Doobie Brothers Brought 50th Anniversary Tour To Slush Puppie Place!

The Doobie Brothers have been a well respected staple in the music business since 1970, is there anyone who doesn’t have a favourite Doobie Brothers song? For me, China Grove takes me right back to my high schools’s gym. Am I showing my age now? Pat Simmons and Tom Johnston have played together since the beginning and were joined by Michael McDonald in 1975 and John McFee in 1979.

The Doobies have enjoyed a long and storied history since those days and provided us with some of the most recognizable rock and roll music along the way. Few bands even stay together as long as they have!

As expected, the crowd was largely of an older demographic and were eager to revisit some memories from the past. They got what they were looking for Sunday evening at Slush Puppie Place! The Doobie Brothers possess the ability to share the vocal duties, all four members took their turn singing as they took us on a journey through the years.

When the lights went down followed by the beginning of Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While), the crowd was enthusiastic. Depending On You and Rockin Down the Highway followed and by then the fans were ramping up, you could feel the momentum building in the energy. After over 50 years, these guys could still deliver!

The fans seemed to be especially drawn to the songs featuring Michael McDonald on lead. He gave the band a new sound when he joined and songs like Here To Love You and It Keeps You Running took you right  back.

After a two hour set, what more could we expect? A couple of their most popular songs, Long Time Runnin’ and China Grove were still to come. My personal favourite, Black Water opened the encore and THAT was the highlight of the night for me. Pat Simmons guitar in that song was some of my favourite of all time. Before finally calling it a night, we heard Takin’ It To The Streets and Listen To The Music.

A  good point about not having a second act on the bill was that it gave the Doobie Brothers more time to play a few of the gems that we may not have heard in awhile but appreciated just the same. With only a couple of dates in the tour left to play, they will soon take a much deserved rest.