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Josh Thaw
ENC 1101
2/16/15
AC/DC
Bands today make most of their money from touring rather then
individual songs or albums released by their record label. Through
touring, bands are able to make lots of money for their own songs.
Some bands tour a lot longer then others and some bands dont know
when to stop touring. AC/DC is one of my favorite bands and seeing
them tour would be a dream come true. They are a hard rock/punk
band that wrote songs relating to being rebellious and free. Just a few
years ago AC/DC went on a world tour stopping all over Europe. During
their tour they stopped in Argentina for one of the greatest
performances in rock history. The aging band was able to pump the
crowd up to a level I had never seen before. The band was mainly
known for that concert for their opening 30 second video clip that
helped pump up the crowd. The video clip and the beginning of the
first song set the stage for the rest of the concert.
The band for years has influenced entire generations. Their
music has inspired bands after them and followers throughout their
career. AC/DC started touring in the 70s when all bands members
were in there 20s and all that mattered was rock n roll and having
fun. The band slowly grew older but neither their spirits nor their fans

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never died. They grew in followers the older they got because even
though they didnt make any new music during my generation they still
have some of the most unique songs Ive ever had the pleasure to
listen. The band is considered to be one of the greatest punk rock
bands to ever play together.
AC/DC represented a type of band that didnt need any
help. They were able to become successful on their own. They wrote
all of their own music including the lyrics and every little sound that
came from the stage. The band made sure to open up a every concert
with a bang weather they were young or old and overtime they slowly
adapted to their age and catered more to the audience. In the opening
of their concert I believe they chose the song Rock n Train for a
specific reason. I believe that the song talked about conquering a new
land of rock and making history. Argentina was never a big place they
went to and I think that they chose the song as a mark that they are
making history in a new area.
AC/DCs greatest performance was in 2011 when they opened up
at River Plate in Argentina. Its one of the biggest venues in the music
industry and not many bands can attract a sellout crowd. The band
starts out the concert in a more stereotypical way for a hard rock
rebellious band genre. The lights cut out and there are 3 giant screens
playing the same clip. The band chooses to show a video to help pump
up the crowd, as their age doesnt allow them anymore. The video

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clips are vitally important to help accomplish a task that they cant do
well anymore. Its a loud train horn and what appears to be the band
members throwing hot coal in the trains engines to move faster. The
train appears to be heading toward the stadium and they seem to be in
a hurry. The train stats moving faster and faster till two non-clothed
women slam the trains brakes. The train comes to a crashing halt and
smashes into the monitor. The monitor splits into two parts and a
giant explosion blows a giant cloud of smoke into the sky. The band
members then all come running out immediately playing their first
song after the explosion and now the crowd is pumped and ready for
the concert. They go nuts when the video ends and hear the first
guitar strum its first notes. AC/DC opened up with the song Rock N
Roll Train that relates to the opening video with all the members on the
train. The video depicts what the song is talking about. The specific
song was a hit off one of their previous albums so they knew their
audience would be ecstatic to hear that as the first song.
Sex, drugs, and rock n roll is the motto that AC/DC lives
by and represents. Sex, drugs and rock n roll was huge in late 60s all
the way to the mid 90s. For generations rock n roll ruled music.
Bands sold out massive arenas for days straights and would play till
their hearts couldnt play anymore. AC/DCs music has since changed
drastically, some for the good and some for the bad. AC/DC originally
represented a more drug audience. Often times the band members

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were high on several different types of hard drugs or under the
influence of liquor. Over the years their music remained some of the
most unique in the world but their bodies aged over the years.
Throughout the formation of AC/DC they went through several line up
changes. The original band members who formed the bad in 1973
were Malcolm and Angus Young who are still with the band today. They
have gone through several changes with their drummer and even colead singer. The main lead singer, Bon Scott, passed away in 1980
from a hard night of partying with alcohol poisoning. Since the band
has had so many new members over their years there appearances
have slightly changed as well. With each new member joining the
band the sex, drugs and rock and roll persona slowly dissipated.
Band members had passed away from drug overdoses and alcohol
poisoning making new members more cautious to keep their
composure especially during tours. Today AC/DC is completely sober
on stage, short clean hair, and seem to be much more in touch with
their music then they were 40 years ago.
AC/DC was famous for their style of music they played and the
way they performed. All successful musicians are excellent performers
and live to please a crowd. AC/DC was able to entertain audiences in
excess of 100,000 people for hours straight; keeping there fans
screaming and on their feet. In the early to late 70s many members
of the band had long hair and would stand on stage, running around

