Airbourne - By Andy Squire
Those who had never seen Airbourne or heard of them before witnessed a truly energetic and unforgettable show at Sonisphere. The 4-pieced Australian band played the second stage towards the evening and kicked off with Stand up for Rock and Roll, a song that had the crowd gripped from the very first few chords.
Airbourne looked and sounded amazing. They ran up and down the stage, jumped high into the air and despite having a classic rock tune they also headbanged with their long locks flying all over the place. Throughout their entire set they stuck to fast-paced songs, leaving only seconds to catch their breath and they changed their Gibson guitars between songs.
The singer, Joel O’Keefe was a sight for sore eyes as he climbed up the tower and then dangled from it with one arm, and definitely wanted to be as close to the crowd as possible when he jumped into the audience and continued playing his guitar. By then the crowd, and certainly the band had forgotten it was pouring it down.
The lead singer also threw several cans of beer into the crowd after banging then against his head until the booze oozed. It would have seemed more appropriate to place then on the main stage, and giving them a longer slot to play in. The UK was certainly very lucky to have them there, as they didn’t play the other Sonisphere festivals.
Airbourne have been very success with their only album “Running Wild”, released in 2007, and have played at sold out venues. They were nominated for many awards and won Best Debut Album at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards and were voted Best New Band at the Classic Rock and Roll of Honour Awards. They are currently recording their anticipated second album, which will be released early next year, following which they will bless UK fans with a tour.
This band is definitely one to look out for over the next couple of years and not to be missed when they go on tour next year. If you like classic rock and are a fan of ACDC then you’ll love Airbourne too.
Stephanie Smith
