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Watched the Doobie Brothers Last Night in Manchester
It was one of my dreams to watch the Doobies - and then I found they’re touring the UK with both Tommy Johnston and Michael McDonald in the band. Wow!
I’m a fan of all eras of this band / but McDonald’s vocals yesterday were a real disappointment. He sang consistently ‘late’ and this wasn’t a ‘feel’ thing but it ruined the rhythmicity of the vocal lines. His vocal scored 5/10 in my book - which was sad, my being a huge Michael McDonald fan. and also a little weird because he was able to hit the high notes, though it sounded like he was straining on them. His keyboard playing on the other hand was really good.
Tommy Johnston on the other hand, was a revelation. His vocals were really good and he did justice to these songs which sounded every bit as good as the Studio versions. I have played ‘listen to the music’ and ‘long train running’ hundreds of times myself live on stage but watching him do it - and the crowd reacting and singing along - I developed a new appreciation for those songs.
Likewise, with Patrick Simmons, who did a great job - every bit as good as on the records.
John McFee: for such a talented instrumentalist his guitar tones were horrible, taking the term ‘Ice Pick’ to a new level. He played three different guitars - each one sounded as bad as the other. That may of course be the mixing engineer’s fault.
The saxophonist Mark Russo was brilliant (from a distance he looks like Anthony Hopkins). The bassist and drummer / percussionist were really good too.
The Harmony vocals were spot-on - indeed so good that I wondered if they might have been pre-recorded…
The audio mix was very average. The bass drum was far too loud and that really doesn’t help.
Overall a good gig - and I’m glad I went. The youngest member of the band is Michael McDonald at 74 years old - and it is unlikely that they will tour again.
I’m a fan of all eras of this band / but McDonald’s vocals yesterday were a real disappointment. He sang consistently ‘late’ and this wasn’t a ‘feel’ thing but it ruined the rhythmicity of the vocal lines. His vocal scored 5/10 in my book - which was sad, my being a huge Michael McDonald fan. and also a little weird because he was able to hit the high notes, though it sounded like he was straining on them. His keyboard playing on the other hand was really good.
Tommy Johnston on the other hand, was a revelation. His vocals were really good and he did justice to these songs which sounded every bit as good as the Studio versions. I have played ‘listen to the music’ and ‘long train running’ hundreds of times myself live on stage but watching him do it - and the crowd reacting and singing along - I developed a new appreciation for those songs.
Likewise, with Patrick Simmons, who did a great job - every bit as good as on the records.
John McFee: for such a talented instrumentalist his guitar tones were horrible, taking the term ‘Ice Pick’ to a new level. He played three different guitars - each one sounded as bad as the other. That may of course be the mixing engineer’s fault.
The saxophonist Mark Russo was brilliant (from a distance he looks like Anthony Hopkins). The bassist and drummer / percussionist were really good too.
The Harmony vocals were spot-on - indeed so good that I wondered if they might have been pre-recorded…
The audio mix was very average. The bass drum was far too loud and that really doesn’t help.
Overall a good gig - and I’m glad I went. The youngest member of the band is Michael McDonald at 74 years old - and it is unlikely that they will tour again.
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Comments
I've seen Michael McDonald several times over the years but never with The Doobies and he was fantastic in the 80s, however, I won tickets to watch a BBC recording when he released his soul cover album (? 2003) and his late-timing and poor mic technique really surprised me but let's face it, he's had that wonderful voice for decades.
I got to see The Doobies at The O2 with Steely Dan and it was soon after Walter Becker had passed. The Doobies were on first and they blew Steely Dan away. Tommy Johnston's voice and guitar playing and tone were fantastic.
Was John McFee using Variaxes as he has done in the past in order to cover different stringed instrument?
They've done well to keep going this long, Tom and Patrick are 76 now!
https://youtu.be/BM8pZqgb3z8?si=TWVENPw9DNFsI2fW