The Doobie Brothers - Birmingham Review

With Lynyrd Skynyrd behind me, and the memories of another excellent show burnt into my brain, it was time to look forward to one of my most anticipated shows of the year and the second night of my latest trip to Birmingham - a relatively rare UK appearance from the California-based rockers The Doobie Brothers. I have been lucky over the course of my life that I have been able to see the vast majority of my favourite bands live. There are some that have not existed for years, so I have not been able to see those bands for obvious reasons, but there are others that do not visit the UK all that regularly. Whilst The Doobie Brothers have visited the UK more than a handful of times before, both during their original 1970s heyday and more recently, with the exception of last year they had not performed in the UK since 2017 - when they undertook a brief UK tour around an appearance in London with Steely Dan. Before that, they last toured the UK properly in 2010 in support of the World Gone Crazy album - so UK appearances by the band have been relatively infrequent of late. Given that I only started listening to them properly in 2019, too, there had not been any opportunities to see the band live since. This changed last year, when they replaced Steely Dan as the opening act of the Eagles' run of shows at the Co-op Arena in Manchester. I had seen the Eagles before so, despite also liking Steely Dan, I did not get a ticket for any of the shows - and by the time Steely Dan dropped off the bill to be replaced by The Doobie Brothers the travel and accommodation prices were out of my reach, despite there being a few tickets left at some of the shows. It would have been a great double bill, but I just had to hope that the band would enjoy their return to the UK to schedule some shows of their own - and, thankfully, earlier this year those eventual headline shows were announced. Built around an appearance in Hyde Park with Jeff Lynne's ELO, which ended up being cancelled due to Lynne being ill, the band's tour hit a few key UK cities - and they were booked in large arenas which seemed ambitious given their relatively lack of activity here in recent years. Originally at the Utilita Arena, but moved to the BP Pulse Live a couple of weeks ahead of the show for unknown reasons, as was the case with Lynyrd Skynyrd the previous day and Toto earlier in the year, when I got to the venue I saw that it was set up to be made to look smaller - with the stage much closer to the back than usual. The turnout was somewhat similar to Lynyrd Skynyrd's, too, with quite a few empty seats at the back of the room, but the overall vibe seemed a bit stronger than it had been for Lynyrd Skynyrd - with those in attendance keen to have a good time. There was good reason for this, too, with the band hot on the heels of their latest, excellent, album Walk This Road (which I reviewed here) - and with all three of the band's key singer-songwriters from over the years on stage: Tom Johnston (vocals/guitar), Patrick Simmons (vocals/guitar), and Michael McDonald (vocals/keyboards/mandolin); the crowd knew that they were about to witness a tour-de-force of the band's impressive catalogue.

With no support act and the band hitting the stage at 8pm, everything was done and dusted by about 9:45pm. Given the need to get a train back to Birmingham from the NEC complex after the show, this early finish was welcome - and the band crammed plenty of music into their 100 or so minutes on stage. With the band taking the stage once some jazz which had been filling the venue finished, they immediately launched into their version of the Motown-era piece Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While) - with vocals shared between long-time touring bassist John Cowan, Johnston, and McDonald. Despite being a cover, the song is a Doobie Brothers classic - and the feel-good driving guitar chords from Johnston, boogie piano from McDonald, and the grooves from both Ed Toth (drums) and Marc Quiñones (percussion/vocals) gave the fast-moving song real zip. The shared vocal approach worked well, too, and the harmonies were tight - even if the backing vocals were a bit low in the mix during the first few numbers. Apart from this, though, the sound was generally very good. The percussion was audible, giving the band their trademark groove, whilst the separation between the guitars and the keyboards meant that everyone shined - particularly during the brief solo spots. The band did not jam extensively, but they did change up the arrangements somewhat - and stretched some songs out longer than they were originally. The McDonald-led Here to Love You felt rockier live, with the track turning into a bluesier piano-led piece rather than the synthy yacht rock of the original. This change helped the song to feel more organic and in-keeping with the band's original sound - but perhaps the first big highlight was an extended Dependin' on You, with Simmons taking the lead. The groovy rock of the original remained, but there was plenty of soloing throughout. Simmons, Johnston, and long-time band member John McFee (guitar/violin/harmonica/vocals) all soloed - as did touring saxophonist Marc Russo. Russo really impressed throughout the night, adding saxophone to plenty of songs which did not originally feature the instrument - and his many solos and countermelodies really enhanced the overall evening. Whilst most of the material played was culled from the band's 1970s albums, four songs from the new album were played. I was really pleased to hear so many of the new songs performed, as veteran bands often have a habit of largely ignoring their new albums, and the title track was thrown at the crowd early. The bluesy stomp is a great addition to the band's canon - with McDonald, Johnston, and Simmons all singing. Simmons sang more of the song live, in the absence of Mavis Staples, and this arrangement is likely how the song should have always sounded. The new material, and each reference the band made to the album, received a warm reception from the crowd - so it was nice to see the new material being well received. The biggest cheers were reserved for some of the big favourites, though, with Johnston showcasing he still has a great voice during a rousing version of Rockin' Down the Highway early on.

