Twenty-five years into a career built around reproducing one of rock’s most physically demanding live shows, Live Wire holds a distinction no other AC/DC tribute act can claim: recognition on AC/DC’s own official website and Facebook page. That is not a self-applied superlative. AC/DC’s own organization has listed them there, making Live Wire the only act on the tribute circuit holding a credential that traces back to the original band. The Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda has hosted this band four times already. Their May 2023 show here sold out. April 9 is the fifth visit.
About the Show
Formed in the New York metro area in January 2000, Live Wire has spent more than 25 years working the argument that they are, in their own words, “the closest thing to AC/DC live.” The band has performed on five continents and accumulated credentials that go well beyond the tribute circuit standard: appearances on CBS Sunday Morning and live on XM Satellite Radio, a YouTube channel that has surpassed a million views, and a documentary feature, “Fannation,” that examined the tribute phenomenon with Live Wire at the center of it. Their attention to detail extends to equipment: Gibson and Gretsch guitars, Marshall amplification, Sonor drums, and Paiste cymbals, chosen to match what the original band used rather than merely approximate it.
The catalog covers AC/DC’s full arc, from the early Australian club-circuit years through the stadium era. Their December 2025 appearance at this same venue ran 20 songs, opening with “Thunderstruck” and closing with “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You),” with “Back in Black,” “Highway to Hell,” “Hells Bells,” and “Whole Lotta Rosie” running through the middle. No support act has been announced for the April 9 date.
Venue & Logistics
The West Herr Riviera Theatre on Webster Street in North Tonawanda opened on December 30, 1926, and has been part of the western New York concert landscape ever since. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 1,100-seat theater is a room where the building itself carries weight — including a restored Mighty Wurlitzer organ from the silent film era that remains among the theater’s most noted features. The Friday, April 9 show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets are $20. The box office is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Buy tickets