Airbourne LIVE at the Manchester Academy: Dad Rock’s Not Dead

Words: Gethin Marshall

Images: Gethin Marshall

A sea of balding heads opens out in front of me. The smell of beer is omnipresent. The lights

have gone down now, and finally the main event takes the stage with a raucous guitar riff. This is not an environment I am used to being in; I must be one of the youngest in the building, and I am only here as a result of being offered a ticket by a friend. Even though the average age in the building has to be at least 40, the energy is surprisingly high, and the band takes no time at all to release the tension with a series of high-energy breakdowns and catchy courses, punctuated by rapid and complex guitar solos. This is real rock ‘n’ roll.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. In Aussie hard rock outfit Airbourne’s case, a lot of their appeal lies within that nine-letter word- drawing obvious inspiration from the likes of AC/DC and Iron Maiden, giants of the 70s and 80s hard rock/heavy metal scene. Really, on first listen, it’s hard to imagine that their first album Runnin’ Wild was released in 2007 and not 1977, and that is certainly no accident. Their live performance certainly reflects this too- even before they appear, a wall of Marshall amps loom at the back of the stage, paired with an enormous array of different lighting fixtures. Even before they’re turned on, just the presence of these beasts of electrical engineering adds to the old-school atmosphere.

Before the main event, the congregation of divorced fathers has been warmed up a little by the opening acts of Avalanche and Asomvel, who have joined Airbourne on the entirety of the Gutsy 2026 tour through Europe. Avalanche, fresh off the release of their debut album Armed To The Teeth, are also continuing the tradition of Australian rock ’n’ roll, with Asomvel hailing more locally from the UK. Both bands attempt to bring up the energy, though again, the age of the audience means that it takes a little time for the crowd to get moving, though as we move towards the front a surprising amount of younger faces begin to appear around us.

Thankfully, now Airbourne has taken the stage themselves the energy has increased. Their show truly is a medley of classic style, full of audience interaction and brash fun, brought to the stage with fresh packaging now that the pioneers of the genre have reached a more advanced age. Even despite my lack of knowledge of the band, I find myself singing along to the choruses, and despite the relatively long set time I do not find myself losing interest at all. I certainly prefer this to seeing a group of washed up 80-year-old rockers stand still and sing poorly for a couple of hours. This show is only halfway through their lengthy tour, too, with dates coming up in London, Norwich and Southampton before they move on to mainland Europe next month, but despite this they show no signs of slowing down. Really, coming into this show, I knew roughly what to expect, but that doesn’t reduce my enjoyment in the slightest; Airbourne know what they do, and they do not apologise for it, and best of all, they do it very well. In the words of the great Joan Jett, I love rock ‘n’ roll.