George Thorogood and his Destroyers keep going and going … and going.
If, by chance, longevity equates to greatness on any level, it hardly seems to matter to his legion of followers that it’s the same thing over and over … and over.
Judging by the response of the 2,200 aging rockers in attendance at the fabulous Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium last night they wouldn’t have it any other way.
From the opening intro tape of Barry McGuire’s Eve of Destruction into stomping blues rockers Born To Be Bad and Bo Diddley’s Who Do You Love?, there was very little to differentiate the Delaware-bred, Boston-based belter’s last stop at this very same venue just under two years ago.
On what has been dubbed the 40 Years And Strong tour, the 64-year-old still has that shuffling, duck-walking swagger that has made Thorogood semi-legendary, and the Destroyers have been doing this so long it’s almost second nature.
Let’s face it … what else could any of these guys possibly do?
Just as sure as the bar lineups were long and constant, the assembled throng drank down the music with the same vigour as their favourite over-priced beverage.
Photo Credit (Karl Tremblay/QMI Agency)
One bourbon, one scotch, one beer?
Hell, that was just getting started!
The stomping blues-rock drinking anthems continued through The Strangelove’s Night Time, I Drink Alone (just not tonight) and the aforementioned John Lee Hooker cover of One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.
Hooker is classic blues royalty, but admittedly (and with all due respect) it was Thorogood that made this one a hit.
If you’ve heard it enough times on classic rock radio to make you gag, simply consider it blues edumacation for the masses.
The bartenders kept pouring and the band poured it on with another cover; Johnny Cash’s Cocaine Blues followed by The Champ’s Tequila. Man, George can get away with just about anything, but he never, ever, mails it in.
Get a Haircut And Get A Real Job, Hank William’s Move It On Over and, of course, Bad to The Bone gave fans what they needed to tide them over until next time.
And … there will be a next time.
Opening the show was Kansas City power blues quartet Trampled Underfoot.