016 North American trek after Johnson was advised to stop playing live or “risk total hearing loss.” The band went on to complete the European and North American legs of their “Rock Or Bust” tour with GUNS N’ ROSES frontman Axl Rose as a “guest vocalist.” At the time, Johnson had been AC DC‘s singer for 36 years, ever since replacing the late Bon Scott in 1980 and making his debut on the classic “Back In Black” album.
To enable him to perform live with AC DC again, the now 76-year-old Johnson worked with audio expert Stephen Ambrosewho said he could help solve the singer’s hearing problems.
Ambrosewho invented the wireless in-ear monitors that are widely used by touring artists today, claimed to have invented a new type of ear-bud that would allow Johnson to perform without causing further damage to his eardrums. After three years of experimenting and “miniaturizing” the equipment, Johnson previously said the technology could allow him to tour again.
Chaney is best known as the bassist of JANE’S ADDICTION and as a member of Alanis Morissette‘s touring and recording band. Chaney He was also a member of TAYLOR HAWKINS AND THE COATTAIL RIDERS and CAMP FREDDYas well as being a prolific and versatile session musician, having played with artists including Joe Cocker, Shakira, Slash and Avril Lavigne to Sara Bareilles, Gavin Degraw, Cher, SHINEDOWN and Celine Dion. Chaney is also a founding member and partner in the all-star supergroup ROYAL MACHINES along with Dave Navarro (JANE’S ADDICTION),Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY),Josh Freese (FOO FIGHTERS) and Billy Morrison (BILLY IDOL).
Bassist Cliff Williams announced his retirement at the end of AC DC‘s 2015-2016 “Rock Or Bust” tour, which also saw Johnson leaving. However, Williams — and Johnson — took part in the recording sessions that resulted in “Power Up”. Both of them were also part of the AC DC lineup that performed at Power Trip.
During an October 2020 interview with Dean Delray‘s “Let There Be Talk” podcast, Cliff was asked if Johnson‘s departure from the road was what led to his desire to stop touring. Cliff responded: “It was before then. I spoke to Angus about it initially. I was at a point — and this is at the beginning of the ‘Rock Or Bust’ tour — that I just felt, for me, it was time to hang it up. I knew that I didn’t wanna keep doing these two-year tours, and I didn’t wanna hold them back, so I made them aware of the fact that this was gonna be my last go-round. It was a tough tour to finish. God bless Axl for coming in and helping us out, finish it up. He did a great job. And at the end of that, I was definitely — that was it for me. Done—just done. That compounded the whole thing.”
According to Williamshe wanted to take part in the recording sessions for “Power Up” as a tribute to Angus‘s late brother, founding AC DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Youngwho died in 2017 from the effects of dementia at age 64. Malcolm is credited as a writer on all 12 tracks on “Power Up”.
“If ‘Back In Black’ has [late AC/DC singer] Bon Scott all over it, for me, ‘Power Up’ has got Malcolm Young,” Cliff he said. “This is for him. And it’s the band that we played together with for 40-plus years. And I wanted to do that — I wanted to come back and do that.
“We did some rehearsals earlier [in 2020] before this darn COVID thing popped up, and we had great rehearsals,” he continued. “The band was playing really well. SW [they asked me], ‘Do you wanna do a few shows? ‘Sure’. A few shows. We were planning on doing that. Everyone goes home to their respective homes, and bang, we’ve been here ever since [because of the coronavirus-related shutdown].”
Cliff went on to confirm that his commitment to AC DC was only for “a few” dates in support of “Power Up”.
“For both [my mental and physical] health,” he said. “I definitely have some physical issues, which I won’t bore you with the details of. But, yeah, it’s tough. I’m very grateful for everything. It’s been fantastic. But I just don’t wanna do that anymore.”
Williams previously revealed that a “terrible” bout with vertigo contributed to his 2016 retirement. He also admitted the return of both Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd convinced him to rejoin the group. “It was like the old band back together,” he told Rolling Stone. “It was not like starting over again, but as close to the band that’s been together for 40-plus years as we can possibly make it. I didn’t want to miss that.”
The follow-up to 2014’s “Rock Or Bust”, “Power Up” was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O’Brienwho also worked in 2008’s “Black Ice” and “Rock Or Bust”.
