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On a recent Wednesday afternoon, a remarkable assembly of three hundred seventy-four bagpipers came together in Melbourne's Federation Square to perform AC/DC's iconic hit "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock'n'Roll)", setting a new world record close to the famous location where the original lineup memorably performed the tune on a moving truck fifty years ago.

This track is the only big single that AC/DC no longer plays live, honoring Scott's memory after his passing in 1980. Yet the omission is barely felt when the concert setlist are overflowing with fan favorites: an electric excitement rippled through the 80,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as AC/DC kicked off with "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" and straight away launched into "Back in Black". What other band would have the confidence to play such a monumental anthem so early in the show? But AC/DC can, offering the crowd to what essentially is a two-hour greatest hits celebration.

The lead singer calls Melbourne AC/DC's 'ancestral homeland'.

Let's address the obvious questions: indeed, Brian Johnson is seventy-eight years of age and, no, his vocal range can't reach the same high notes or sustain as it once did as in the eighties. He may not screech with the same intensity on tracks like "High Voltage" or "Highway to Hell", but he certainly tries his best with a smile on his face. Johnson was compelled to leave AC/DC's global tour in 2016 due to severe hearing loss (a substitute vocalist filled in), but a remedy was discovered and it's clear he's overjoyed to be back, laughing like a gremlin between songs. (AC/DC doesn't engage in chit-chat, and no one minds.)

Similarly, Angus Young – still sporting his trademark schoolboy shorts at seventy – is visibly less rapid on certain early tracks, such as the high-energy opening to "Thunderstruck". But it is still "Thunderstruck", and does it matter when a entire venue is chanting so powerfully, that joyfully, as a single entity?

With his striking white mane and skinny legs poking out from his outfit, Young simultaneously looks like an ancient wizard and oddly childlike; when he trots back to the group at the conclusion of a number, he resembles a confused child searching for his guardians – right up until he begins a wild guitar riff, his digits flying almost too fast to see. He can still perform his signature walk the length of a massive platform, with intense eyes and juddering around as if he's been electrocuted.

'Young commands the stage while the others recede.'

He gradually loses garments throughout the set, going so far as to using his tie as a bow to play his instrument. By the finale, when his shirt is largely open, he's the main attraction of the whole show.

On "Let There Be Rock", Young delivers a lengthy, indulgent and hugely entertaining guitar solo that almost feels like a challenge to those who doubted AC/DC weren't still up to it. The other members recede as Young parades, pausing only to revel in the cheers before throwing himself on the ground and writhing like a someone enchanted. "Where did that come from?" Johnson queries later; it's a mystery?

The frontman and guitarist are the ringleaders, but they receive tight support from rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, who joined permanently in 2014 following his relative's dementia diagnosis; along with bassist the bass player and drummer Matt Laug, who performs with the determination of a person aiming to shake the foundations. Your eardrums won't be the same again.

Though the concert series is named for the 17th album "Power Up", they perform just a single track from it. Instead, the audience is treated to the best of the rest: "Shoot to Thrill", "High Voltage", "Highway to Hell", "You Shook Me All Night Long", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "TNT" and "Whole Lotta Rosie". There's even room for a unexpected addition with "Jailbreak", a song they haven't performed since 1991, which is received with massive cheers.

This marks AC/DC's initial performance in the country in a decade, and the city is their opening venue – after all, it is the band's "ancestral homeland", as Johnson states, being "the home of Mr Scott". It's difficult to ignore that this may be the band's last world tour, and perhaps even their final visit to the native land – but what a thrilling spectacle it is for those who secure entry. They rock and we salute them.

• The band will perform at the Melbourne Cricket Ground again on 16 November, then the Sydney venue on November 21 and 25, Adelaide on 30 November, Perth on 4 and 8 December, and Brisbane on December 14 and 18.