The Doobie Brothers LIVE! at BergenPAC
By Spotlight Central. Photos by Love Imagery
The audience inside Englewood, NJ’s BergenPAC is filled with anticipation this Tuesday, April 9, 2019 evening as they ready themselves for an intimate concert experience by the legendary rock band, The Doobie Brothers.
As we wait for the performance to begin, we chat with several fans in the audience including Alice from Englewood who acknowledges, “This is my first time seeing The Doobie Brothers — their music really brings me back.”
Adding, “I love that they are playing this small theater,” Alice confirms, “They usually play larger venues, but we love it here at Bergen PAC — there isn’t a bad seat in the house, the sound is awesome, and the crowds here are always great.”
Gary from Somerset concurs adding, “I’ve been a fan of The Doobie Brothers for 40 years, but I’ve never once seen them in person.”
Continuing, “I’m really excited to be here — I couldn’t sit still in the restaurant earlier,” Gary declares, “This is going to be phenomenal! I can’t wait to hear ‘Black Water’ and ‘Listen to the Music’ — I can’t believe I’m going to be able to see the band this close up.”
Lastly, we chat with Scott from Old Tappan who reveals, “I’ve always loved The Doobie Brothers. I’ve seen them many times, and I love that they’re still going strong and sounding great,” before recalling, “Last year, I saw them perform at the Beacon Theater in New York and I got a pick from guitarist Patrick Simmons. Tonight, I went to the ‘Meet and Greet’ before the show and I just said, ‘Oh, my God — I love you guys!’ before thanking Patrick for that pick.”
The lights dim and the packed house begins to cheer as The Doobie Brothers — guitarists Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons, and John McFee, bassist John Cowan, keyboardist Bill Payne, drummer Ed Toth, percussionist Marc Quinones, and saxophonist Marc Russ — take the stage.
Opening with the funky groove of “Natural Thing,” saxophonist Marc Russ leads the way before all three guitarists play in sync as bassist John Cowan walks along. With Tom Johnston’s lead vocal sounding as strong as ever, perfectly-blended four-part harmonies shine on the song’s catchy “We all got to be loved/It’s a natural thing don’t you know,” chorus.
Following huge applause, The Doobies segue into their 1972 hit, “Rockin’ Down the Highway.”
The audience sings along on the well-known “Ooh, rockin’ down the highway” chorus and before lights shine down on the crowd during the instrumental break where Tom Johnston wails on the electric guitar.
After energetic cheers, Johnston replies by stating, “Thank you! We’re gonna play a little rock and roll for you.” Launching into “The Doctor,” Johnston sings, “Music is the doctor of my soul” on this straight-ahead rocker as the driving beat of drums and percussion fills the BergenPAC auditorium.
Lights dance in approval to the rock and roll emanating from the stage, and heads in the audience bop to Johnston’s sparkling guitar solo.
Johnston says, “We’re going to mellow it out a little for you,” as he, Patrick Simmons, and John McFee switch over to acoustic guitars for “Mamaloi.” On this Jamaican-sounding number, Marc Quinones is spotlighted on a percussion break before Bill Payne plays a steel-drum sounding keyboard solo on this happy number with a rockin’ island feel.
Patrick Simmons impresses the crowd on “Busted Down Around O’Connolly Corners” as he plays an acoustic guitar on a stand before switching over to an electric guitar strapped around his neck.
Lights gleam off the other guitars on the stage as the band segues into the shuffle beat of “Ukiah.” With harmonies sounding like a choir, the Brothers sing, “Gonna keep my cabin at hand/Retreat and live off the land/All around Ukiah,” before John McFee impresses with a swirling guitar solo.
The roadhouse rocker, “Sweet Maxine,” is up next. Audience members dance in the aisles as Tom Johnston sings lead and John McFee plays a nifty slide guitar solo.
From here, the group segues into their 1972 hit, “Jesus is Just Alright.” The song’s unmistakable guitar intro leads into dynamic four-part vocal harmonies which have the audience singing along on the famous “Jesus is just alright with me” refrain. Patrick Simmons’ lead vocal is bluesy and his guitar skills are on sharp display on this classic tune which inspires a standing ovation from the crowd.
“Thank you — we appreciate it!” replies Johnston as the group launches into “Cotton Mouth.” Conga drums open this funky blues number which highlights Tom Johnston’s strong vocal skills.
On this song, Patrick Simmons takes an acoustic guitar solo where he bends his strings and Marc Russ impresses with a tenor sax solo before an audience member excitedly shouts out, “You go, baby!”
“We’re gonna play some blues,” announces Johnston as the group begins to play “Dark Eyed Cajun Woman,” a funky minor blues where John McFee cleverly responds with his guitar to each of Tom Johnston’s vocal lines.
Then, Johnston is featured on a wailing guitar solo where he comes down to the edge of the stage and plays directly for the fans in the house who react with excited cheers and applause.
After introducing the members of the band, Johnston refers to the group’s next song, “Clear as the Driven Snow,” as an example of “psychedelic rock and roll.” Four-part harmonies and open guitar tunings abound on this piece which opens like a folk song but morphs into a full-blown rocker. Patrick Simmons and John McFee pick together in tandem on their acoustic guitars before the mood changes to feature an electric guitar solo by Johnston accompanied by driving drums and percussion. The audience responds with an enthusiastic standing ovation at the end, at which point Johnson replies, “We’re gonna keep playing rock and roll!”
