Silverbacks to play its final show at Greendale's Pub ... at least for now

If “Die Hard” has taught us anything, it’s that Christmas is a time for miracles.

If the Silverbacks taught us one thing, it’s the night before the night before Christmas is a time for blistering classic rock and maximum R & B of the highest order.

Silverbacks celebrate the holiday season with its annual gig at 8 p.m. — sharp! — Dec. 23 at Greendale's Pub, 404 West Boylston St., Worcester.

But, something is very different about this year’s holiday outing, because — brace yourself — this is going to be the Silverbacks’ last gig, at least for a while.

Yes, the Silverbacks, aka “The Delta Force of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” are going on one last blitzkrieg mission. But rest assured, the band is going out with a bang that will make “Die Hard” look like greasy kids’ stuff.

“This is not the end. There’s never really an end, as long as everyone is still healthy and alive, which, in these days, alive is a plus,” resident guitar legend Cliff Goodwin said. “As I see it, we’re putting the Silverbacks to bed for a while.”

“Everybody has a life,” singer Mike Lynch added. “We don’t have to leave space in the itinerary right now for the Silverbacks.”

“We want to do other things,” Goodwin continued. “I don’t want anybody to think that we finally decided we hated each other, because that’s not the case.”

That old-time rock 'n' roll ...

If you like what Goodwin coined as “legendary vintage rock ‘n’ roll,” you’re going to love the Silverbacks.

“This band is better than ever now, which is strange,” Lynch insisted.

And, no wonder. The Silverbacks is made up of a virtual who's who of Worcester's best musicians and consummate veterans of the rock 'n' roll trenches.

In addition to Goodwin and Lynch, the Silverbacks are guitarist Jimmy Perry, bassist Glenn DiTomasso, drummer Bill MacGillivray and saxophonist Deric Dyer, who worked with Tina Turner and Joe Cocker for a number of years.

Goodwin — who, in 2023, released a stellar solo disc, "Double It Up," recorded at Abbey Road Studios — and Lynch started playing together when they were 15 and 14, respectively. Fifty-five years later, they are still the best of friends.

More: Turn up the volume: Worcester Magazine's favorite New England albums of 2023

More: Abbey Road isn't what makes Cliff Goodwin's new album great ... it's the musicians

“When you start to think about that, over a half a century, all I can do is laugh,” Goodwin said. “When we were rehearsing in my grandmother’s basement (on Institute Road) and someone said, ‘Well, you may be doing some of these songs a half a century from now,’ come on! To me, that’s something to be cherished, to play together for this long, off and on, and still want to.”

“To have all the best players, and, for them to be all my best friends, that’s an amazing thing,” Lynch added.

'There’s no way to rehearse spontaneity'

Lynch, Goodwin and Perry played together in Albatross, a legendary ‘70s band that released killer records, got its share of radio airplay and toured extensively.

Lynch, 69 — who also played with the Mighty Bel-Mars and the Lynch Mob — and Goodwin, 70 — whose extensive lists of acts he's played with include the American Standard Band, Joe Cocker, Robert Palmer, Wilbur and the Dukes, the Shaboo Allstars, the Mitch Chakour Band, the Mohegan Sun All-Stars and Christine Ohlman and Rebel Montez — agree that it’s the friendship and musicianship of seasoned musicians who know and respect each other and can practically telepathically read each other’s thoughts onstage that makes the Silverbacks so special.

It’s not a question of practice makes perfect. It’s playing out night after night after night for years after years, decades after decades, makes perfect. And because of all these years of playing, they don’t have to prepare.

“We never practice,” Lynch said.

“There’s no way to rehearse spontaneity,” Goodwin added. “We’ve been doing this long enough to know what we have to do.”

“Practice is for (expletives). That’s our motto,” Lynch said. "Nothing’s planned here. No setlist. We just get up and that’s it.”

“Mike just reads the room,” Goodwin said. “The best battle plans in the world dissolve the minute you encounter the enemy.”

The Silverbacks

When: 8 p.m. Dec. 23

Where: Greendale's Pub, 404 West Boylston St., Worcester

How Much: $10

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Silverbacks set for its final holiday concert at Greendale's Pub