Not long after completing the North American leg of Guns N’ Roses’ Not in This Lifetime tour, Axl Rose was onstage again this past Saturday night. This time however, he was rocking out with AC/DC in Greensboro, North Carolina for the first of their 10 rescheduled Rock or Bust U.S shows.

Rose is filling in for lead singer Brian Johnson, who was forced to leave mid-tour due to hearing issues. This past March the band abruptly postponed 20 gigs in both North America and Europe after doctors told Johnson to quit performing live or face “total hearing loss.”

Johnson recounted this as “[one of] the darkest days of my professional life” in a Rolling Stone interview. Even before the diagnosis, Johnson had been able to tell something was wrong.

Johnson went on to say, “I had for a time been aware that my partial hearing loss was beginning to interfere with my performance onstage … I could not in good conscience allow [this]. Our fans deserve my performance to be at the highest level.”

With a heavy heart Johnson relinquished his lead to Rose, with varying opinions from fans. Known for stage rants, stopping the band mid-song on stage, and bursts of outrage towards security working his shows, many were nervous his behavior with Guns N’ Roses might leak into his AC/DC shows. 

Luckily for fans, Rose proved himself on Saturday as he belted out each song, sounding very similar to the beloved Brian Johnson. Although no one can replace Johnson on favorites like “Back in Black” and “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You),” Rose made it clear to the audience that he was here to get it right, and to honor a band that has no doubt inspired him.

The band’s guitarist, and perhaps most exuberant rocker, Angus Young, was not to be upstaged by this new addition to the group. At age 61 he still rocks the classic AC/DC schoolboy uniform, and a hat with a big red “A” stitched on it. Dancing around the whole stage, singing his heart out along with the rest of the band, and pulling off a 30-minute guitar solo, proved that Young has still got it.

When asked about his attire in a Rolling Stone interview this August Young said: “It can look a bit strange – ‘who’s this old guy in a school suit?’ … Somebody once commented that from a distance, [I] look quite youthful.”

Whoever this somebody was wasn’t wrong. Both Young and Rose rocked the stage like a pair of 20-year-olds, with the rest of the band following in kind. Fans who turned up for this rescheduled concert were certainly not disappointed.

Much of the set list for the show mirrored their European spree, but the band did unleash a live performance of “Live Wire” for the first time since October 1982. The crowd went wild for this, with 20-year-olds and 70-year-olds screaming out the words in unison.

Both Rose and AC/DC have made it a habit to brush off fan favorites from their band’s catalogs, including tracks like “Riff Raff,” “Rock n’ Roll Damnation,” “Dog Eat Dog,” and “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It).” While some fans may find this frustrating, it is what keeps their set list fresh for each show.

Perhaps their last tour ever, AC/DC’s choice to allow Rose to fill in for Johnson ended up being a great match. The sound, energy, and badass nature of the band were all fantastically represented this Saturday as the band played a two and a half hour show to a full arena.