I just rolled in from another great evening at Pine Knob (OK, OK, DTE Energy Music Theater ). Locally, free vouchers are given away for concerts at Pine Knob. With this voucher, you can redeem it for a lawn ticket (IF they are available) or, for a small fee, upgrade to pavillion seating. I picked up some vouchers on eBay for $5 a couple of weeks ago, and we turned them in for a pair of tickets in row "P", 16 rows back from the stage off in the right section....sweeeet! It cost me $7/ticket to upgrade, plus the $3/ticket parking fee. Total cost: $25 for two prime seats.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I came away quite impressed. Three decades together and the band is tighter than ever! Patrick Simmons is back to his scraggly 70's long-haired look, while Tom Johnston looks about the same as he always has. On a third guitar, pedal steel and fiddle was John McFee (Clover, Huey Lewis & The News, and dozens of session credits), and bass was covered by Skylark. On sax was Marc Russo (Tower of Power, Narada Michael Walden, Yellowjackets).
Without Michael McDonald, I thought the show would be rather limited...but it's not. The only McDonald-led song they covered was "Takin' It To The Streets". On the rest, Simmons and Johnston traded off vocals. If you've ever heard the 10-million-selling Best Of The Doobies Vol. 1, most of the songs from that album were covered, along with some "deep cuts" from earlier LPs (Captain & Me, Vices, Tolouse St., etc.). They performed three from their new recording, Sibling Rivalry, and the "biker" track from Brotherhood called "Dangerous."
Excellent show! Tight band, great sound (better than Steely Dan's sound rig, IMHO), and infectious excitement. By the time the last couple of songs were played (before the encore), the entire audience was either standing or dancing in the aisles. VERY enthusiastic crowd, and the band really enjoyed it. Didn't spot or sniff any "doobies", but Miller Genuine Draft certainly made a killing off of THIS crowd!
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I came away quite impressed. Three decades together and the band is tighter than ever! Patrick Simmons is back to his scraggly 70's long-haired look, while Tom Johnston looks about the same as he always has. On a third guitar, pedal steel and fiddle was John McFee (Clover, Huey Lewis & The News, and dozens of session credits), and bass was covered by Skylark. On sax was Marc Russo (Tower of Power, Narada Michael Walden, Yellowjackets).
Without Michael McDonald, I thought the show would be rather limited...but it's not. The only McDonald-led song they covered was "Takin' It To The Streets". On the rest, Simmons and Johnston traded off vocals. If you've ever heard the 10-million-selling Best Of The Doobies Vol. 1, most of the songs from that album were covered, along with some "deep cuts" from earlier LPs (Captain & Me, Vices, Tolouse St., etc.). They performed three from their new recording, Sibling Rivalry, and the "biker" track from Brotherhood called "Dangerous."
Excellent show! Tight band, great sound (better than Steely Dan's sound rig, IMHO), and infectious excitement. By the time the last couple of songs were played (before the encore), the entire audience was either standing or dancing in the aisles. VERY enthusiastic crowd, and the band really enjoyed it. Didn't spot or sniff any "doobies", but Miller Genuine Draft certainly made a killing off of THIS crowd!