Doobie Brothers Bring a STELLAR show to Tampa’s Mid-Florida Amphitheatre
It was a balmy night for rock & roll on Thursday night! It was totally cloudy with a breeze that gave concert- goers a break to enjoy an evening of great music on a school night. What year is this? Oh yea, 2024. Well, the Doobie Brothers blew into town sounding like it was the 1970’s! Still going for well over FIVE decades, they are still celebrating and on this 2024 tour really getting us to “Listen to the Music”!
The un-mistakable sound of the early years with their hits like, “Jesus is Just Alright with Me” which brought the entire crown to their feet and Patrick Simmons amazing tune, “Black Water”, brought back memories of the FM underground and AM radio days of yesteryear. The sound mix was perfect along with lighting and big screen graphics. I can’t say enough about tightness of the band and their vocals, both solo and harmonies. The Doobies are at the top of their game in 2024!
I am not gonna lie to you dear reader, I am a fan of Michael McDonald and his keyboards. His power vocals are smooth like butter, and rang out in the amphitheater all the way to the lawn. His signature sound brings another kind of vibe to what came later in the Doobie catalog. You can’t give all the credit to McDonald though; the band keeps it going all the way. Original members Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston and John McFee all have large parts in the show, taking turns on vocals and a three-guitar lineup that includes banjo, mandolin, pedal steel guitar and harmonica. Saxophonist extraordinaire Marc Russo adds another layer to the Doobies sound. Ed Toth has been beating the drums since 2005 for the band and was formerly with the band “Vertical Horizon.” Mark Quin᷃ones handles the percussion perfectly and has that Allman Brothers connection playing with them for years and with the late Gregg Allman’s band.
The Brothers took us through an hour & a half of hits galore. From the 70’s to their latest record “Liberte᷃” from 2021. Patrick Simmons performed a beautiful acoustic turn on “Cannonball” from the newest album. Tom Johnston opened the show with “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While), he also sings lead on “China Grove” and “Rockin’ Down the Highway”. Brother McDonald brought the soul on with “Minute By Minute’ and “What A Fool Believes” with dancing in the aisles. They closed the encore with “Takin’ It To The Streets” and “Listen to the Music”. An exceptional evening of music!
The special guest opening in Tampa was The Robert Cray Band! I certainly don’t consider Mr. Cray an opening act in the classic sense of the word. He is a respected guitar virtuoso in the genre. His 4 man band rolls well with Mr. Cray. I loved his tune “I Don’t Care”, great guitar licks. Steve Winwood and Robert are switching off as the special guests for the Doobies in different cities on the tour. All the info at https://thedoobiebrothers.com
Vicky Sullivan Photos