Caught Live: Airbourne, o2 Academy Liverpool, 2 April 2010

One of my favourite bands of all time is Bad Company; when the three surviving members of the four-piece announced a reunion tour last Autumn I was keen to go and see them. A bunch of scruffy Aussies put paid to that plan however, when they went and scheduled their gig at Liverpool for the same night as Bad Co's show at the MEN Arena, just up the M62 in Manchester. As someone who is constantly complaining at the gig situation in what is, after all, one of the most famous cities in popular music (plus the tickets for Rodgers and co were a wallet-mugging £35-£40!) the odds were stacked in favour of this hard-drinking, hard-partying lot from Down Under.

The o2 Academy was very busy this night, with three bands on this bill plus another show happening in the downstairs part (Airbourne had the larger stage upstairs) but I was delayed getting into the city, so I had missed both support bands by the time I got into the hall. The place looked very full, even the upper balcony was open and I reckon this show sold out on the night. Impressive stuff considering the competing gig happening 35 miles or so away.

Having seen Airbourne twice before, I knew what was coming, but they still stunned this crowd into silence with their relentless pounding anthems. I don't think half of them knew what had hit them! They've changed hardly at all since their last visit, every song is written to the same straightforward formula, with singalong choruses so that even if you do not know it when it starts, you certainly do by it's end! The subject matter is also pretty simple: songs about boozing, women, or boozing AND women! All delivered at an unrelenting pace so the effect is of being pummelled into submission!

About the only change to last time (apart from the substantial number of songs from new album 'No Guts No Glory' played) was when frontman Joel O'Keefe did his 'Angus' walkabout into the crowd. Not satisfied with merely walking through the audience like last time, he showed Antipodean disregard for health and safety by climbing up to the balcony - from whatever he could find for footholds - and walking along the FRONT of the balcony in front of the barrier, where he could have fallen at any point! Of course, once back on the stage he proceeded to do his favourite trick of bashing beer cans open with his head before lobbing the still-spraying can into the crowd.

Two albums in and those AC/DC comparisons have still not gone away; having seen the masters last year though I can testify that this is a completely different experience. It's a raw, primal, brutal gig as opposed to the polished professionalism of the Young brothers. The brothers O'Keefe are totally unreconstructed rockers, along with their partners David Roads and Justin Street on guitar and bass respectively. Both stay in the background, headbanging away as the play, but are integral to the monstrous sound cooked up. It could only come from Australia!

Like their illustrious countrymen, Airbourne prefer to call their sound simply 'rock and roll' - but this was heavier, louder, harder and more brutal than many bands I've seen who DO consider themselves 'metal'. There was even a moshpit forming towards the end of the set!

Before too much longer these guys will be playing arenas; whether they can keep the hard edge to their show when that happens remains to be seen. Until then, it is strongly recommended that this band be seen while they're still up close and personal.