Earthquake Detectors Picked Up AC/DC’s First Australian Tour Show

AC/DC‘s triumphant return to Australia proved to be rather earth-shaking.

The legendary rock band’s first performance on home soil in a decade generated such powerful sound waves that earthquake detection equipment registered the vibrations across Melbourne.

The seismic spectacle unfolded at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where AC/DC launched the Australian leg of their Power Up tour. The Seismology Research Centre in nearby Richmond, situated just over two miles from the venue, detected vibrations in the 2-5 hertz range during the performance. The readings provided scientific confirmation of what many suspected – this was no ordinary concert.

Local residents didn’t need specialised equipment to recognise the extraordinary nature of the event. Social media buzzed with discussions about the strikingly loud music, whilst one resident living more than six miles from the stadium reported hearing the concert clearly from their location.

Adam Pascale, chief scientist at the Seismology Research Centre, explained the fascinating mechanics behind the detection. “We’re picking up the ground motion, we’re not picking up the sound from the air,” he told ABC News. “So you’ve got speakers on the ground pumping out vibrations and that gets transmitted through the ground, but also the crowd jumping up and down is feeding energy into the ground.”

The crowd’s enthusiasm played a crucial role in amplifying the seismic impact. Pascale noted that synchronised movement creates particularly strong signals. “If everyone’s sort of bouncing in unison, it tends to amplify the signal so we can pick it up a little bit better,” he said. “Whereas, if it’s sort of just general crowd motion, like even at the grand final at the MCG, we can still pick that up.”

Interestingly, AC/DC’s earth-moving performance wasn’t the most powerful concert the Centre has recorded. Taylor Swift’s 2024 shows generated the largest signals they’ve registered from any musical event, setting the benchmark for seismically significant performances.

The Melbourne show marked a significant milestone for the band, featuring the first performance of “Jailbreak” since 1991. The track’s inclusion demonstrated AC/DC’s commitment to surprising longtime fans whilst delivering the thunderous energy that has defined their career spanning nearly five decades.

The Power Up tour has proven monumentally successful since launching in Europe last year, where it sold more than two million tickets across 24 shows before achieving sell-out status throughout North America. The tour’s U.S. leg commenced in Minneapolis, Minnesota this April, building momentum for the highly anticipated Australian return.

Melbourne’s earthquake-detecting AC/DC experience perfectly embodied the band’s 1980 hit “You Shook Me All Night Long”, transforming metaphorical lyrics into measurable geological reality. The scientific validation of their sonic power adds another remarkable chapter to AC/DC’s legendary status, proving that after all these years, they remain capable of quite literally moving the earth beneath their audience’s feet.