Santana & The Doobie Brothers – Vector Arena April 18, 2017

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The classic rock continues at Auckland’s Vector Arena. The previous night it was a trip to the late 70s and 80s with Blondie and Cyndi Lauper. Now we travel back another decade to revisit the music of Santana and The Doobie Brothers.

I can’t remember how many times I saw The Doobie Brothers back in the 1970s…they seemed to be constantly on the road during the first half of the 1970s. Now, 40 plus years later, it seems little has changed.

The two original members, Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons look and sound very much the same. Fortunately this is not the Michael McDonald version of the band…I never could stand his voice…this is the hard-rockin’, Tom Johnston-led version who tore up top 40 radios in the early to mid 70s with hits like Long Train Running, China Grove and Listen To The Music.

Also with the band is guitarist John McFee, who’s first stint with The Doobies was in the late 70s and former Little Feat keyboard player Bill Payne. Rounding out the group is bassist John Cowan, drummer Ed Toth and sax player Marc Russo.

As I said, not much has changed in the Doobies’ world…they opened with a rousing Jesus Is Just Alright and kept the energy up with Rockin’ Down The Highway and Take Me In Your Arms.

Tom Johnston, who originally was forced to leave the band for health reasons in the mid-70s, looked to be in fighting trim…happy to still be able to rock out in front of a large audience.

His guitar playing was stellar, taking solos whenever possible, and his voice was strong.

All the members got to show off a bit, with Bill Payne taking the longest solo turn, but mainly they stuck to playing concise, well-crafted songs like Sweet Maxine, The Doctor and Eyes Of Silver.

They wrapped up their time at the Vector with their biggest hits…Black Water, Long Train Running and China Grove, with Listen To The Music saved for the encore.

Carlos Santana and his band were on relatively quickly and stayed on for over two hours. This may have been almost too much music for a Tuesday night, but who’s complaining.

Santana began their set with footage of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, where they first made their mark, playing on the screen and playing Woodstock standout Soul Sacrifice.

Then it was on to something a bit more contemporary…Maria Maria.

No matter what the song, Carlos soloed beautifully and the band laid down that unique Santana groove…held together by drummer Cindy Blackman Santana (Carlos’ wife) and two percussionists.

They wound their way through hits…Jingo, Evil Ways…and more esoteric material…John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, Enya’s Orinoco (Sail Away).

Carlos to time to do a bit of proselytizing during A Love Supreme, telling his fans, “You are a beam of light” or “You’re a wretched sinner…ain’t nothing in-between”.

He offered, as an explanation for sharing his beliefs…””I have to go there because, like John Lennon and Bob Marley, I need to offer you a way out from this situation”.

The set concluded with Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va.

For their encore, Cindy dug into a blistering drum solo  and then it was on to Smooth and finally, The Chambers Brothers Love, Peace And Happiness, with images of Woodstock again being shown on the screen.

So there you have it, two veteran acts who have been doing what they do for over forty years, still sounding vital, still thrilling audiences.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Michael Flynn:

The Doobie Brothers set list:

  1. Jesus Is Just Alright
  2. Rockin’ Down The Highway
  3. Take Me In Your Arms
  4. Dark Eyed Cajun Woman
  5. Spirit
  6. Sweet Maxine
  7. Eyes Of Silver
  8. Clear As Driven Snow
  9. Takin’ It To The Streets
  10. The Doctor
  11. Black Water
  12. Long Train Runnin’
  13. China Grove
  14. Without You
  15. Listen To The Music

 

Santana set list:

  1. Soul Sacrifice
  2. Maria Maria
  3. Foo Foo
  4. Corazon Espanado
  5. Incident At Neshabur
  6. Jingo
  7. Evil Ways
  8. A Love Supreme
  9. Orinoco (Sail Away)
  10. Rain
  11. Kate
  12. New Song
  13. Right On
  14. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen
  15. Oye Como Va
  16. Drum Solo
  17. Smooth
  18. Love, Peace And Happiness
Marty Duda
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