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Courtesy Patrick McCarthy - New York Upstate 

George Thorogood may prefer to drink alone, but thousands of his fans came to the Fairgrounds Saturday night to drink in his company.

The 8 p.m. show at Suburban Park kicked off with “Rock Party” followed promptly by “Who Do You Love?” The second song was a great showcase of Thorogood’s classic clapback-delayed guitar sound, and the Destroyers sounded identical to their 1978 recording. Thorogood and his posse clearly still have a real reverence for the barebone blues and raucous rock that first established the band.

“I’ll do everything in my power to go to jail tonight,” Thorogood said before launching into a cover of “Shot Down” by the Sonics. “If someone’s got to go to jail for rock’n’roll, it might as well be me!”

30 minutes into the concert, the band played two of their most famous drinking songs, “I Drink Alone” and “House Rent Blues / One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.” The two songs together spanned nearly 20 minutes, and the entire crowd was riveted for Thorogood’s simple yet satisfying boogies, singing along with the choruses to each track.

Next came an instrumental jam followed by “Gear Jammer,” in which Thorogood showed off his slide guitar prowess with a catchy lead riff and an impressive, silky smooth solo that lasted nearly four minutes. Thorogood then paid homage to the inspiration of all his guitar abilities.

“I had my hero, I just never knew how to say his name. It was either Mick Richards or Keith Jagger,” Thorogood joked. “Whoever he was, I owe a lot to that guy. I think we all do.”

As the band launched into “Get a Haircut,” the Rolling Stones influence shone clear – Thorogood looks like an American Stone, picking ripping rock riffs and singing with swagger like an amalgamation of the “Glimmer twins.” His finger-picked style and simple, sometimes scratchy voice define his sound, and his less-is-more guitar tone and approach to soloing all seem to have been learned at the school of Jagger-Richards. Onstage, Thorogood almost looked like a kid again, doing his best impression of his rock heroes.

“How does it feel to be 17 years old again?” Thorogood asked, getting a big laugh from the crowd in response.

Capitalizing on the nostalgia, Thorogood played his big, bad hit, “Bad to the Bone,” complete with a local reference: “I’ll make an old woman blush, and I’ll make a Syracuse girl squeal.”

The band followed this up with a fun cover of the Champs’ “Tequila,” and finally, “Move it On Over. The Destroyers then left the stage, but returned a minute later to close out the show with “Born To Be Bad.”

In their set lasting more than 90 minutes, George Thorogood and the Destroyers performed all the hard rocking hits that made them famous and skipped the fluff and filler.

George Thorogood setlist:

Rock Party

Shot Down (The Sonics cover)

Night Time

I Drink Alone

House Rent Blues / One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

Instrumental Jam

Gear Jammer

Get a Haircut

Bad to the Bone

Tequila (The Champs cover)

Move It On Over

Born To Be Bad

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Congratulations to the Boogie People Fan of the Month for September 2023, Matt F! Learn more about Matt below!

 

Where are you from?: Maine

How many years have you been a fan?: 40 Years

What is your favorite George Thorogood song: All of them 

How many times have you seen George Thorogood live? What was your favorite show? I've seen him twice. Both in Portland, Maine. They were both excellent shows.

What’s one thing that sets you apart from other George Thorogood fans?: Nothing makes me any different from any other fan. I'm not special.

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