THE DOOBIE BROTHERS LIVE AT THE MOHEGAN SUN ARENA

THE DOOBIE BROTHERS LIVE AT THE MOHEGAN SUN ARENA

By Kat Gullage

THE DOOBIE BROTHERS BRING THEIR 50TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW TO THE MOHEGAN SUN ARENA

As I write this, a Chevy “Truck Season” commercial came on and the music they used was “China Grove” by The Doobie Brothers. I'm not thinking about you.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, The Doobie Brothers made a stop at the Mohegan Sun Arena on the “50th Anniversary tour.” The four-time Grammy winners formed in 1970 in California and have sold more than forty million records. They hit ten of their fourteen studio albums in a loaded twenty-six song set.

The lineup consisted of original founding members Tom Johnston (vocals, guitar) and Patrick Simmons (vocals, guitar), Michael McDonald (vocals, keyboards) member since 1975, John McFee (guitar, vocals) joined in 1979, John Cowan (bass, vocals) joined in 1993, Marc Russo (sax) joined in 1998, local CT Ed Toth (drums) joined in 2005 and Marc Quinones (percussion, vocals) joined in 2018.

The place was packed to the rafters, ninety percent full. Impressive considering they just played The Amp in Bridgeport two months ago. The fans cheered as each member took their respective seats, but McDonald won the standing ovation award.

They opened with a bang from Panic“Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)” followed by two from Minute by Minute“Here To Love You” and “Dependin' On You”. During Toulouse StreetOn “Rockin' Down The Highway” they showed classic footage of their younger selves on the big screen behind their current selves. Simmons addressed the fans “Here's a new song we just finished writing for a new album coming out early next year, blues rock vibe, walk that road with me.” McDonald took lead vocals on “Walk This Road”, which I believe will be the title cut. This will be the first album The Doobie Brotherswith Michael McDonald, have been released over forty-four years.

“Sweet Maxine” followed. Two fans behind us, Delta and Beth, kept saying “They're bad guys!”. Guess where it was from. McDonald remained on the mic for “You Belong To Me” off Livin' On The Fault Line. This is the original folk, before Carly Simon released her version. The song is co-written by Simon and McDonald. Band introductions were next and they saved drummer Toth for last as he grew up thirteen minutes away from the venue and had plenty of supporters in the audience. Simmons announced “His mom is here tonight!” The fans went crazy! But, once again, McDonald won the applause award.

Simmons continued “It's our 50th anniversary! We are in our second fifty now. Thanks a lot, glad to be back. Here's a song I wrote when I was so stoned I couldn't see. It's being on the road.” It's “Clear As The Driven Snow” by The captain and me. The floor section had chairs so everyone in the place had a seat. I noticed about eleven people in front of the floor got up and danced.

Simmons: “Here's a song from our latest album (2021's Liberte). It's about motorcycles. Shout out to all the bikers out there.” “Cannonball” is followed by two of What were once vices are now habits with a hit in between – “Another Park, Another Sunday”, “It Keeps You Runnin” and “Spirit”. The audience was still engaged and the hits kept coming. The Doobie Brothers they served up group tracks “One Step Closer” and “Eyes of Silver” before performing one of their Grammy-winning hits, “Minute By Minute.”

Next was another title track, this time it was “World Gone Crazy” and then “Without You” was on deck before one of my favorites “Jesus Is Just Alright”. The band's three-time Grammy-winning song 'What A Fool Believes' got the majority of fans on their feet and they stayed there as the set concluded with 'Long Train Runnin' and 'China Grove'.

After a reasonable pause and sufficient crowd excitement, The Doobie Brothers returned to the stage and treated fans to an encore of 'Black Water', an instrumental of 'Amazing Grace' and the title track 'Takin It To The Streets'. Simmons called Russo bold as the saxophonist did a quick solo on a ladder in an upper side section. He rejoined the band on stage for the final song “Listen To The Music”, where the fans almost overpowered the band by singing along.

The sound quality was good, but I found the tunes where McDonald was singing to be difficult to decipher and either slightly off or the setting was tweaked or something. His voice is unmistakable, but I could see the mechanisms of people's brains going round trying to place the songs. I much preferred the tracks with Johnston or Simmons on lead vocals. McDonald showed off his other talents playing keyboards and mandolin throughout the performance. I found Russo and his sax to be the highlight. And I have to give these guys props, five of the eight members are over seventy.

He did The Doobie Brothers leave a mark on your youth? Time to revisit those good ol' days and add them to your playlist. Look for new music from the hit makers in 2025. I don't know who The Doobie Brothers hectare; Look for their successes, because yes. I had to attend an event before making my final changes to this review. The music coming from the bar was The Doobie Brothers“Takin' It To The Streets”. I'm not thinking about you.

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