This is one of a series of posts expanding on my 50 States in 50 Dates blog by documenting the global touring adventures of George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers and the earlier years of their career.
Quick Links:
Austin Opera House.
Date: March 23, 1981.
Venue: Austin Opera House (aka Austin Opry House). 200 Academy Dr. Austin, TX. 78704. USA.
Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/mLbSFo828CC9Bqke9
Venue Exterior:
1970s:
2022:
Venue Interior:
1970s:
Opening Act: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.
Poster / Flyer / Handbill: I am still looking for any posters, flyers or handbills used to publicize this concert.
Press & Promotion:
Source: Austin American Statesman. March 14, 1981. Pg. 29.
Source: Austin American Statesman. March 18, 1981. Pg. D7.
Source: Austin American Statesman. March 22, 1981. Pg. 47.
Source: Austin American Statesman. March 23, 1981. Pg. C6.
Ticket Price: $8.50.
Ticket Stub: I am still looking for a ticket stub from this performance. Please send me a note if you have a photo or scan to share.
Attendance: After a major renovation in 1979, the Euphoria Tavern had capacity for an audience of 500 per show. The Destroyers’ two shows on March 1, 1981 were sold out.
Source: Oregonian. Jan. 12, 1979. Pg. G1.
Set List:
- Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog (Johnny Cash).
- Cocaine Blues.
- Move It On Over.
- That Same Thing.
- One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.
- Who Do You Love? (First Encore).
- Reelin’ and Rockin’ (First Encore).
- Johnny B. Goode (Second Encore).
Source: Daily Texan. March 25, 1981. Pg. 15.
Was the Concert Recorded? Unknown.
Concert Photos: I am still looking for any photos of the Destroyers’ concert at the Austin Opera House in 1981. Please send me a note if you have any.
Concert Reaction:
Austin American Statesman staff writer Ed Ward did not enjoy the Destroyers’ or their opening act at the Austin Opera House in March 1981:
“Let’s get something straight right off: The music George Thorogood and the Destroyers and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble played Monday night at the Opera House isn’t blues. It’s rock ‘n’ roll. Blues has elements of subtlety and is highly melodic music, as well as being a vehicle for improvisation. Rock ‘n’ roll, on the other hand, can simply be an excuse to churn out a rhythm while the fans go nuts.
And that’s certainly what happened at this show. Stevie Ray hit the stage and exploded with a set that was at least based in blues tradition, but he was sabotaged throughout by his equipment. (I later heard that he blew up no fewer than four amps!) At his best, he’s a legitimate heir to the Hendrix tradition of flash guitar improvisation overlaid with electronic weirdness. At his worst, he’s yet another boogie monster. His vocals are weak and the trio setup he uses can produce a feeling of monotony, especially when things aren’t going too well and the bass and drums have to fill in while he fixes things…
“If I could play like Stevie,” George Thorogood said early in his set, “I wouldn’t have to look so good.” Amen, says I. For Thorogood, hailed by some blues fans as the carrier of the torch, is not half the musician Vaughan is, although his stage antics certainly out flash Stevie Ray’s. If Thorogood is heir to anyone, it’s the boogie-blooze tradition of Canned Heat and the innumerable other ‘blues bands’ that sprung up in Cream’s wake in the late ’60s.
Thorogood’s singing is rudimentary, his guitar playing flashy but empty, and his repertoire hackneyed. His main virtue is his solid rapport with his audience, built through an almost preacher-like rap and careful pacing. The audience loved him. I left around midnight, feeling like I’d been beaten with a boogie stick…”
Source: Austin American Statesman. March 25, 1981. Pg. D11.
In stark comparison to the Austin American Statesman review, staff writer Wayne Terry of the Daily Texan filed a very positive review of the Destroyers’ 1981 concert at the Austin Opera House:
“One band still gets on stage and performs for the sheer joy and fun of a crashing rock ‘n’ roll song: George Thorogood and the Destroyers… He and the Destroyers performed a scorching set for a standing room crowd that simply went berserk. Hundreds of people crowded the front of the stage, twisting and rocking and reeling with the Michigan (sic) legend for two sweaty, crunching hours of fun.
Thorogood makes no artsy, phony intellectual poses, lyrically or musically. The man simply blows the house away with a joy and enthusiasm for rock that is unsurpassed…
Thorogood got right down to the rock, too, and stayed there. Zipping back and forth across the stage, holding the mike out for the audience to yell into, he took command from the first tune. He ripped out some blazing guitar and leaped into the crowd before the song was three minutes old. He left the stage for the welcome arms of the crowd three or four times during the night. The intensity never let up. Thorogood not only plays a bitching rock song, he entertains while he plays. With golden snakeskin shoes and coat, he duckwalked, kicked, leaped and danced his way through his repertoire…
[After the first encore], with the house lights up and the tape playing, a third of the crowd filed out. The remainder of the crowd refused to leave the Opera House, chanting “WE WANT GEORGE!”‘ and crashing folding chairs on the concrete. It was inevitable. The lights went down, and “The World’s Original Five-Man Trio” came back out for Thorogood’s traditional show closer. He dedicated “Johnny B. Goode” to the defunct Armadillo World Headquarters and closed his third Austin appearance with the very heart of rock ‘n’ roll music – an artist, a guitar and a stomping, yowling crowd. Thank God someone still rocks.”
