Tribute band at Powell River Recreation Complex shook crowd ‘all night long’

The first time I visited the Sunshine Coast I was 13 and in the company of 400 teenaged girls from 10 different countries.

On the final night of the week-long Girl Guide camp, the Rolling Stones played us a private outdoor concert on the beach of Camp Olave in Sechelt. The shirtless lead singer sang the first few bars of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and incited otherwise well-behaved girls to rush the stage, scream and dance.

It was my first rock concert. It was intoxicating.

The musical high lasted until the first week of September when I shared my news with my middle school classmates. I was ruthlessly informed that “there is no way you saw the Stones in Sechelt!”

It was then that the concept of a cover band came to light. My pride was bruised, but in my heart, I knew the music was true.

The older I get the more I prize lineage and legacy, two values that ensure that the best parts of life continue on. I understand the worthiness of paying homage to the greats. And yes, musicians and their music belong alongside prophets, elders, and political change makers.

Rob MacDougall and his fellow AC/DC tribute band members really get it. Rock or Bust’s dedication to mannerisms, costumes and guitar riffs conspire to bring out the rocker in everyone. On May 21, Evergreen Theatre-goers welcomed MacDougall home to Powell River, his birthplace.

It was evident that the crowd at Powell River Recreation Complex included people who knew him early on in the 40 years he has spent developing his guitar talent. Drawn together by Rob and music, Tla’amin and Powell River concert-goers clapped in unison above their heads.

The Saturday night crowd was mostly people who had been teenagers in the 1980s, when the Australian-born AC/DC band first became famous, even in small-town Canada. At one point during the show a man hoisted a woman onto his shoulders and they laughed together as their bodies teetered to the beat. Smiling women (and the occasional man) came up the aisles grabbing hands, trying to persuade their friends to get up and shake it.

Rock or Bust is an apt name for a band that plays their hearts out and channels the frenetic energy of AC/DC. On this night, I came to understand an often-maligned behaviour in a new light. Steel strings and a drum transmit a rhythm that simply compels the head to move. It takes more work to refrain from nodding than to surrender. Head banging feels good.

I was not the only one transported back to their own high school gym in the second set. Lead singer Kim Khal began to sing “She was a...” and high school dance memories instantly came back. Scenes of yell-singing and air banding lead guitar licks under the watchful eyes of stoic chaperone teachers surfaced. And this night, the vinyl classic “You Shook Me All Night Long” made me finally bust out of my own seat to join the rockers at the edge of the Evergreen stage.

It’s hard to believe Rock or Bust has only been playing together for a year. A band formed by members answering yes to the question “Do you like AC/DC?” A band focused on paying tribute to the greats.

Players imprinted by the music of their teens desiring to let the true music rock on, in them and in us.

Lana Cullis is a vocational rehabilitation counselor, educator and accreditation surveyor who recently moved to Powell River.