The legendary rock band AC/DC didn't just metaphorically rock Melbourne this week – they literally made the ground shake. The band's opening concert for their POWER UP tour at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday was so powerful that it generated small, detectable tremors across the city, an event confirmed by seismologists.
The Science Behind the Shake
Adam Pascali, the chief scientist at the Seismology Research Centre, confirmed the extraordinary phenomenon. Appearing on The Fox's Fifi, Fev & Nick show on Thursday, he revealed that his equipment recorded low-frequency tremors throughout the band's 90-minute set. "I jumped on last night, and sure enough, it was all pumping through," Pascali stated. "It wasn't just pumping sound into the air; it was pumping it into the earth."
He elaborated that the seismic data was so precise that it was possible to identify when the concert started and even which songs caused the most vibration. When questioned if these tremors could be felt by residents, Pascali explained that the frequencies were very low, at a "super bass" level, but were definitively picked up by sensitive seismological equipment in the office.
Neighbourhood Confusion and Rock Revelations
The seismic event caused unexpected confusion for at least one local resident. Radio presenter Fifi Box, a co-host on the show, confessed that she had entirely misattributed the source of the vibrations. "At about 8 o'clock last night, I was in bed trying to get Daisy to sleep and I thought my neighbours were having a party next door," she shared.
Box admitted to fantasising about calling the police on what she assumed were rowdy teenagers, only to discover the true, far more epic, cause the next morning. "I only discovered this morning, it wasn't someone in my street playing AC/DC… it was AC/DC from the MCG," she said, astonished that the music from the stadium, a half-hour walk away, sounded as if it was coming from just next door.
A Setlist Steeped in History and Omission
The concert marked the iconic band's first Australian tour in over a decade, delivering a powerhouse set filled with classics. However, keen-eared fans noted one significant omission. The band's legendary anthem, "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)", was not played.
This was no simple oversight. The rock icons have not performed the track live for more than four decades. AC/DC shelved the song from their live performances following the tragic death of their original frontman, Bon Scott, in 1980. The song, released in 1975, was synonymous with Scott, and his replacement, Brian Johnson, made a vow never to perform it live out of respect for his predecessor.
