Another triumph for a true-blue survivor on tour for life
view review here (registration required)
Wednesday May 31st 2006
He might not be in today's hit parade, but George Thorogood is a bona fide rock veteran. He remains the only rock musician to have played all 50 states of America within 50 days, a feat that is almost logistically impossible.
This touring thoroughbred has been on the road since the release of his first album 'Better than the Rest' back in 1974. Thorogood and his cohorts, the Destroyers, clearly have a fervent Irish fan base who lap up every second of his raw and rugged take on bluesy rock 'n' roll.
He looks weathered but remarkably fit and healthy for a man of his years, belting out sweaty blues standards for a full two hours and 10 minutes.
Thorogood's most famous song was made famous by John Lee Hooker, the legendary 'One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer', which is probably the most famous blues song ever written about booze. Add that to the usual 'my baby left me this morning' theme and you've virtually got an entire genre. Obviously, this was on the setlist alongside a slew of celebrated classics.
The last time George brought his six-string to these shores was for an all-seated show in this same venue.
This appearance worked much better, allowing a boisterous crowd to join in with his riff-laden jam and holler while boogying in the aisles. The funniest part of the show was when he said he wanted to play a song for the "more sophisticated rock fan" and proceeded to play another golden oldie, 'Cut Your Hair and Get a Real Job'.
Judging by the reaction, there appeared to be a lot of rebellious teens trapped inside older bodies. Contemporary rock appears to value freshly-cut hype over true-blue survivors.
Whenever the likes of the Kaiser Chiefs aren't able to get people to cross the street to see them live, George Thorogood will probably still be packing them in on his never-ending tour.
EAMON SWEENEY