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and blasting their music. They loved their music but they also wanted
to be stereotypical rock stars. Angus Young helped form the band and
still plays in it today. He is the lead guitarist and is famous for
stripping down to his boxers by the end of the concert and doing his
signature dance across stage during solos. He is also the only band
member to still go crazy on stage even after forty years of performing.
Other band members have slowly become more mature on stage.
They all keep their clothes on and walk around playing music. With
older age in the band members I also believe it comes with a more
appreciation of the music. They wrote the music when they were
young adults but as older musicians now they can play their music
sober to live audiences and feel the music not just perform it.
In the opening scene of their concert in Argentina, AC/DC uses a
music video related to the opening song Rock N Roll Train. In todays
world, opening up a concert with a music video is a normal thing but
back in the 70s and 80s it wasnt as common. In fact back then
electronics were not very well known or convenient and most bands
played without auto tune or microphones to correct any vocal flaws.
An opening AC/DC concert would usually consist of them running out of
stage and just start playing. They were young and didnt need much to
get the crowd going. In almost every concert in their early years they
would never have videos or lights. Today as they are older they need
the extra perks of electronics to keep up their bad boy attitudes and

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personas. They need the extra push to help pump the audience up
and get them ready for the band.
I believe that their opening song, Rock N Roll Train was chosen
specifically for that concert. It was one of their biggest concerts
theyve ever performed and needed to show the crowd they still have
what it takes. The video represents one of the band members fueling
the train faster and faster and I think that has a much deeper meaning
then trying to get to the concert faster. I think they are racing against
time to keep up the new generation and the new music. The video
represents them in a much younger fashion trying to still prove to the
world rock and roll is still king of music. In the video, the man driving
the train is Angus Young and the man looking out the window is the
lead singer and also the other man who helped form the band,
Malcolm. They are trying to steer the band in the right direction and I
think they are subtly trying to portray that through their opening video.
The lights and smoke are also used as extra electronics to help provide
that extra push that just may not be there anymore. People are
naturally attracted to different color lights and smoke. The electronics
help pump up the crowd and accomplish exactly what the band used to
be able to do. In the late 70s and 80s stages for AC/DC were setup
differently. It was a simple square stage with the drummer in the back,
bass player on the right hand side of Malcolm, the guitarist (Angus
Young) on the left hand side, and then in the middle in front of the

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stage is the lead singer. They wouldnt move too much from their
spots on stage excluding Angus Young who had a mind of his own
during concerts and lives to perform. Todays AC/DC is slightly
different. Today AC/DC plays on the most extravagant stages with a
giant walkway cutting through half the stadium allowing for any
member of the band to walk through and be located in the middle of
the venue they are performing at.
Sound is a huge part of music today. Music today is recorded in a
private studio and there voices are tuned to perfection. A part of the
reason rock bands such as AC/DC and other world renowned bands
performed live so well was because their records and albums sounded
identical to the live performances. The high pitches played in the
album on stage were sung by the lead singer. AC/DC has kept true
with that and even at old still manage to hit all their vocals like they
did when they were young. What makes AC/DC so special today is that
at Riverplate in Argentina they didnt use any special microphone or
instruments to help their music sound better. AC/DC is very classic and
believed a video and rocking on stage was enough for music. I believe
this separates a lot of newer bands coming up today who use private
recording studios to perfect their voices and never sound identical to
live concerts.
AC/DC is by far one of the most successful bands to ever exist.
They have sold millions of albums, toured the world multiple times,

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sold out mega arenas, and have made hits still being played on the
radio today for the younger upcoming generation. Theyre style of
music and live performance certainly has changed but they are still
able to connect with audience through their music. The opening scene
of the concert was there last tour performed to date and the largest
show they have performed in front of and they showed the world they
are the only rock n roll band that can still rock with the younger
generation and show they true music.

The link for the full concert: https://vimeo.com/60769265

200 word reflection:

I revised this paper because it was too vague and general. My
paper needed to be more specific with a strong thesis. I created a
stronger thesis that helps specify how I will be analyzing this paper. I
analyzed this paper specifically about the opening video clip and the
first few seconds of their opening song. I started by reading through
my entire paper and cutting out all the generalized sentences. Next I
started rewording several sentences to be more specific and cater to
my analysis. This helped narrow my paper down to what I am really
talking about. I also added in the concert link so the reader may view
the opening of the concert after reading the analysis in the paper. This

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helps the reader not only read about it but get a strong visual for what
I am talking about.