Airbourne – The Waterfront, Norwich, Friday 27th May 2022
It is difficult to quantify how exceptional, extraordinary and most importantly how electric Airbourne were at the Waterfront tonight. To say the audience were ready to rock with enthusiasm would be an understatement.
I say ready but they had a long, long wait, as support band Gorilla Riot were apparently stuck somewhere on the A11 and never reached the venue! With a capacity crowd crammed in not long after the doors opened at 18.30 frantic fervor was building.
Set List: Ready To Rock/Back In The Game/Girls In Black/Burnout The Nitro/Boneshaker/Bottom Of The Well/Break Outta Hell/It's All For Rock 'N' Roll/Live It Up.
Encore: Raise The Flag/Runnin' Wild.
1 hour and 45 minutes later it was lift off and Airbourne exploded on to the stage with ‘Ready To Rock’ and the place went wild as it erupted into a metal frenzy! If the opening number was a metaphorical question, then the answer was clearly yes.
From the photo pit you could feel the phenomenal power coming from both on and off the stage. Next up was ‘Back In The Game’, both band and audience were immediately locked in a kind of euphoria.
It is hard to pick out highlights and individual moments as there was no letup in the pandemonium that ensued. Perhaps when Joel O’Keeffe went through the crowd and received a slightly high-octane greeting would be one.
This barnstorming set was built with power and will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the Waterfronts greatest ever shows. Airbourne were simply spellbinding as they prepared for their visit to Download. The fans were bruised, battered, soaked in sweat and beer, their faces contorted into irrepressible smiles that beamed almost as bright as the stage lights.
Encores of; ‘Raise The Flag’ and ‘Running Wild’ some how raised the roof to higher levels of intensity. As the show reached its conclusion and the cheers finally subsided, I walked through the venue now filled with exhausted fans who were delirious with joy at what they had just witnessed. I just hope that my photos do some justice and somehow capture the proceedings.
It was quite simply the greatest METAL show on earth. You really had to be there. They were certainly on boneshaking, earth-shattering form!
By Paul Rhino Mace