MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA—After a decade away from their home country, rock legends AC/DC returned to Australia on November 12th with a show at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) that was so electrifying, the massive crowd’s energy caused a seismic reaction that was detected miles away.
The ground motion was confirmed by the Seismology Research Centre, providing scientific proof that the band literally took their 1980 hit, “You Shook Me All Night Long,” to heart.
📊 The Data: Ground Shaking Registered on the Hertz Scale
Adam Pascale, the chief scientist at the Seismology Research Centre, confirmed that the concert registered in the two to five hertz (Hz) range on a seismograph located at his company’s office in Richmond, over three kilometres (about two miles) from the MCG.
A number of that magnitude on the hertz scale is enough to make the ground shake. Pascale explained the mechanics of how a rock concert becomes a seismic event:
The Cause: “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.”
The Amplification: He emphasized that the crowd’s synchronization is the biggest factor, stating: “If everyone’s sort of bouncing in unison, it tends to amplify the signal so we can pick it up a little bit better.”
The ground motion was equivalent to the low-frequency sound waves people were experiencing nearby, with one resident reportedly hearing the concert from ten kilometres (over six miles) away.
Fun Fact: While AC/DC certainly rattled the earth, Adam Pascale noted that the largest signals ever received by the Seismology Research Centre for a concert at the MCG were generated by Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows in 2024.
🎸 The Notable Event: A Classic Revived
In addition to shaking the ground, AC/DC treated the massive Aussie crowd to an unforgettable moment of nostalgia.
During their show on November 12th in Melbourne, the band dusted off the Bon Scott-era classic track ‘Jailbreak’ for the first time in over three decades.
The last known live performance of the song was in 1991, making its return a deeply significant surprise for the Australian fans.
The classic rock act is set to continue the Australian leg of their “Power Up” tour with the following dates:
November 16th: Melbourne Cricket Ground
Later this month: Two dates at Accord Stadium in Sydney and headlining the BP Adelaide Grand Final
December: A pair of concerts at the Optus Stadium in Perth and two shows at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane