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The band opening the Doobie Brothers show tonight was “JD and the Straight Shot,” read the great review by Siege in last month’s May issue. After a short intermission I found my seat and waited for The Doobie Brothers to take the stage. These guys were an essential part of the summer concert scene when I was growing up in Southern California. The 70’s and 80’s were very kind to this ensemble of musicians. Known for their dual drummer set up – the band hit the stage already wound up and plowed through a nearly one hour set that showcased hit after hit after hit. With a career that has spanned five decades – the depth of their catalogue is that of legend and they hit all the high notes of that celebrated career. Original members Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons keep the bands vision true and the level of musicianship on the stage – is staggering. There was everything from multiple Guitars to some great fiddle playing and beautiful Harmonies.
Opening their slot was the song “Natural Thing” which was played for the first time since 1973. Followed by a riveting take of “Road Angel,” which was followed by superb interpretations of “South City Midnight Lady,” “Clear as the driven Snow,” “Dark eyed Cajun Woman,” “Jesus is Just Alright” and “Sweet Maxine” and a great rendition of “Rockin’ down the Highway” with some phenomenal Funky Bass lines. The voices of guitarist Tommy Johnston, guitarist Patrick Simmons and bassist John Cowan were peerless, both as stand-alone voices and as harmony parts.
For the always-outstanding “Takin’ It to the Streets,” Simmons and Cowan shared lead-vocal duties that were originally handled by departed Doobie member Michael McDonald. Cowan’s bass dug low in register for half of the song, while Cowan’s flexible fingers climbed high on his bass neck for higher notes usually reserved for guitar.
Their entire set was a series of highlights but standing out amongst all the awesome songs was a perfect rendition of “Black Water” into “Long Train Runnin’” that had the now near capacity crowd cheering and singing at the top of their lungs. After the crowd got fired up along comes the Heavy classic “China Grove” which always gets your blood flowing and also signaled the end of the show. The crowd did not have enough so the Doobies finished their night with an Encore of “Take me in Your Arms (Rock me a Little While)” and a high-powered rendition of “Listen to the Music” – the crowd was now primed and can leave the venue knowing that they just witnessed musical perfection.
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