George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Civic Theatre, November 2
Old Man Rock.
George Thorogood and The Destroyers are masters of old-man rock. And proud of it.
The raucous crowd who enjoyed the Newcastle show are most certainly fans of it. George is one of them, with his black T-shirt, black jeans, shaggy hair and million-dollar smile. He is the leader of the pack.
The formula may seem simple: take five guys on the road on a tour celebrating decades of making music, and stick to the songs that made you famous. (And make them look good with an excellent light show and make them sound good with top team.)
For the past 45 years, it's been very good to be George Thorogood & The Destroyers. In 2022, their Good To Be Bad Tour: 45 Years Of Rock is celebrating their successful formula. Since 1976, they've sold over 15 million albums, built a catalogue of classic hits, played more than 8000 live shows. The played across Europe in July and August, before heading to New Zealand and Australia.
It works because Thorogood is one helluva guitar player, nursing nasty slide riffs from his trademark Epiphone White Fang guitar, playing a litany of blues classics (some written by him, many written by blues legends) that made him famous - Bad To The Bone, Get A Haircut, I Drink Alone, One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer, Move It On Over and Who Do You Love.
He's also a showman, and albeit some of his shtick feels dated, he's got the smooth moves and crowd appeal of a genuine frontman.
His band is the real deal - with saxman Buddy Leach (with George since 2003) and lead guitarist Jim Suhler (1999) stepping into the spotlight and peeling off smart solos as drummer Jeff Simon (1973) and bassman Bill Blough (1976) pushing a pounding rhythm all night long.
Musically, the show hit a high point with Gear Jammer, an intense blues rocker that could have run for 15 minutes without hesitation.
Thorogood's music was challenging for fans to stay in their seats, as is the custom at this historic venue. All respect for playing this great venue, where the sound was excellent (kudos to his team for that, too, of course). But it was hard to keep a lid on the enthusiasm.
Thorogood has relished this New Zealand and Australian tour) and doesn't hide his love for Australia. He says he'll keep touring until he loses the desire. You never know when someone's going to pull the plug, but if that's the last time we see George, it was well worth it.
