AC/DC Close Out Rock or Bust Tour With Steak House Celebration
It certainly hasn't been easy getting here, but AC/DC are just about finished with their Rock or Bust world tour — and they were spotted celebrating the upcoming final date with a party at a New York City steakhouse on Sept. 12.
The New York Daily News reports that the band and its entourage showed up at the Old Homestead Steakhouse for the celebration, which took place in advance of tonight's performance at Madison Square Garden. Following that show, the itinerary has only two more dates: Sept. 17 in Washington, D.C. and Sept. 20 in Philadelphia.
According to the paper's gossip column sources, pinch-hitting singer Axl Rose sat with AC/DC guitarist and leader Angus Young, and shared stories about "how he used to stop at the restaurant after performing with Guns N’ Roses and before hitting the area’s nightclubs" — noting that the area was "rough and loaded with transvestites" back then.
As AC/DC fans are no doubt aware, this particular tour was fraught with difficulties well before the first date. Co-founder Malcolm Young was forced to bow out of the lineup before the Rock or Bust record was completed, sidelined by a variety of serious health issues; shortly after, drummer Phil Rudd found himself embroiled in an increasingly bizarre legal nightmare that cost him his own spot in the band.
Things didn't get any easier once the tour started — longtime singer Brian Johnson was also sidelined by health issues, leading the band to turn to Rose as a replacement, and bassist Cliff Williams later revealed he'd be retiring once they got off the road.
It's all left AC/DC's future way up in the air, but at the very least, Young can say he forged ahead and honored commitments in spite of a frequently grueling set of circumstances. Rose, meanwhile, has just a few weeks off before he's back on tour with Guns N' Roses: the band's set to travel to South America in the fall, followed by dates in Japan and Australia early next year.
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