With three lead singers, each had a few opportunities to shine. Having McDonald back in the band gives Johnston and Simmons a breather at times, and It Keeps You Runnin' was one such example. McDonald still sounds good, even if he cannot reach those high notes anymore and changes some of the vocal melodies to suit his aging voice, with the mid-paced soulful rocker continuing on many of the grooves already laid down. It was nice to see Johnston playing some of these songs which he did not have much to do with in the past, too, and he occasionally even soloed during these late 1970s numbers whilst also helping out with the backing vocals. At times I did wonder if there was a little 'help' going on from a backing vocal perspective, but with six voices on the stage these moments seemed limited. The middle of the set was largely dominated by newer cuts - with Johnston's breezy Call Me and McDonald's Learn to Let Go straddling the evergreen Minute by Minute which received one of the biggest receptions of the night. The song is yacht rock 101 in many ways, and it was one of the highlights of this middle portion of the set - with McDonald sounding close to his prime during the smooth, snaking tune. Perhaps the best of the new songs, though, was Simmons' Angels & Mercy. It is a track which stood out on the album from the off, and live it sounded great, too, with Simmons' busy bluegrass guitar playing and melodic voice driving the track - whilst McFee added a lot of violin and resonator guitar melodies for depth. Simmons' guitar solo and the closing guitar/violin duel was one of the evening's best instrumental sections - and it showcased, along with a few other guitar solos during the evening, what McFee adds to the band. The last third of the set was largely reserved for rockier numbers - with the driving hard rock of Without You seeing the whole band harmonising together to support Johnston. This vibe was continued on throughout their rendition of the old gospel tune Jesus Is Just Alright, with Quiñones' conga playing really adding a lot to the driving shuffle of the piece. The vocal talent of the band really shone through here, too. The only relatively lower key moment during this part of the show was What a Fool Believes, although the piano-led pop tune received a huge reception - with McDonald delivering the lead vocal in his inimitable style. It was then turned over to Johnston to finish off the main set, with the one-two punch of Long Train Runnin' and China Grove a great double salvo. The former in particular was stretched out with plenty of saxophone additions, a harmonica solo from McFee, and lots of guitar soloing. It showed the band at their loose best - whilst the driving riff of China Grove was the closest the band ever got to genuine hard rock. A three-song encore followed, though, with Simmons' country piece Black Water opening this part of the show - with McFee again on violin, McDonald on mandolin, and the whole band harmonising nicely. McDonald and Russo then performed a saxophone-led version of Amazing Grace as an extended intro to the piano-led Takin' It to the Streets - with McDonald sounding excellent vocally and the band adding plenty of harmonies and heft. It was left to Johnston to close things out once again, though, with the final number being Listen to the Music - which had everyone up on their feet and singing along to the band's signature piece. It was a great way to end an excellent evening of music, and the band took their bows to plenty of appreciation from the crowd. The setlist was:

Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While) [Kim Weston cover]

Here to Love You

Dependin' on You

Walk This Road

Rockin' Down the Highway

It Keeps You Runnin'

Call Me

Minute by Minute

Learn to Let Go

Angels & Mercy

Without You

Jesus Is Just Alright [The Art Reynolds Singers cover]

What a Fool Believes [Kenny Loggins cover]

Long Train Runnin'

China Grove

-

Black Water

Amazing Grace [Traditional Christian hymn]/Takin' It to the Streets

Listen to the Music

Given that I had been a big Doobie Brothers fan since 2019, they had become something of a bucket list band for me. I had hoped to one day see them live, but I was growing less confident of doing so - so I was really pleased when this current tour was announced earlier in the year. The band put on a great show filled with most of their famous songs - alongside a nice selection of songs from their new album. They were tight, sounded strong vocally, and bantered a bit with the crowd which is always nice to see - and I was pleased to finally get the chance to hear many of these songs live and add the band to the vast list of those that I have been lucky enough to see live over the years.