50 Years Ago: AC/DC and Journey Both Play Their First Concerts
Story by Ultimate Classic Rock • 1d
Richard McCaffrey / Michael Putland, Getty Images© Ultimate Classic Rock
No one can predict the future, but this New Year’s Eve probably won’t measure up to Dec. 31, 1973, when future rock titans
Journey and
AC/DC both played their very first concerts on the same night.
The Journey lineup featured at this San Francisco show was very different from the pop-friendly version of the band that ruled arena rock in the ’80s. Keyboardist
Jonathan Cain (who joined in 1980) and singer
Steve Perry (1977) were nowhere to be found. Instead, attendees witnessed a progressive rock-leaning semi-supergroup led by former
Santana members
Neal Schon and
Gregg Rolie. The lineup also featured Ross Valory and George Tickner from Frumious Bandersnatch, as well as drummer Prairie Prince.
Rolie sang lead vocals, but the primary focus was on the group’s instrumental prowess, which they displayed during a
nine-song set at their hometown’s Winterland Arena. Highlights included a cover of the
Beatles‘ “It’s All Too Much” and several tracks (“Mystery Mountain,” “Topaz”) that would wind up on their 1975 self-titled debut album.
What Was AC/DC’s First Concert Like?
Meanwhile, 7,400 miles away and somewhere around 19 hours ahead on the clock — so if you had a Concorde jet, you
could have attended both shows — AC/DC were launching their live career with a marathon performance at their hometown Sydney, Australia’s popular Chequers nightclub. Much like Journey’s Schon, guitarist brothers
Malcolm and
Angus Young hadn’t found the vocalist who would help them become superstars yet —
Bon Scott didn’t join until September of 1974.
READ MORE: AC/DC Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide
Instead a lineup featuring the Young brothers, singer Dave Evans, bassist Larry Van Kriedt and drummer Colin Burgess played nearly 30 songs during
two covers-heavy sets. They also performed Beatles music — “Get Back” and “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” as well as songs from
Little Richard,
Elvis Presley and the
Rolling Stones. According to
one account of the evening, Angus Young engaged his brother in a guitar duel and also played his own 30-minute solo.