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REVIEW: BOSTON, THE DOOBIE BROTHERS, & PAT SIMMONS JR. - 8/6/2014
Gweedo
It’s always great to knock a band off your bucket list. August 6th was the day I was able to cross Boston off that list. Unfortunately, I was unable to do it before the passing of Brad Delp. Also in attendance that day was The Doobie Brothers and Pat Simmons Jr.. Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre hosted the event after receiving a slight facelift at the entrances and the concession stands. A perk to the show is that I was able to find the free parking at the venue. Keep a look out for it next time you go. With parking and excess convenience charges, any financial relief is welcome. The evening started with rain for a while, but like clockwork, it stopped right before the show began. This rain caused flooding in the front couple rows that had staff members frantically cleaning up. There were a couple merch booths with shirts and CD’s. People were walking around selling Boston’s Greatest Hits CD for $10 to be entered into a drawing for a Tom Scholtz signed guitar. All proceeds went to charity. The rain helped the evening by cooling everything off. As the trickles stopped, the people trickled in.
Gweedo
It’s always great to knock a band off your bucket list. August 6th was the day I was able to cross Boston off that list. Unfortunately, I was unable to do it before the passing of Brad Delp. Also in attendance that day was The Doobie Brothers and Pat Simmons Jr.. Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre hosted the event after receiving a slight facelift at the entrances and the concession stands. A perk to the show is that I was able to find the free parking at the venue. Keep a look out for it next time you go. With parking and excess convenience charges, any financial relief is welcome. The evening started with rain for a while, but like clockwork, it stopped right before the show began. This rain caused flooding in the front couple rows that had staff members frantically cleaning up. There were a couple merch booths with shirts and CD’s. People were walking around selling Boston’s Greatest Hits CD for $10 to be entered into a drawing for a Tom Scholtz signed guitar. All proceeds went to charity. The rain helped the evening by cooling everything off. As the trickles stopped, the people trickled in.
A lone surfer with a beautiful inlayed acoustic guitar meandered out on the stage. The chill, mellow young man proclaimed that he was Pat Simmons Jr.. If that name rings a bell, it’s because his father, Pat Simmons Sr., is one of the founding members of The Doobie Brothers. Jr. gave us a taste of his Hawaiian life style with his laid back music. His songs were easy listening, but the lyrics spoke of many conservation topics. Like he said, no one wants to surf in poison. A very pleasant surprise to the set was that Sr. came out with his guitar to do a song with his son. Jr. pulled out a ukulele, and the duo did an amazing cover of America “Ventura Highway”. I was very surprised with his overall performance and hope this tour gets him a lot of exposure. He only played for 20 min, but he was able to captivate people and make is seem longer.
I think that The Doobie Brothers are the epitome of feel good music. Their live performance is awesome. The harmonies within the instruments and vocals are a delight to the ears. Their heartbeat was kept by two drum sets that were right in sync. They were manned by Ed Toth and Tony Pia. It reminded me of marching band days. Everyone in the band played amazingly. The talented John McFee mostly jammed on the guitar but brought out the harmonica, pedal steel, and violin for some songs. Pat Simmons Sr. did great on vocals and guitar. Tom Johnston also played the hell out of the guitar and owned the mic. There were a couple stacks of keyboards that Guy Allison pounded away on. Helping out on the bottom end was John Cowan with his bass guitar. His body gyrated the whole night like he was plugged directly into the bass drum. Last but not least was the impressive skill of Marc Russo on the sax. He made that sax just wail. It was surprising that none of the band members seemed winded, especially Russo, from the thin mountain air. So many acts gasp for breath in these parts. The Doobie Brothers whipped out all their hits and had everyone on their feet. A crowd of a little over half the venue was singing and dancing to the music. There was a ton of energy on the stage for a seasoned group. Their hour and a half set included two encore songs, “China Grove” and “Listen To The Music”. For “Listen To The Music”, Pat Simmons Jr. once again graced the stage with his guitar. What a great performance.
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With about an hour wait, Boston finally came out, and it was totally worth it. A nearly full venue roared when the lights dimmed. There was a big screen behind the band showing various visualizations. The stage had guitars, keyboards, a drum set, oh – and the biggest gong I’ve ever seen. This thing was easily eight feet in diameter with Boston’s logo decorating it. Fronting the band was Tommy DeCarlo, not Brad Delp but pretty damn close! DeCarlo managed to get the job by posting Boston covers on Myspace. He did great in the position, bringing a lot of talent and energy to the stage. Tom Sholtz was fantastic! He’s still got it. His guitar work was excellent with a couple solos. On a number of songs, he switched over to the keyboard which had a transparent side and released smoke as he played. He also had a solo on it. Ever the perfectionist, you could tell that he has spent a lot of time getting everything to sound exactly how he likes. Gary Pihl also showed his talent on the guitar. Pihl had the biggest grin the whole time and also graced us with a solo. Kimberley Dahme was the third guitarist and flexed her vocals for some songs. I was thoroughly entertained by Tracy Ferrie on bass. He was dancing around and posing for the crowd. Coming from Stryper, he was no stranger to stage presence. Lastly, Curly Smith was behind the kit keeping everyone solid. Double basses with Boston across them behind a clear barrier is where he spent his evening. Besides him, it seemed like everyone took a turn on the keyboards. The amount of pure talent on that stage was awe-inspiring. They showed off further with a great instrumental segment where Scholtz really showed his keyboard prowess. I didn’t know the keyboard could make some of the sounds that Scholtz was able to massage out of it. As an added treat, American Idol Season 9 Finalist, Siobhan Magnus lit the stage on fire with “Walk On”. She was stunning and delivered surprising power in a small package. Magnus sang backup for the last part of the show and was a ball of energy up there. Boston came out for an encore to wrap up the evening. DeCarlo was nice enough to grab a few items from the audience and sign while he was singing. He had the best way to get rid of a bouncing beach ball in the crowd. It found its way up on stage so he grabbed it and signed it before throwing it back. Instantly that beach ball was gone.
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Being the first time I’ve seen Boston, I tried not to let my excitement skew this review too much. The entire concert was great with all the bands playing such upbeat feel good music. I loved all the harmonies that The Doobie Brothers and Boston have in their music. With all the hits, the whole crowd was singing along. I really enjoyed seeing the energy everyone brought. It didn’t look like a bunch of old dudes on their last leg. The talent and musicianship was all still there and maybe even better than their hay days. I highly recommend catching this tour; you won’t regret it. My only regret is not being able to see Brad Delp before his passing. Rest In Peace as your music lives on.
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