Sunday night, the lush Weesner Family Amphitheater in the MN Zoo in Apple Valley was the venue for George Thorogood and the Destroyers. Concert goers arrived early, stayed late and loved the show. Temps were low, humidity was high and the rock ‘n roll gauge was off the charts.
I arrived early at the Weesner Family Amphitheater and there were a few people in the stands, but people filed in quickly and the amphitheater was nearly full when the opener Anthony Gomes took the stage. Gomes is a critically acclaimed electric blues guitarist that has been playing for over 20 years, yet I had not seen him in concert. I immediately found that Gomes can really play the guitar. He had a stand on stage with several other guitars, which I assumed were there in case the one he was playing were to spontaneously combust. The crowd loved him and was on their feet at the end, cheering and clapping. Gomes was a great warm up for Thorogood and the Destroyers
There was a short intermission and at 8:30 George Thorogood led the Destroyers on to the stage in his signature black t shirt, black pants, white shoes, black sun glasses and rattlesnake pattern headband. A few minutes into the first song, Thorogood threw the sunglasses offstage and the Destroyers got down to business. Thorogood was animated and pranced and posed onstage and the audience loved it. He and the Destroyers were tight, fun and a pleasure to watch. I love horns and they featured the sax on several songs. Thorogood spoke to the crowd between songs, saying how much he loved Minnesota and the audience, who wore a lot of Thorogood and the Destroyers t shirts.
Doing a quick scan of the crowd I noticed a lot of glasses of beer, which may have added to the rowdy, rocky atmosphere. Thorogood played to the crowd and played all his greatest hits. People were on their feet, dancing, clapping and shouting. At one point a gorilla clad band member entered the stage shaking maracas and dancing on the stage, to the amusement of the audience.
Overall, it was a great concert in a great venue. George Thorogood and the Destroyers were as good as ever and I am looking forward to seeing them again.
