AC/DC - Live at River Plate (2009)Blu-Ray Remux



BD Remux | MKV | AVC @ 34.0 Mbps, 23.976 fps | 1920 x 1080 (16:9) | 1 hr 51 min | 26.5 GB
Audio 1: DTS-HD MA 5.1 48 kHz, ~5096 Kbps, 24-bit (core: DTS 5.1 24 bits, 1509kbps, 48kHz)
Audio 2: LPCM 2.0 48 kHz, 2304 Kbps, 24-bit
Genre: Music Video, Concert



It doesn't matter if you love AC/DC or hate them. It doesn't matter if you think Angus Young's bizarre schoolboy costume
makes him a fashion victim or a major style icon. It doesn't matter if
you think Brian Johnson is one of the greatest rock vocalists of all
time or simply Rod Stewart-lite. Whatever your personal opinion about
all of these pressing international issues may be, you might want to
check out AC/DC Live at River Plate if only for one completely
irrelevant, tangential item. Buenos Aires' gargantuan Estadio Monumental
Antonio Vespucio Liberti, otherwise known as the River Plate Stadium,
hosted a three night event over the first two weeks of December, 2009,
that saw AC/DC perform nine sold out concerts to a thronging mass of
humanity. And here's where your opinion for good or ill toward AC/DC
probably won't matter, at least if you're interested in seeing one of
the most incredibly odd and somehow wonderful sights in recent rock
concert history. As documented on this new Live at River Plate Blu-ray,
thousands—probably tens of thousands—fans begin jumping and swaying in
unison as AC/DC takes the stage, and this small city of humanity
continues to do so over the next two-plus hours, giving modern viewers
about the closest imaginable approximation to a 21st century version of
St. Vitus' Dance. Sydenham's chorea, the movement disorder's more
medically accurate name, actually consists of less ordered motion than
what is on display throughout this concert, but the incredible mass
jumping, jerking, head thrashing and other gesturing really must be seen
to be believed (especially when you add in the fact that the vast
majority of these folks are wearing bright red illuminated devil's
horns). But of course that teeming assemblage of humanity is dancing
(let's be charitable) to something, and that's where the real interest
in this new release will lie. And the good news is that for the most
part AC/DC is at the top of their game, despite the onslaught of the
ravages of time which is assaulting Rock Gods of all stripes as they
begin their inevitable march well into the ranks of Senior Citizendom.

AC/DC has been one of the longer-lived hard rock bands of the past few
decades, and its longevity is even more remarkable when one considers
the personal struggles several members have had, at least one member's
death, "internecine warfare" that broke out from time to time, and
probably most importantly, at least in this consumer driven era in which
we all live, the band's long period out in the desert of increasingly
small album sales. The last few years have seen a renaissance in the
band's popularity. After a long hiatus, the band returned with their
first studio album in years, Black Ice, an album which debuted at the
top of the charts and evidently is Columbia's biggest seller since the
advent of the Soundscan era. The Buenos Aires concert was in fact part
of the band's multi-year, continent and country spanning Black Ice Tour,
which only came to a close as relatively recently as June 2010.

The band comes out swinging, and rarely lets up for the next two hours,
delivering a blistering evening's set that includes tunes off of Black
Ice as well as several hits which have become rock anthems through the
years. The Young Brothers, now well into their 50s, show little signs of
slowing down. If Angus is perhaps a little frightening to see in his
schoolboy getup now that he's eligible for AARP (or whatever the
Australian version is), his guitar playing is still incredibly precise
and full of fire and brimstone. I've frankly never been a huge fan of
Brian Johnson, but when one takes into account that the band's lead
vocalist is now well into his 60s, it's easier to cut him some slack,
though listening to two hours of his raspy quasi-singing can grate after
a while, at least to all but his most ardent fans.

The best aspect to this concert is the fact that although the set list
isn't all that long, the concert itself lasts for well over two hours,
which means we get some nicely expanded versions of several songs. While
these proto-jam sessions may not be of Phish caliber (or length), they
show the band eschewing simple recreations of their studio versions and
attempting at least to stretch out with some more exploratory
renditions. Some viewers may tire of the directorial bells and whistles
slathered on this release, which include the typical refusal to show any
shot for longer than a few seconds, as well as a lot of split screen
segments that offer differing perspectives on the players and the
manically twitching and jumping audience.

AC/DC's set list is comprised of:

Rock n Roll Train
Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be
Back in Black
Big Jack
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Shot Down in Flames
Thunderstruck
Black Ice
The Jack
Hells Bells
Shoot to Thrill
War Machine
Dog Eat Dog
You Shook Me All Night Long
T.N.T.
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
Highway to Hell
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

AC/DC: Live at River Plate Blu-ray, Video Quality

Despite being filmed in HD with a battery of Red cameras, a lot of AC/DC
Live at River Plate's AVC encoded 1080p image (in 1.78:1) tends to be
on the soft side, courtesy of an equal battery of very aggressive
lighting schemes that bathe the Youngs and the rest of the band in
garish blues and reds. This glaring ambience suffuses a lot of the stage
shenanigans with light halos and a soft focus ambience, at least at
times. Compounding this issue is the directorial decision to use a lot
(as in a lot) of quick cut editing techniques, as well as manifold split
screens, so that when we do get at least a moment or two of sharp, well
lit imagery, it's typically only on screen for a second or two at most.
While there's nothing here that's going to outright anger videophiles,
there's also an overall sharpness lacking that separates this release
from some of the other excellent live concert Blu-rays which
Sony/Columbia has released. Much of this discrepancy might be attributed
to the filming conditions. After all, it's harder to control quality in
an outdoor venue like River Plate than it is in the confines of a Las
Vegas showroom (as in one of Beyonce's releases). The good news here is
colors are quite robust, if you can get past the blooming and even
posterizing effects that some of the lighting schemes create. And
close-ups do reveal adequate, if not overwhelming, fine detail. Contrast
is strong, if not brilliantly differentiated, though black levels are a
bit inconsistent at times.

AC/DC: Live at River Plate Blu-ray, Audio Quality

While this release sports two lossless tracks and one Dolby, there are
some niggling issues to discuss that keep this from reaching reference
quality audio scores. Two LPCM tracks are provided, a 2.0 and a 5.1,
both 48kHz/24-bit, and while fidelity is strong in both of these, the
5.1 track is simply too diffuse and widely channeled. This sounds to me
like a mixdown issue, where the disc's audio producers probably wanted
as wide a soundstage as possible in order to recreate the mammoth
atmosphere of River Plate. What this actually ends up doing, though, is
burying Johnson's rasp in a sea of audience roars. To be fair, there are
obvious mix choices made here, including the audience being amped up
deliberately in the opening moments of the concert. Once the band
actually starts playing, things are decidedly better, though I kept
wishing everything were simply mixed better. All of this said, there's a
thumpingly robust low end throughout all of these songs, and a crystal
clear quality to the band's contributions, if not to Johnson's scratchy
vocals. I ended up opting for the LPCM 2.0 mix, which is decidedly more
focused and which, to my ears anyway, properly mixes Johnson's lead
vocals so that they're more easily heard. And despite the narrower
soundfield, the 2.0 mix seems to get the listener closer to the band,
which is really what these lossless audio options should be all about.
It's fairly pointless to talk about dynamic range with regard to an
AC/DC live performance. The boys come out (head)banging, and they simply
don't relent for the next two hours. Both of the uncompressed tracks
support this blistering approach with ease.

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