A Broken Foot Doesn’t Stop Airbourne From Kicking Detroit’s Ass
If you were worried that the broken foot recently suffered by Joel O'Keeffe would keep Airbourne's resident maniac from delivering his usual high-energy show when their tour hits your town, you can relax now.
Based on his throne-free performance at the band's show this past weekend in Detroit, the biggest problem you'll have is dodging showers of beer from the tallboy cans O'Keeffe continually beat open with his skull -- something he does with alarming regularity.
In fact, if it weren't for the big walking boot on his leg – which was often visible only as a blur as O'Keeffe ran from one side of the stage to the other – you'd have no idea he was suffering any ill effects from his stage fall a couple of weeks ago. "Nothing a few Detroit whiskeys can't handle!" he joked after explaining his predicament.
So it was "just" another intense, sweaty Airbourne show, with the band barreling through more than a dozen of their best songs, each one an excellent variant on their "AC/DC riffs meets Def Leppard choruses" formula. Both the title track and current single "Rivalry" from the band's brand-new Breakin' Outta Hell album made strong showings, and O'Keeffe still managed to ride out through the crowd on the shoulders of one of the road crew for an extended solo during "Girls in Black."
The group seemed to be having a blast, forcing bassist Justin Street into an unwilling bass solo during the show-closing "Runnin' Wild," which was also punctuated with extended quotes from AC/DC songs such as "Let There Be Rock" and "What Do You Do for Money Honey." Airbourne are touring North America for two more weeks. By all means, go see them if you have the chance.
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