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:
Popejoy Hall.
Date: February 6, 1985.
Venue: Popejoy Hall. University of New Mexico. 203 Cornell Drive. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 87131.
Find it on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/sucZJ3f9Z2q8q6tF9
Venue Exterior:
1966:
Circa 2015:
Venue Interior:
1966:
Opening Act: Unknown.
Poster / Flyer / Handbill: I am still looking for a poster, flyer or handbill for this concert. Please send me a note if you have a lead.
Press & Promotion:
Source: Daily Lobo. Jan. 17, 1985. Pg. 6.
Source: Albuquerque Journal. Jan. 25, 1985. Pg. C3.
Source: Daily Lobo. Jan. 28, 1985. Pg. 8.
Source: Daily Lobo. Jan. 28, 1985. Pg. 9.
Source: Daily Lobo. Feb. 6, 1985. Pg. 7.
Ticket Price: $13.
Ticket Stub: I have yet to see a ticket stub from this concert. If you have a scan or a photo to share, please send me a note.
Attendance: 2,069. This concert was sold out.
Source: Billboard Magazine. Feb. 23, 1985. Pg. 45.
Set List:
- One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.
- Memphis, Tennessee.
- Bad to the Bone.
- Gear Jammer.
- Reelin’ and Rockin’.
Source: Daily Lobo. Feb. 11, 1985. Pg. A7.
Was the Concert Recorded? Unknown.
Concert Photos: I am still looking for any photos from the Destroyers’ February 1985 concert at Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque.
Concert Reaction:
Wayne Cresser of the New Mexico Daily Lobo had this to say about the Destroyers’ concert on February 6, 1985 in Albuquerque:
“When Thorogood wasn’t making some raspy-voiced point about ‘Albuquerque’s beautiful women,’ he was punctuating blues raps with anachronistic ’60s phrases like ‘let it all hang out,’ ‘sock it to me baby,’ and ‘feeling groovy.’ Whether Thorogood plays his ‘party guy’ stage persona with tongue-in-cheek is hard to tell. Certainly, the kind of rapid-fire blues monologue he does comes as much from the barroom boogie tradition, as does the metal tube he slips over one of his fingers when he plays slide guitar.
And if Thorogood’s hell-raiser stuff is a ruse, it doesn’t seem to bother his audience. The Popejoy crowd loved his patter as much as it loved his zigzag walks across the edge of the stage...
Along with the on-stage testimonials to people and places, another integral part of Thorogood’s performance is the musical muscle of saxophonist Hank Carter. Almost as mobile as Thorogood, Carter was particularly effective during Thorogood’s version of ‘Memphis, Tennessee.’ Thrusting his sax forward into the crowd as he blew white-hot riffs, Carter stopped the show… Another standout tune was ‘One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer.’ Carter and Thorogood ripped off progressively grittier sax and guitar lines which, in spirit at least, were reminiscent of Bobby Key and Keith Richard’s dueling on the Stones’ ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’?’
[…]
The highpoint of the evening was a scandalous rendition of Chuck Berry’s ‘Reelin’ and Rockin’,’ which Thorogood dedicated to bass player Bill Blough in honor of his birthday. Rowdy, suggestive and utterly down and dirty, ‘Reelin’ and Rockin’ offered a good summation of Thorogood’s rock ‘n’ roll up to this date. Although he has left the bars behind, Thorogood continues to bring all the heat, smoke and crude-but-vital energy of barroom boogie to the concert stage.“
Source: Daily Lobo. Feb. 11, 1985. Pg. A7.
Other Notes: None.
Fate of the Venue: Albuquerque’s Popejoy Hall continues to function as a venue for concerts. The hall underwent an extensive renovation in 1996 to improve lighting, building acoustics and the in-house sound system.
50 States in 50 Dates 