A crisp winter night in the UK's second city Birmingham looks set to heat up fast as Aussie-rocking, AC/DC weaned four-piece Airbourne roll into town and explode onto the O2 Academy.
Airbourne, led by frontman Joel O'Keefe, arrive on stage to be greeted by a sea of clenched fists before shaking the foundations straight from the off. 'No Guts No Glory' album track, 'Raise The Flag' erupts onto the raging crowd and sets the bar for what is a thunderous display of energy throughout the entire show. The onslaught steamrollers straight into 'Hellfire' and, as anyone who has seen Airbourne before will tell you, the stage acrobatics are unleashed as a wild as ever O'Keefe leaps and bounds from stage monitor to amp stack to drum riser.
Its a party atmosphere. It may be sub-zero outside but things are heating up good 'n' proper inside the O2 Academy. Beer flies through the air, fists and horns are raised and high-fives are slapped at the end of each song. The crowd scream out for another hard-rock assault.
Playing to a backdrop of the new album cover, as well as eight, yes EIGHT, 6ft stacks of amplification, Airbourne belt through a set that delivers songs from both their debut album 'Running Wild' and latest offering 'No Guts No Glory'. As damning a thought as it is, with Angus and fellow AC/DC legends now all in their 50s and 60s, Airbourne are giving a sterling audition to succeed to the throne when, god-forbid, that sad day comes.
A double-barrel blast of new and old album tracks follow, 'Chewin The Fat' and 'Diamond In The Rough' stir up the crowd's beer-fuelled frenzy more as Airbourne storm through 'Blonde, Bad and Beautiful', 'Girls In Black' and 'Bottom Of The Well'. Embracing the tradition of their influential rock brothers AC/DC, mid-way through the set Joel O'Keefe sits aloft the shoulders of a certain someone (its not Brian Johnson) to play out a superb widdly-widdly guitar solo, Angus Young style, whilst paraded high amongst the crowd.
The second-half of the set comes very similar to the first. There is no slowing of the pace, Airbourne have their foot firmly on the gas as they charge through each belting riff, only stopping for the exchange of a few quick words/loud screams with the crowd. O'Keefe even offers us all a can of beer. Cracked open by a head-butt of course!
Opening a bottle of wine, not with his head this time, Joel O'Keefe screams the introduction of 'Cheap Wine & Cheaper Women' before 'Born To Kill' and 'No Way But The Hard Way' powers the show towards it's close. Saying that though, from the first song of the night each performance gets a rock'n'roll finale of the grandest scale! The anthemic 'Too Much Too Young Too Fast' raises the roof before the band exit and we all get a much-needed few minutes of breathing time.
Returning to the stage for two more tracks, the showmanship and energy of Airbourne is relentless. OK, so a lot of people may argue Airbourne are simply a parody of AC/DC, but seeing these guys live proves that their flair and sheer raw power carries them as a hard-rocking band in their own right. 'Running Wild' is delivered at a blistering pace before the last song of the evening, 'Stand Up For Rock 'N' Roll,' in similar fashion to AC/DC's 'For Those About To Rock We Salute You', signs-off one hell of a solid rock show.
Its only a matter of time before the cannons arrive.
Stereoboard Gig Rating: 8/10
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Its a party atmosphere. It may be sub-zero outside but things are heating up good 'n' proper inside the O2 Academy. Beer flies through the air, fists and horns are raised and high-fives are slapped at the end of each song. The crowd scream out for another hard-rock assault. 
