'Who Do You Love?': George Thorogood & The Destroyers come to rock Indian Ranch

Since hitting the club and bar circuit during the ‘70s, George Thorogood & The Destroyers have been putting their own spin on electric blues rock. People definitely know Thorogood from his hits “Bad To The Bone,” “I Drink Alone,” his rendition of John Lee Hooker’s “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” and his version of Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?” which are still being played on the radio today.

He and his band are also known for their energetic and engaging live shows along with touring on a consistent basis, which they’ve been doing since live concerts opened back up earlier this summer. Listening to Thorogood play is like reading a blues encyclopedia, each song in his repertoire can educate somebody about the art form he abides by. At 1 p.m. Sept. 19, Thorogood & The Destroyers will be getting amplified at Indian Ranch on 200 Gore Road in Webster.  

A lot can change in more than 45 years of performing and touring, and it’s certainly been the case for Thorogood and his band. Change can be good and he’s recognized that while also acknowledging the community that embraced him and his sound when he and The Destroyers first started out. 

“I think what’s really happened with our band, like a lot of bands, is that we’ve evolved to what is being classified as ‘classic rock,’” he says. “As time has gone on, we’ve just kept playing and playing and playing and we’ve evolved into what we are now. Everyone who starts off playing blues thinks that’s going to be your thing forever, but the more you play, the more things happen with your guitar and your energy. All sorts of stuff changes, so to tell you the truth, when we first hit in ‘77 with our first record we went straight to the rock world and they embraced us more than anything, way more than the blues scene did. We went straight to FM, straight to MTV, straight to classic rock radio and that was the direction we were getting pulled into.” 

“I got no problem being the poor man’s Steve Miller, believe me,” Thorogood comically adds. “Or even better, the middle-class Steve Miller.” 

When it comes to playing live, Thorogood knows that his audience is getting older, but says the energy has always been consistent. He also has high praise for the people that have come to see him and The Destroyers play Indian Ranch in the past.  

 “Let’s face it, most of our crowd are older people now, and they still boogie in their own way but they don’t do it for every song," he says. "They do it at the Indian Ranch though, when we hit that place there’s always some wonderful shocks and surprises. I’m not real big on playing in the daytime, as a matter of fact, I don’t even like being out in the daytime, but one of the exceptions to the rule is that venue. When it comes to the whole live music spectrum, the PAs are better, the stages are better and everything is much more organized.  

“We’re glad that we could hang in there all of these years and it’s perfect for the people because a lot of places we played during the ‘70s and early ‘80s had things that were left to be desired,” Thorogood adds. “There wouldn’t be a bathroom for the ladies, the PA system might not be adequate or the hotels wouldn’t even be that nice. Since then, a few things have changed while putting a little extra spark into our band.” 

Ever since the dawn of the 2000s, blues music has played a major role in popular rock, with acts like The Black Keys, Jack White, Gary Clark Jr. and many others fostering a new generation of blues fans. While Thorogood can be too busy at times with his own music, when something he hasn’t heard before grabs ahold of him he certainly appreciates it. 

“I go through waves of things and if something turns me on, I’ll ask who the artist is and sometimes they’ve been around for 20 years,” he says. “I’m so busy doing what I do that I haven’t really had any chance to pay any attention. In the last year, I discovered Amy Winehouse and I knew nothing about her before. When I started listening to her I was unbelievably knocked out and I hadn’t heard anything like this since I heard Robert Johnson for the first time. It wasn’t something I was looking for, I kind of stumbled upon it. When I first saw Gary Clark Jr. perform, I said to myself, ‘This guy is gonna go all the way,’ and if he wants to stay with the blues then that’s his business.” 

“If he wants to bring it up a notch, he can go as far as Buddy Guy and maybe even farther,” Thorogood adds. “I don’t go looking for things, they find me on occasion and sometimes I’ll go, ‘What’s that? I’ve never heard anything like that before!’ The same goes for Jack White, and I think he’s fantastic. But if it’s something that’s not very good then nothing is going to turn me on to it.”