AC/DC Declares ‘Rock Or Bust’ With New Tour

AC/DC has announced plans to return to the United States for the second leg of their Rock or Bust tour, which will kick off on Groundhog Day in Tacoma, Washington. The tour will run through April, finishing up with a final concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

AC/DC Declares Rock Or Bust With An Extended Concert Tour

Heavy rockers AC/DC hit the road earlier this year to promote their latest album, Rock or Bust, and have been on the road ever since. Now, the band is returning to the United States to finish up the final leg of that tour with one last go around.

AC/DC kicked off the tour with a concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which Rolling Stone described as “spectacular.”

Adding to that, the first concert seemed filled with promise with band frontrunner Angus Young working the crowd as only an experienced rocker can. In return, fans showered the band with adulation, even as Young led his bandmates through a rendition of “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”.

Angus appeared in his classic schoolboy outfit for the concert, but shed his beret as he worked his way through that iconic song from AC/DC’S second album. The band’s lead singer would shed more of that outfit, tossing items out to the frenzied crowd as the night wore on.

Joining Young on stage are fellow AC/DC rockers Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams. As some fans will recall, Malcolm Young retired from the band after having been diagnosed with dementia. Taking Malcolm’s place on rhythm guitar is Stevie Young, while Chris Slade, who played with the band in the 80s and 90s, will rejoin the lineup on drums.

AC/DC Has Their Work Cut Out For Them, When Choosing A Set List

For any band that has been around for decades, choosing which songs to play at their concerts presents a unique challenge. This is particularly true for AC/DC, a band with so many No. 1 and top grossing hits.

“The problem with the songs is, none of them sound like from any era. They all sound like they could have been done on [our latest] album [Rock Or Bust],” says Brian Johnson, when asked how the band chooses their songs.

” ‘Shot Down In Flames’, let’s just take that. ‘Hell Or High Water’, ‘Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be’ could have been on this album. Honestly. And that makes it much more difficult. It gets tough, you can only play so many songs before you drop.”

Angus Young added that they try to pick songs that will keep the pace of the concerts upbeat and energetic. He says that the band has been fortunate to have had so many strong, heavy rocking hits in their repertoire. Aside from that, Young adds that the key to a successful concert tour is variety.

AC/DC definitely has the variety. Having formed in 1973, the band has more than 40 years of music to choose from, including necessary tracks from the new Rock or Bust album.

Dates for the final leg of AC/DC’s Rock or Bust tour are as follows.

• Feb. 02 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
• Feb. 05 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Arena
• Feb. 08 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
• Feb. 11 – Fargo, ND – Fargo Dome
• Feb. 14 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
• Feb. 17 – Chicago, IL – United Center
• Feb. 20 – St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
• Feb. 23 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
• Feb. 26 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
• Feb. 29 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
• Mar. 08 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
• Mar. 11 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – BB&T Center
• Mar. 14 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
• Mar. 17 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center
• Mar. 20 – Detroit, MI – The Palace
• Mar. 23 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
• Mar. 26 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
• Mar. 29 – Buffalo, NY – First Niagara Center
• Apr. 01 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
• Apr. 04 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden

[Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images]