Saturday, November 26, 2011
What do I say about George? After all we're practically family! He is
one of the all time classic artists. He's part blues, part boogie and
all Rock and roll! I mean 'Bad to the Bone' is one of the best rock
songs of all time. Not to mention 'One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer!'
For me, these songs are not even his best. This may be because these songs
are played out, as in, they are the only songs radio stations will play
by George. He has so many amazing songs. For instance, 'Get a Haircut
and Get a Real Job,' or 'Gearjammer' have incredible story telling lyrics and some slide guitar that will make you want to slap your knee and grab some moonshine!
Ok enough gushing
from me, I am quite obviously a huge fan. I'm sure you want to know how
the show went. As I've told you before I love classic rock. This puts
me in the odd position of constantly seeing artists that are past their
prime. But I can honestly say this is not the case with George. At 61
years old he is still fantastic. His voice is still great (which is
usually the first thing to go), he still plays the guitar like a champ
and his showmanship hasn't missed a beat. He welcomed us all to the
Saturday night jamboree hootinany and started the show with those ever familiar licks of 'Who do you love?' George is
what you would imagine, a dirty old man rock and roll legend. I'm sure if he knew that I called him a dirty old man he would take it as a compliment. He told
dirty jokes and laughed at himself with that smile filled with huge
teeth. I had an incredible time. George even granted my one request:
to play Johnny Cash's Cocaine Blues. His cover of this song is faster
than Johnny's. He changes the words slightly, but it is one of those covers that is a tribute more than a copy. It has become one of George's own songs and I'm so grateful every time he plays it. It's like having George and Johnny together for just a few minutes.
I had never been to the Magic City Casino
before. It is smaller and cozier than the Hardrock. We grabbed a preshow beer and enjoyed people watching before the show. The concert area is outside. The stage is placed directly on the dog track
and the audience sits in the bleachers. That is, unless you are lucky enough to
sit in the VIP seats on the track directly in front of the stage. We
were not....until we snuck in to the VIP area for the last three songs.
Never feel obligated to stick to your ticket! There is always wiggle
room if you just go for it! At 27 I was the oldest person in our group
to attend the show. But we were the youngest people there. All four of
us were standing and screaming every word to every song. At one point a 60 something year old woman sitting in front of us leaned over to me and asked how we know this music? My answer was simple, who doesn't love George? She kept peeking at us the whole show smiling at our screaming and cheering. We were like a bunch of 12 year old girls at a Justin Bieber concert. It doesn't matter what generation music originates, when it's good, it's good.
George will not be around forever. Please see him if you have a chance. You will be amazed at the amount of songs you know by him! See pictures below!!!
I have created my own youtube channel to house my videos. For videos from this show and future shows, please check out my youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/AJourneyThroughMusic. There are six videos from this show! Enjoy!
