Live Review: George Thorogood and the Destroyers in West Hollywood, CA

- Live Daily -

December 05, 2003 01:39 PM - George Thorogood took the House of Blues stage Thursday night (12/4) with his arms raised like a prizefighter ready for battle.

By the evening's second song--the blast "Long Gone," off 1985's "Maverick"--Thorogood and his solid band were already a sweaty rock-and-roll mess. They tore through nearly two hours of scorching blues at the L.A. venue before a crowd of middle-aged, classic-rock-loving, denim-jacket-wearing, beer-swilling freaks. Though sparse, the audience was wild and adoring throughout the show.

Dressed in all black (indeed, his entire band wore all black), Thorogood dropped a rumbling rendition of "Who Do You Love?" just three songs in. The flamboyant frontman pulled out all the rock-and-roll clichés and somehow made them work masterfully. Thorogood and his bassist, Bill Blough, and lead guitarist, Jim Suhler, even did the synchronized ZZ-Top-style guitar-pointing shuffle to several of the night's songs.

Thorogood and the Destroyers played nearly all of their FM-radio staples, throwing in a few tracks off their most recent LP, "Ride 'till You Die," including "The Fixer" and "American Made." But it was the old, sludgy, Chicago-blues throw-downs that earned the night's most emphatic responses.

"One Bourbon, One Scotch, and One Beer," albeit abbreviated on this occasion, remained a pulsating epic fraught with everyday peril and a down home boogie beat. Thorogood slid his way across his Gibson's neck with flawless precision. Later, the fast-talking, macho singer asked "the divorced women--and the women that are thinking about getting a divorce--to get up and shake it" just prior to delivering the pulsating "In the Nighttime."

He may be starting to look old, but he still feels young. Onstage, Thorogood embodied all the fervor and charm of his early days, spinning around in his well-timed hyper twists, cueing his band with his hips and guitar--even wagging his tongue in a not-so-friendly way. The middleweight effeminately pranced from side to side like a Sunday morning minister on a blues mission from the Almighty.

By the time "Get a Haircut and Get a Real Job" emerged from his ballsy grab bag, Thorogood looked like an aged Vinnie Barbarino--still cooler than a snowball. The East Coast classic-rock machine did something only the most endearing performers can achieve: he seemed rock-star untouchable while remaining thoroughly likable, smiling all night long. After "Who Do You Love," the singer said, "I hope it's me." A few times during the show he would ask the crowd, "Are you with me?" as his band revved into the next tune. Clearly, satisfying the fans was of paramount concern for Thorogood.

Of course, his biggest hit came toward the end of the show. On "Bad to the Bone," saxophone player Buddy Leach, looking like a hip Papa Smurf, blew some insane reed, and Thorogood and his band relished in the audience's adoration.

For his encore, Thorogood wore a black (what else?) T-shirt with the words "Free Tommy Chong" emblazoned across his chest. A voracious "You Talk Too Much" closed the set as Thorogood feigned exhaustion during the song's closing bars. After the singer "collapsed" to the floor, his band helped him back to his feet, where he once again raised his fists in victory--a rock and roll champion from start to finish.