Reviewed and photographed by Kevin Gaughan
There’s a few AC/DC tribute bands playing the circuit these days, of which, only a few are really good, that take you to places only AC/DC can, all with their own schoolboy-uniform clad, axe-wielding Anguses. Some have their own Brian Johnson, complete with Jordy accent and amusing banter, but I’ve never seen one like this.
The wind was making some funny noises outside as storm Darragh swept across the Midlands. It was tempting to stay inside and batten down the hatches, but if AC/DShe can make the effort to come all the way from Stafford to Leicester to play a free gig, then it’s the least I can do to pop along and see what they’re all about.
For me, seeing a tribute to one of the most iconic bands that I was brought up on is always disconcerting. I know the songs so well, if something is not quite as it should be – maybe a couple of wrong notes, or the timing slightly off, then that’s it as far as I’m concerned – pint downed then off – back home through storm Darragh in a huff!
A female-fronted AC/DC, could be really good, I thought, probably sounding more like Bon Scott than Brian Johnson.
Unfortunately, the crowd were slow to build, so the band started a good forty-five minutes or so late, which, for me, meant that at the end of the night I’d have to decide between missing some songs to catch the last bus home or sell a kidney to fund a taxi. It’s AC/DC, though, so I’d probably go for the kidney option, well I should have a spare… let’s see…
When AC/DShe did hit the stage, you could see they had all made a bit of an effort to look like their counterparts, with the exception, thankfully, of Ioana, the singer – that would have been the stuff of nightmares if she tried to look like the great man himself, Mr Johnson.
Opening with Rock N Roll Train from the 2008 album, Black Ice, an interesting one to start with, I thought, but it did give us an insight into their sound with their harmonies and allowed Ioana to warm-up her voice before setting us on a path to older AC/DC classics, mostly from the Bon Scott era.
Next up, Hell ain’t a bad place to be, which really got the party started, well, my party, anyway, as the crowd was still a little sparse but it was building gradually.
They blasted through all the old classics, of which, I’m very pleased to report that timing was spot on, notes were all in order and Ioana’s voice, well, that took it to a whole new level, it was AC/DC and more – her voice was smooth, easily dealing with the full range of both Bon Scott and Brian Johnson plus adding her own flourishes and screams every now and then, complimenting the sound, not detracting from it.
During the break, I found out she used to be a Romanian Opera Singer, which explained the ease of which she coped with the full range and screams. Ioana oozed with confidence, too, showing that she was more than capable of fronting this rock band.
Their school boy uniform attired Angus was spot-on, too, he played in the crowd quite a bit, giving me a chance to really let my air-guitar rip! My favourites were all in there including Sin City and Let There Rock, both done to perfection, by the time their set came to an end, I knew they had to do an encore of Whole Lotta Rosie, disappointed, I was not!
AC/DShe were everything I hoped for and more. Ioana’s voice was a great fit for the higher-pitched Bon Scott songs, while adding her own touches to the later Brian Johnson ones in a great way, providing a new angle to the old classics that we all know and love.
A great night out, all for free, so glad I braved storm Darragh to get to Duffy’s. Only thing was, I then had to find the highest bidder for that (pickled) kidney!
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