The Doobie Brothers finally got their 50th Anniversary Tour to VanAndel after several delays. It was worth the wait.

An Energetic Show, And An Energetic Audience

The Doobie Brothers lit up a pretty good crowd of around 10,000 Sunday night, July 11 at the VanAndel Arena downtown. After three postponements due to Covid and other issues, the Doobies finally made it to GR, and I was glad they did. The two-hour and fifteen minute show was well planned to enthrall both the casual and hard core fans alike.

The celebration of their 50th year together (actually almost 52 years now, the band joked) began with a rousing rendition of "Nobody" from their eponymous debut from 1971. The song was later rerecorded for their 2010 release World Gone Crazy.

The show was a delightful mix of the guitar rock songs, with the three front guitarists, Tom Johnston, John McFee and Patrick Simmons trading off solos and vocals, punctuated every few songs by keyboard heavy compositions of Michael McDonald.

It Was Well Crafted Set Featuring Highlights Of Their Fifty Years Together

From there, the boys took the crowd on a journey of their career, carefully mixing well known hits like "It Keeps You Runnin'" and "Rockin' Down The Highway" with newer songs and deep cut classics, such as "Clear As The Driven Snow", a wonderful suite from The Captain and Me.

Following what they referred to as a 'trip to New Orleans' for the 2010 jam 'World Gone Crazy', the band then let loose with a final salvo of high energy hit after hit, peaking with  their famed cover of the Art Reynolds Singers gospel tent revival classic 'Jesus Is Just Alright With Me'.

The night culminated with the three song encore of "Black Water', a wonderfully jazzy take of 'Takin' It To The Streets' before winding up with a crowd driven sing-along to 'Listen To The Music'.

You can see the entire set list here.

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