Here, the group performs “Without You,” a straight-ahead rocker on which the band clearly has fun as they sing in four-part harmony, “I get a feelin’, lost without you baby/Livin’ alone is drivin’ me crazy.”
John McFee plays an electrifying guitar solo before he’s joined by Johnston and Simmons on guitar and John Cowan on bass as they all come to the edge of the stage and dance up and down with their guitars while they rock.
Following a huge standing ovation, Simmons and McFee show off their acoustic guitar playing skills on the duet, “Slack Key Soquel Rag,” — a number which ends in heavenly harmonics. At the end of the tune, one elated audience member shouts out “Hall of Fame!”
John McFee switches over to steel pedal guitar and Patrick Simmons plays acoustic while he sings lead on “South City Midnight Lady.” McFee’s steel pedal echoes after the sweet harmonies of the vocalists as they sing, “South city midnight lady/I’m much obliged indeed/You sure have saved this man whose soul was in need.” Marc Russ plays an alto sax solo, Tom Johnston plays an electric guitar solo, and John McFee plays a pedal steel guitar solo on this appealing country rocker.
Acoustic guitars are traded in for electrics on The Doobie Brothers’ 1975 hit, “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While).”
Opening up with bassist John Cowan on lead vocal, Patrick Simmons soon takes over the lead and lights flash on the audience as Bill Payne on keyboards, Marc Russ on tenor sax, and Patrick Simmons on guitar trade off solos on this Motown-inspired crowd-pleaser.
A highlight of tonight’s concert is The Doobie Brothers’ rendition of their 1975 #1 hit single, “Black Water.” Switching back over to acoustic instruments, Patrick Simmons handles the introduction on acoustic guitar before John McFee enters on fiddle. The audience sings along on the “Old black water, keep on rollin’/Mississippi moon, won’t you keep on shinin’ on me” chorus before Simmons changes the lyrics to “New Jersey moon, won’t you keep on shinin’ on me” to avid audience cheers. The crowd continues to happily sing along on the “Take me by the hand, pretty mama/Gonna dance with your daddy night long” interlude, with band adding all of the intricate vocal parts to create a living and breathing vocal music masterpiece.
The entire audience rises and The Doobies respond with their 1973 Top 10 hit, “Long Train Runnin’.” John McFee impresses with a soulful harmonica solo and both the band and the crowd have a rockin’ good time as they sing together the famous “Without love/Where would you be now” chorus. Marc Russ’ saxophone wails its approval as Tom Johnston urges the crowd to clap double time to Ed Toth’s drums which fill the air and turn the BergenPAC auditorium into a dance party.
For the group’s final number, The Brothers perform their 1973 Top 20 hit, “China Grove.” Singing along to the “Well, you’re talkin’ bout China Grove/Oh, China Grove” chorus on this driving rocker, the audience continues to clap along as the Johnston/Simmons/McFee guitar trio rock the edge of the stage, the crowd erupting into applause and cheers as the band takes their exit.
Following continued hoots and hollers, the musicians return and Johnston exclaims, “What a great audience! We’re going to try something a little different.”
Here, he and the band launch into a bluesy version of Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken.” The audience is on its feet singing and clapping along to the funky groove of this dixie rocker which features a rollicking Bill Payne keyboard solo.
“Give the credit to Little Feat!” declares Johnston before he and the Brothers perform their final encore — the group’s 1972 smash, “Listen to the Music.”
The entire crowd sings along on the famous, “Whoa oh, listen to the music” chorus before Johnston says “The people out there are gonna sing the song!” and the band drops out to feature only the audience. Soon, Simmons and the band join back in on the accompaniment while the audience continues to sing. Everyone cheers and applauds at the conclusion and the band waves and throws guitar picks to the crowd before taking a final bow together while Johnston concludes, “God bless you, New Jersey — we love you!”
As audience members make their way out of the BergenPAC auditorium, we chat with several in the crowd who share their opinions of tonight’s performance with us.
Comments Antoinette from Augusta, “The Doobie Brothers were just awesome!”
Continuing, “This was my first time seeing them,” Antoinette explains, “I recently saw an interview with them on AXS-TV, and when I got a flyer from BergenPAC saying they were playing here, I booked it right away, and I’m so glad I did! It was so worth it — every single song was great.”
Loren from Wappingers Fall, NY agrees remarking, “The Doobie Brothers were great tonight — I could have stayed and watched them for hours and hours — their music really pulls at my heartstrings.”
Adding, “I’ve seen them many times and I love that they played such a small, intimate venue tonight,” Loren acknowledges, “My favorite song was the last one — ‘Listen to the Music.’ That was my mom’s favorite song — she used to play the 45 rpm record all the time.”
Lastly, we chat with Jennifer from Alpine who exclaims, “The Doobie Brothers were amazing — they play real music!”
Noting, “I especially loved the songs I didn’t know,” Jennifer additionally states, “I teach spin classes and I use their music with my clients all the time,” before concluding, “They have great beats — and like I constantly say — ‘The Doobie Brothers always ROCK!”
To learn more about The Doobie Brothers, please go to thedoobiebrothers.com. For information on upcoming concerts at BergenPAC — including Foreigner on May 3, The Temptations & The Four Tops on May 9, and Pat Benetar and Neil Geraldo on June 22 — please click on bergenpac.org.
