Review by Shawn Perry
Photos by Robert Steshetz
Could there be a better fit for the fair than George Thorogood & The Destroyers? There are no hidden messages, no controversies or agendas, nothing really all that mind-numbing to absorb. It’s rock and roll at its most visceral, most hospitable, and best of all, most fun. Just like the fair. For a Friday night, heading into the last weekend of the 2019 Orange County Fair, it was perfect. Breezy, upper 70s, all shorts, tank-tops and flip-flops weather. And a full house — on the fairgrounds and inside the amphitheatre — filled with urgency and possibilities. It couldn’t have been more fertile.
Thorogood fit the fair and opener Walter Trout fit Thorogood. The fact that he’s a local hero and a Huntington Beach resident made even more sense. The guitarist’s soulful, raucous-without-abandon brand of the blues revved up the incoming crowd as they found their seats and tipped their $15 beers. Before he played a note, Trout announced that he had a broken finger but refused to cancel. What a trooper! Once he started ripping away, you’d have never known the difference.
Trout and his band — bassist Johnny Griparic, drummer Michael Leasure, and keyboardist Eric Robert — made the most of their 30-minute slot and tore through gems like Jimmy Dawkins’ “Me, My Guitar And The Blues.” At one point, tour manager Anthony Grisham came up on stage with a guitar and traded licks with Trout.
Before finishing up with a blazing “Red Sun,” Trout talked about his recent sickness, battling cirrhosis of the liver and facing the inevitable. Fortunately, he was able to get a liver transplant and carry on. Apparently, it wasn’t easy. He spoke about having to learn how to walk, speak, and play the guitar all over again. He urged the audience to become organ donors, adding: “Do something beautiful.” It was an inspiring message and segue to what was to come.
A little over a half-hour later, Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” seized the sound system and it was showtime. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s now time for the main event, the undisputed, undefeated heavyweight rock and roll champion of the world – George Thorogood and The Destroyers…” Thorogood followed with a brisk: “How sweet it is,” and it was on with “Rock Party.” The place erupted with excitement.
Make no mistake about it: George Thorogood is the master of ceremonies on the concert stage, his unique growl and grinding guitar intertwined and melded as one dynamic crack as the Destroyers build the foundation. And they all have a criminally good time. Thorogood casually tossed off his sunglasses when he fell into one of his stoic solos. Then, between croaking through the choruses, the Delawarean guitarist ran his wieldy hands up and down the neck on Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?” like a python slithering around a tree.
With a propensity for range, Thorogood and The Destroyers — drummer Jeff Simon (since 1973), bassist Billy Blough (since 1976), guitarist Jim Suhler (since 1999), and saxophonist Buddy Leach (since 2003) — salted the setlist with a zestful mix of 60s garage rock covers that included the Sonics’ “Shot Down” and the Strangeloves’ “Night Time.” Mere appetizers before moving on to a double-shot of “I Drink Alone” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.”
The atmosphere grew euphoric as the cheap taste of alcohol dabbed the air. Everyone within the first 15 rows might as well have been juiced to the gills. Thankfully, being the good Samaritan that he is, Thorogood punctuated the serving with a public service announcement: “Don’t drink and drive.” Then he added: “Sometimes I’m so full of shit, even I don’t believe it.”
The rowdy, no-nonsense “Get A Haircut” (Thorogood’s highest charting single) had everyone feeling nourished and well-groomed. “How does it feel to be 17 years old again?” he smiled. It was a valid question. He strapped on his new signature Epiphone “White Fang” and scratched out the trademark opening riff to “Bad To The Bone.” The spotlights took aim and zeroed in, everyone rose to their feet, and the boisterous mood intensified.
There was a double encore of “Twenty Dollar Gig” and Hank Williams’ “Move It Over,” followed by “Born To Be Bad,” another Top 10 hit. The band took their bows and exited the stage to a fair-level pitch. Actually, Thorogood returned to the stage twice alone for additional bows before being draped in a robe and escorted off the stage like the undisputed, undefeated heavyweight rock and roll champion of the world that he is. How sweet it is!
