Flashback: AC/DC Revive ‘If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)’ in 2003
AC/DC rarely play gigs outside of their standard album/tour cycle, but in 2003 they made a brief exception to that rule. It started in March when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Fall of Fame. They celebrated the honor by playing a rare club gig at New York’s Roseland Ballroom, and that summer they opened up a handful of stadium gigs for the Rolling Stones in Germany. They even joined the Stones most nights for a cover of B.B. King‘s “Rock Me Baby.”
From the Archives: AC/DC Shrug Off a Death and Rock On
On July 30th, 2003, the city of Toronto staged the massive Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto concert, but most people called it “SARS Aid” since the show was organized to show the world that the city was open for business after the viral outbreak. The show, featuring the Stones, Justin Timberlake, Rush, AC/DC and the Flaming Lips, stretched for 11 hours and attracted nearly 500,000 fans.
Needless to say, AC/DC absolutely destroyed the place. The highlight may have been “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It),” a Bon Scott-era song the group revived for the 2003 mini-tour. They hadn’t played it since their last tour with Scott in 1979, and they haven’t played it since.