Classic blues rock band George Thorogood & the Destroyers performed at the Luhrs Center on Wednesday as part of their “The Baddest Show on Earth” tour. Thorogood put on a fantastic performance, both in the songs themselves and ad-libbing between tracks.
The show began with a 45-minute opening set from Canyon Lights, a blues rock trio from Boston. The band put out their first album, “Breathe Easy,” late last month, and most songs from in their set were from this album.
It was a strong performance with a wide range of subjects, ranging from slower tracks like “Codeine and Caffeine” to songs about, as lead singer Pat Faherty said, “trying to flirt with women while on the autism spectrum.”
Thorogood & the Destroyers took to the stage around 8:30 p.m., when the band walked out to Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction.” The band opened with “Rock Party,” featuring some extended instrumental sections, before moving onto “Who Do You Love?”, one of many covers in the set.
Two of his major hits were played back-to-back early on, with “I Drink Alone” leading seamlessly into “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.” The latter featured a great saxophone solo. This was followed by a cover of “Cocaine Blues.”
Thorogood kept the audience entertained between tracks, often quipping jokes and discussing his 50 years of touring. He even mixed it up during instrumental parts, and he walked into the crowd while playing at one point.
His biggest hit, “Bad to the Bone,” was a fan favorite late in the main set. Covers of “Gloria” and “Move it on Over” ended the main set, with a short break before an encore of “Born to be Bad” to close out a 105-minute performance.
Thorogood said multiple times on stage he wanted the audience to feel like they were back in their teenage years, and his energetic music got most of the viewers back there in their minds.
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