Thunderstruck

We're here at the Acorn in Penzance for some good old fashioned rock n' roll. No real need to tell you that a band named Thunderstruck are an AC/DC cover band. We know what to expect, it's just a question of how convincing they are!

They take the stage and launch into a comparatively recent track Rock N Roll Train. First impressions, they look right, drummer, bassist and 'Brian' on the more mature end of the age scale, rhythm guitarist a bit younger, and then 'Angus', about half the age of most of them, and he is good!

It takes them a couple of songs to get properly into the swing of things and the sound sorted, but wow, these guys are impressive! As anyone who's been to see AC/DC will tell you, it's all about Brian and Angus, a few numbers in, by the time we get to Dirty Deeds we can half believe we're watching the real thing. It's about the small details with a tribute act. Brian has all of the mannerisms and cute moves, and Angus, as well as the schoolboy uniform he has the duck walk down to a tee.

There are to many highlights in the set to name them all, but Hells Bells, Back in Black and Highway to Hell are unsurprisingly some of the most lapped up by the crowd, but the highlight for me is Whole Lotta Rosie. We all chant "Angus" during the required parts of the intro and the young Angus does everything an Angus should.

Brian's vocals really are superb, he has the gruff throaty vocals of the real Mr Johnson and is pretty good at the cheeky banter too. Angus playing is sensational and makes the whole experience of this show really special. The main set finishes with a fantastic You Shook Me All Night Long and off they go. Angus returns though, on his own and gives us a magnificent display of solo brilliance, complete with cupping his ear to the crowd every now and then to lap up the cheers, this guy must have watched hundreds of hours of AC/DC videos, and it sure has paid off!

The rest of the band come back on and finish with Rock N Roll Ain't Noise Pollution. They've played all the hits, given us a truly believable experience, and a whole lot of fun all round.

To get the best out of a gig we like a beer or two, and they always seem to have a good choice of ales on at this place, and with acts such as Martyn Joseph, and the superb ex Inspiral Carpet Tom Hingley all coming up soon, we'll be coming back to this superb little venue sharpish.