Airbourne Save Rock 'N' Roll

When '80s-inspired rockers The Darkness charged forth from the sweaty pubs of England a few years back, beer-drinkin', hell-raisin' goons smelled that the time of air guitars, tight jeans and leather jackets was once again here. Could you blame us? Thanks to years of pampered gits suckishly emoting and pretending to be "rock," it was the best we had.

Yet The Darkness and their blues-soaked riffs proved to be little more than a flash-in-the-pan mostly due to chemically overindulgence and showboating/ridiculous outfits. They had the staying power of a virgin in an Iranian harem.

Thankfully, we have Airbourne. This band's brand of simplified riffs, no-frills stage show and obvious adoration of fellow Aussie rockers AC/DC and Rose Tattoo — not to mention Thin Lizzy — has given rockers a true saviour to worship in lieu of our Darkness darkness. These guys move past the glitter, and back to the bare-bones delivery of '70s rock, a time when four chords, a lot of Jack Daniels and Marshall amplifiers cranked to 10 (Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel had yet to boost them to 11 at this point) were all that was required to deliver a bona fide anthemic performance.

This is exactly what Airbourne achieved at the sold-out Mod Club. Loud, lewd and like younger Motorhead kin, Airbourne's performance was effective in its simplicity. Performing the lion's share of tracks from their debut Roadrunner Records release Runnin' Wild guitarist/singer Joel O'Keeffe, brother/drummer Ryan, guitarist David Roads and bassist Justin Street savaged the miniscule stage, prancing around as if their inner child had learned to repossess the 20-something body it endured.

Tearing through "Stand Up For Rock 'N' Roll," "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast," "Diamond In The Rough" and the album's title track, Joel's best impersonation of obvious influence/hero Bon Scott was as raspy and booze-soaked as the legendary screamer could have mustered during his finest moment. Flanked by equipment and head-banging cohorts, there was nary an inch of stage left free of action, creating an almost chaotic environment. Yet Joel's cool, friendly confidence prevailed. To be fair, the music wasn't the only blinding element during an hour-plus of crunchy guitars and rock-steady drum beats. Airbourne accented their performance with more lights than an airport runway.

Finishing off the night with two booming encores and endless applause, Airbourne proved that less can be more, especially when solid songs are the foundation. Furthermore, the performance reiterated to the world that while those yearning for something more substantial than whiny crooning may have made a moderate misstep by clinging onto The Darkness, this quartet are poised to bring us back to rock 'n' roll's glory days.