AC/DC’s return to the Australian stage after a decade-long hiatus made more than just musical waves — it apparently shook the ground beneath Melbourne. Wednesday night’s (November 12) show at the Melbourne Cricket Ground reportedly registered on a local seismograph, which normally tracks earthquake activity.
Adam Pascale, chief scientist at the Seismology Research Centre, explained to Australia’s ABC how the concert’s vibrations were detected. “The sound waves that people were experiencing nearby and feeling something through their bodies, that’s the equivalent to what our seismographs feel. We’re picking up the ground motion, we’re not picking up the sound from the air. So you’ve got speakers on the ground pumping out vibrations and that gets transmitted through the ground, but also the crowd jumping up and down is feeding energy into the ground.”
Pascale added that the crowd’s synchronized energy amplifies the effect. “If everyone’s sort of bouncing in unison, it tends to amplify the signal so we can pick it up a little bit better. Whereas if it’s sort of just general crowd motion, like even at the grand final at the MCG [Melbourne Cricket Ground], we can still pick that up.”
The impact was noticeable even for residents miles away. One fan approximately six miles from the venue told ABC they could hear the concert from their home.
While AC/DC’s seismic signals were impressive, Pascale noted that the largest ever received by the Seismology Research Centre were from Taylor Swift’s three-night stand at the MCG in 2024.
AC/DC’s “Power Up” tour is a massive production. According to Billboard, each show requires 300 tons of steel, 28 tons of PA and speakers, and a 155-person crew, consuming 500kw of power per night.
Australian Dates
The tour continues across Australia this month:
- November 16 – Melbourne, VIC – Melbourne Cricket Ground
- November 21 – Sydney, NSW – Accor Stadium
- November 25 – Sydney, NSW – Accor Stadium
- November 30 – Adelaide, SA – Adelaide Grand Final
- December 4 – Perth, WA – Optus Stadium
- December 14 – Brisbane, QLD – Suncorp Stadium
- December 18 – Brisbane, QLD – Suncorp Stadium
Looking ahead to 2026, AC/DC is taking their “Power Up” tour across South and North America. The band will kick off with four South American dates in São Paulo, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City, before launching a 17-city North American run from July 11 in Charlotte, NC, to September 29 in Philadelphia, PA.
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