George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers
Ridgefield Playhouse
Ridgefield, Connecticut
March 26, 2009
Tony Pijar
The ultimate party band – The ultimate barroom boogie – what else can be said about these guys that hasn’t already been said!? George and the Destroyers have been at it for around 30 years and there’s no evidence of a let up. They’re still the undisputed kings of raucous blues rock.
In typical fashion, George and the boys walked on to the stage, the man stepped up to the mic, surveyed the crowd and yelled, ‘How sweet it is!’ And off we went with “Rock and Roll Party.” From there, we rocked out to Diddley’s “Who do you Love?”, “Night Time”, Hooker’s “One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer”, and Elmore James’ “The Sky is Crying” where George played some spectacular slide. Of course, George has made his living covering songs from the old blues masters, but he has penned some great songs too including “I Drink Alone”, “Bad to the Bone”, and “Get a Haircut.” The Destroyers are, as always, a very tight unit, which allows for George and newish guitarist Jim Suhler spread out a bit and spar. Suhler has his own band in the off-season, The Monkey Beat, who is awesome in their own right.
“Move it on Over”, “The Fixer”, “You Talk too Much” and another James favorite, “Madison Blues” concluded the show in fine fashion. These guys always put on a predictably great show. I’ve seen them at least ten times and there’s not much in the way of variation, but the bottom line is that I and many others always leave the venue with a smile on our faces and a bounce in our steps – and isn’t that what it’s all about?!
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