Tastes Like Rock Magazine

The Gods of Rock have landed at Musikfest 2013, Part 1: Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes / George Thorogood & the Destroyers

By Deborah Meade

Posted 8/8/13 3:13 PM EDT

The concerts were phenomenal I do not know who my favorite was.  On the first night we were privileged to see Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes open for the incomparable George Thorogood and the Destroyers.  Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes started their performance with "Harder than it Looks".  He sang "Walk Away Renee", "Without Love", "Talk to Me Tell Me that It’s Over".  Southside Johnny is an absolute party band!  They have a great time on stage and you can just tell they want to be there!  Johnny’s voice is an incredible sound in and of itself, very reminiscent of the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen.  The band consists of a brass section – saxophone, trumpet and trombone, as well as, keyboards, bass guitar, lead guitar, and drums.  They were the perfect opener for the bluesy, jazzy George Thorogood and the Destroyers.  Fantastic band reminded me of the beach music festivals I have attended on the Crystal Coast of North and South Carolina.  Just an overall party waiting to happen.



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SouthsideJohnnyandtheAsburyJuke
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Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes on the Sands Steel Stacks Stage at MusikFest - Photo: Deborah Meade



Enter George Thorogood and the Destroyers!  Awesome! Just Awesome!  If you missed this concert you definitely missed a fabulous time.  Not to be outdone on the party front George took the stage singing "Rock Party"!  He quipped about the Destroyers parole officer letting them come to Pennsylvania for the concert.  Not only is George a wonderful musician and singer, he is a consummate entertainer.  Telling stories and funny one liners to a laughing and happy audience, he was great.  He continued his musical performance with "Who Do You Love", one of my favorites, but also one of my Chinese Shar-Pei’s favorites.  Mr. Ted E. Bear, who passed away some time ago, loved George Thorogood and the Destroyers.  He would rock out doing his Shar-Pei break-dance or bobbing his head to any songs by George, but he especially loved "Who Do You Love", so George Thorogood and the Destroyers will always have a special place in my heart, because of Ted E. Bear.  George then followed up with "Help Me Darling", "Be with you in the Night Time", and "I Drink Alone".



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GeorgeThoroughgoodandtheDestroyers
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George Thorogood and the Destroyers on the Sands Steel Stacks Stage at MusikFest - Photo: Deborah Meade



Then George and the Destroyers surprised me with a tribute to Johnny Cash with "Cocaine Blues", a Johnny Cash classic.  They went on to sing in awesome style: "Get a Haircut & Get A Real Job".  Guess any of us in the entertainment business can relate to this song.  How many times do we hear it?  Ah well, then "Bad to the Bone", this song also has special meaning for me personally, when I would rock my son to sleep at night he wouldn’t accept traditional lullabies, so I was going through a George Thorogood phase and one thing led to another and I would sing him different songs of a Rock nature, but "Bad to the Bone" was his favorite, and who might you ask is my son, well he is the editor of this very magazine, Michael Meade.  Guess it was inevitable for him to love Rock Music!



George’s next set of songs started with "Move On Over", "$20.00 Gig" (which boy oh boy can I relate to that song!),  "Talk too Much" and "Madison Blues" summed up the night.  Overall, George Thorogood and the Destroyers are incomparable musicians and incredible entertainers!  They played to a crowd of 2,000 people.  MusikFest keep the Rock coming!