Bad To The Bone

Way back at the start of 2020, I booked a couple of tickets to see George Thorogood and the Destroyers at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on 27th July of that year. I think I had it vaguely in mind that it would be part of my 60th birthday celebrations. One global pandemic later and we finally got to attend the concert last night.
Normally when we go to Manchester, we park at the Eccles Park & Ride and catch the tram into the city centre. Last night we discovered this wasn’t an option for the next three months as the line was closed for maintenance. Luckily, we had plenty of time in hand and sat nav guided us to a car park near the hall.
I’d seen him before, about fifteen years ago, and was looking forward to a good night of “boogie-woogie blues”. Sadly, however, the intervening years have not been kind to Mr Thorogood. Though the band were excellent - and very tight - he spent most of the gig gurning at the audience in between churning out a few riffs. In fact, for one number, his guitar part was played by his tech at the side of the stage. It felt more like he was just going through the motions and fulfilling a contractual obligation, than being committed to entertaining the crowd. There was something wrong with the sound as well. Too much reverb on the vocals and everything else just sounded a little muffled. Whether that was a mixing issue or down to the hall, I’m not sure, but it did detract from our enjoyment.
Still, it was a night out and another long delayed event finally boxed off. Only a couple left now and we’ll finally have caught up with all the concerts and shows we should have seen in 2020!