A massive crowd piled into Confederation Park for the Doobie Brothers’ show, and the band did not disappoint.
They played a hit-filled set list that brought the crowd to its feet, making them cheer, sing, and dance through the night.
The set opened with their iconic interpretation of “Jesus is Just Alright.”
They sang in a four-part harmony, and the audience immediately joined in, creating their own thousand-part harmony of ‘do’s.
As the song dropped into its half-time bridge, Tom Johnston tore out a psychedelic solo, backed by a heavy organ.
John McFee and Patrick Simmons got chances to show their chops before long, each breaking into their own solos in the coming songs. Saxophonist Marc Russo also got brought to the forefront thanks to a few lung-exploding horn lines.
The Doobie Brothers shifted through various tones throughout the night, playing with country influence including a pedal steel guitar, and then breaking straight into a funky tune driven by another of Russo’s phenomenal sax solo.
After the first few songs, Simmons took the mic.
“We are not Aretha Franklin,” he said, referring to the act they were brought in to replace her. “But I wish she was here. We could never fill in for the Queen of Soul.”
Despite Simmons’ words, the crowd seemed to find them a suitable replacement.
They continually brought the fans to a standing ovation, first with a beautiful fingerpicked acoustic duet by McFee and Simmons, and next with a wicked blues jam.
The band whipped out Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Don’t Start Me Talking,” and extended it to a 10-minute long jam, rife with solos from every band member, including a clinking keyboard solo by Guy Allison.
After the crowd took to their feet to applaud the jam, very few of them sat back down.
The band took flight and powered through a series of hits, including “Keep On Rollin,” which featured McFee sawing it out on a violin.
When the opening riff to “Long Train Running” came out, the crowd lost it. Cheers echoed through the night, and the crowd sang joyfully.
When it came to the chorus, they left the air open, and it filled with all of Confederation Park singing the drawn out “Without Love” under the dark sky.
The band continued to pump out fan favourites, until finally they reached the final song of their set- “Listen to the Music.”
The fans were singing along once again, and the cheering didn’t stop until long after the band had lined up, taken a bow, and left stage.