Source: Daily Texan. March 25, 1981. Pg. 15.
Other Notes: The Destroyers made an in-store appearance at the Sound Warehouse South record store during their stopover in Austin. Sound Warehouse South was located at 4301 Manchaca Rd. (Manchaca Road was renamed Menchaca Road in 2019).
Source: Austin American Statesman. March 21, 1981. Pg. 28.
Source: Austin American Statesman. May 4, 1984. Pg. G5.
Above: The interior of Sound Warehouse South in April 1981. Source: Facebook.
Fate of the Venue:
The Austin Opera House closed in December 1991 and was immediately replaced at 200 Academy Drive by a multi-purpose venue called The Terrace.
Source: Austin American Statesman. Dec. 19, 1991. Pg. 6.
Austin City Limits Studio 6A.
Date: September 12, 1981.
Venue: Austin City Limits. Studio 6A. Communications Building B. 2504 Whitis Ave. Austin, TX. 78712. USA.
Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/RRjtvc7CbK5htNvs5
Venue Exterior:
1981: I am still looking for a photo of Communications Building B from the early 1980s. Please send me a note if you can point me in the right direction.
2015:
Venue Interior:
Nov. 2010:
Source: Austin American Statesman / Jay Janner.
Opening Act: Austin City Limits segments for David Olney and the X-Rays and George Thorogood and the Destroyers were both taped on September 12, 1981.
Poster / Flyer / Handbill: I am still looking for any posters, flyers or handbills used to publicize this concert.
Press & Promotion:
Source: Daily Texan. September 11, 1981. Pg. 23.
Ticket Price: Free.
Ticket Stub: I am still looking for a ticket stub from this performance. Please send me a note if you have a photo or scan to share.
Attendance: Studio 6A had capacity for “around 600 people” for Austin City Limits tapings.
Source: Billboard. September 22, 1984. Pg. 56.
Set List:
David Olney and the X-Rays:
- Frankie and Johnny.
- She Bound to Go.
- Steal My Thunder.
- If Love Was Illegal.
- Love and Money.
- Wait Here for the Cops.
- Contender.
George Thorogood and the Destroyers:
- House of Blue Lights.
- I’m Wanted.
- Who Do You Love?
- I’ll Change My Style.
- No Particular Place to Go.
Source: YouTube.
Was the Concert Recorded?  Yes. This performance was filmed for the Austin City Limits TV program. The episode (# 713) was broadcast as the finale of Season 7, on or near April 2, 1982 in most U.S. cities.
Above: Broadcast sponsor Lone Star Beer produced a full color poster to promote Season 7 of Austin City Limits, including the episode with the Delaware Destroyers. Source: WorthPoint.
Concert Photos:
David Olney and the X-Rays:
George Thorogood and the Destroyers:
Concert Reaction:
Kevin Brass of the Review Times Advocate had very positive things to say about the Destroyers’ performance on Austin City Limits:
“I have two distinct memories of George Thorogood. The first is of a television show that aired recently. It was an edition of Austin City Limits, a rather stoic little show that usually features sedate performances by rock and mainstream country stars. The live studio audience usually responds with a polite round of applause before going back to sleep. On this particular evening, however, the entertainment was supplied by Thorogood and his not-so-sedate Destroyers. During the first romping rock number, the audience responded with shocked expressions and stares. By the second number, people in the front rows were on their feet. By the third number, Hank Carter had cranked up his saxophone and everybody was dancing. Thorogood had his act in high gear by then and soon people were dancing everywhere – on the chairs, on the stage, on the speakers… I doubt if Austin City Limits will ever be the same…”
Source: Review Times Advocate. Oct. 7, 1982. Pg. NC22.
Other Notes: George Thorogood remained in Austin in the days following the Austin City Limits taping. He was spotted in the crowd at Austin’s Frank C. Erwin Jr. Special Events Center on September 16, 1981 for the closed-circuit broadcast of the championship boxing match between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Source: Austin American Statesman. Sept. 17, 1981. Pg. E1.
Closed in 2022, the Erwin Center was located at 1701 Red River St.
Above: Promotional poster for the boxing match between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on September 16, 1981.
Fate of the Venue:
Austin City Limits was recorded at Studio 6A until 2010. Program tapings were moved to the Moody Theater beginning with the 2011/12 season. At the time of this writing, Communications Building B is the home of the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication.
Source: Austin American Statesman. June 21, 2009. Pg. A1.
50 States in 50 Dates 