AC/DC Ignite Melbourne in a Rain-Soaked, Earth-Shaking “If You Want Blood” — November 16, 2025

The anticipation leading into AC/DC’s November 16, 2025 Melbourne show felt like the entire city was holding its breath. Fans had been buzzing nonstop since the first MCG concert two nights earlier, especially after news spread that the crowd’s jumping had been strong enough to register seismic vibrations. By the time the second show rolled around, Melbourne wasn’t just welcoming AC/DC home — it was preparing for something that already felt legendary. And everyone knew the opening song would set the tone for the whole night.

Inside the MCG, the massive stage setup towered over the field like a steel fortress designed for pure rock warfare. Giant screens, overwhelming lighting rigs, and a long central runway hinted at the chaos Angus Young would unleash. Fans talked excitedly about the setlist, each person waiting for the moment the lights would drop and the band would explode onto the stage. “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” had been opening the tour for months, turning what had once been a mid-set favourite into the most explosive start AC/DC had delivered in decades.

When the stadium suddenly went dark, a single roar erupted from eighty thousand voices. A blood-red glow rose behind the amplifiers, silhouettes stepped forward, and suddenly the razor-sharp opening riff of “If You Want Blood” cut through the darkness like a blade. Brian Johnson lunged toward the microphone, Angus sprinted into the spotlight wearing his iconic schoolboy uniform, and the MCG instantly transformed from a sports venue into a volcanic rock arena.

Choosing “If You Want Blood” as the opener carried an emotional weight that everyone in the stadium could feel. For older fans, it was a direct connection back to the late seventies, when the song had first become a fan favourite and a defining statement of the band’s attitude. For younger fans who had only experienced it through old live albums and grainy VHS transfers, hearing it blast across a stadium was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. The entire audience reacted like they had been waiting their whole lives for that first chord.

Angus dominated the stage from the first second. As Johnson delivered the snarling opening lines, Angus charged down the runway in a full-speed duck-walk, the cameras zooming in on his fingers as he tore through the riff. Every movement felt urgent, defiant, and shockingly youthful for a man of seventy. Fans closest to the stage reached out as he passed, their hands creating a moving wave that followed him up and down the catwalk like a gravitational pull he couldn’t escape.

The stadium’s reaction was instant and overwhelming. Tens of thousands of fans jumped in time with the drums, and each shout of the chorus echoed like a thunderclap. People who had promised themselves they’d conserve energy for the rest of the set found themselves screaming every lyric from the very first song. The MCG floor vibrated with the weight of the crowd, as if the entire building was breathing with the rhythm of the music. It was loud, chaotic, and perfect.

@acdc.pwrup Angus 👑 (live Melbourne 16 Nov 2025) #acdc #angusyoung ♬ suono originale – ac/dc

The meaning of “If You Want Blood” only intensified the moment. The song is a promise — a declaration that AC/DC will give everything they have, and the crowd must be ready to receive it. You could see that message reflected in the faces around the stadium. Older fans mouthed every word with a nostalgic reverence, while younger ones shouted the lyrics like a mantra. It created a bond between generations, unified through a song older than many people in attendance.

The mix was thunderous. Brian Johnson’s voice hit with a gritty force that suited the track perfectly. He leaned into the rasp, punching each lyric with a rawness that felt earned through decades of performing. Behind him, the band locked into a tight, muscular groove — Stevie Young delivering Malcolm’s rhythmic precision, Chris Chaney anchoring the low end, and Matt Laug driving the beat with relentless power. Together, they sounded massive, like a machine operating at full voltage from the very first note.

The visuals added another layer of intensity. Red and white strobes flashed in sync with the riff, sweeping across the entire stadium and turning the crowd into a field of flickering silhouettes. The giant screens alternated between close-ups of Angus’s hands, wide shots of the crowd, and flashes of artwork inspired by the song’s original era. For a moment, time felt blurred — the past and present colliding in one giant burst of sound and light.

For fans who had traveled long distances or waited years for the band’s return, this opener felt like a payoff. Many had followed the tour online, watching footage from Europe and anticipating how it would feel live. When the first Melbourne show made global headlines for its sheer intensity, the pressure on night two only grew. The moment “If You Want Blood” hit, every expectation was met and shattered simultaneously. People screamed not just out of excitement, but out of relief — they were finally living the moment they had imagined.

On the field, small human stories were unfolding everywhere. Parents who had grown up with AC/DC shouted the lyrics alongside their teenagers. Groups of lifelong friends clung to one another as the intro hit, their eyes wide with disbelief. In the upper levels, a lone fan held a sign reading “YOU’VE GOT IT,” timing the sign lift perfectly with every chorus. Everywhere you looked, people were living the song in their own way, yet all connected through the same explosive moment.

As the instrumental break arrived, Angus took control completely. He sprinted across the stage, dropped to his knees, slid across the floor, and even laid on his back while the camera captured every frantic movement. The crowd reacted as if each gesture was a new spark being thrown into a powder keg. He played with the fearlessness of a young man and the authority of an icon who knew the entire stadium was in the palm of his hand.

When the song crashed to its ending, the response was seismic. Fans screamed like it was the finale, not the opener. Brian Johnson grinned at the chaos, Angus wiped sweat from his face, and the band wasted no time launching straight into “Back in Black.” The message was clear: AC/DC was not pacing themselves, and the audience would not be allowed to either. The energy unleashed during “If You Want Blood” became the engine that powered the entire night.

Looking around the stadium in the minutes after the opener, you could see the collective disbelief etched on people’s faces. Many stood with hands on their heads, shaking with laughter or adrenaline, unable to process what they had just witnessed. It wasn’t just a strong opening — it was a historic one, the kind that people would describe for years in conversations beginning with, “You should have seen Melbourne 2025…”

By the time the encore ended hours later, the shadow of “If You Want Blood” still hung over the night. Every massive chorus, every explosive solo, every pyrotechnic blast felt like it had been launched by that opening promise. And as people poured out of the MCG and into the cool November night, most were humming that same riff, replaying those opening seconds on their phones, and knowing they had witnessed a once-in-a-generation moment.