Santana and the Doobie Brothers - Perth Arena, 7th April 2017
Words: Todd Lockley
The Baby Boomers were out in force, the night was sifting into it's peak and the side alleys of Perth cascaded towards the ugliest Arena in town for a night of classic rock and elongated guitar solos. It was an over-modest crowd, Bum's down, thumbs up as far as the eye could see, and as show time crept nearer there was little space to be filled before lights down.
Now, the script is very rarely flipped on a double billed headliner like it was on this fine Friday night. However, it was the support act who shone brightest, so let's kick off with the lacklustre headliner, Santana and his band of merry men (and kick arse lady drummer extraordinaire Cindy Blackman, who most will know from the Lenny Kravitz filmclip for Are You Gonna Go My Way!).
Bright Buddhas of gold illuminated on the large backdrop adorning the stage, as eight players took their places before the man in the hat, Mr Carlos Santana made his way to the front with his signature sound wailing from his incredible digits. They worked their way threw a mish mash of sound, bouncing from soccer hooligan chants, tribal extensions of samba, blues so deep you'd get depressed and all the while Santana's guitar weeping gently over it all. It wasn't great, at times everything just sounded like a jumbled mess. When the quieter moments kicked in and it was just Carlos playing, those were the main highlights of the headliners performance.
RNB twinged junk like Maria, Maria were early filler, Enya's hit from the late 80's Orinoco Flow was fun as it was easily distinguishable whereas the Door's Light My Fire had people wondering "How do I know this song again?".
Santana himself was a cross breed of humour and spirit, proclaiming "I am the light, the light is my DNA" before later joking that he in fact was not "lip syncing". The more fun times were had during cringe worthy smash hit Smooth, the epic Santana sound of Black Magic Woman and the child friendly chant of Woodstock.
Now, the script is very rarely flipped on a double billed headliner like it was on this fine Friday night. However, it was the support act who shone brightest, so let's kick off with the lacklustre headliner, Santana and his band of merry men (and kick arse lady drummer extraordinaire Cindy Blackman, who most will know from the Lenny Kravitz filmclip for Are You Gonna Go My Way!).
Bright Buddhas of gold illuminated on the large backdrop adorning the stage, as eight players took their places before the man in the hat, Mr Carlos Santana made his way to the front with his signature sound wailing from his incredible digits. They worked their way threw a mish mash of sound, bouncing from soccer hooligan chants, tribal extensions of samba, blues so deep you'd get depressed and all the while Santana's guitar weeping gently over it all. It wasn't great, at times everything just sounded like a jumbled mess. When the quieter moments kicked in and it was just Carlos playing, those were the main highlights of the headliners performance.
RNB twinged junk like Maria, Maria were early filler, Enya's hit from the late 80's Orinoco Flow was fun as it was easily distinguishable whereas the Door's Light My Fire had people wondering "How do I know this song again?".
Santana himself was a cross breed of humour and spirit, proclaiming "I am the light, the light is my DNA" before later joking that he in fact was not "lip syncing". The more fun times were had during cringe worthy smash hit Smooth, the epic Santana sound of Black Magic Woman and the child friendly chant of Woodstock.
The legendary Doobie Brothers were billed as support on the posters that were scattered around the Arena, however, in reality, they were the stars on the night, so this reviewer is giving the headline spot (of this review) to them.
Coaxed out under the cover of darkness, only to be betrayed by the bright neon Doobie Brothers light, three and a half elderly men adorned with guitars and one drummer launched into Jesus Is Just Alright. The Doobie Brothers were here and they were ready to rock. And rock they did!
Age has not withered their impeccable skills, nor soured their vocal sounds. Though shared vocalist and guitar man Tom Johnston's moustache and hair were contrasting shades of brown. You can't have it all at 68 I suppose.
Three songs in and they finally took a breath. "How's everyone doing up in here Perth?", the nearing capacity crowd (remember, these guys were supporting) cheered with glee as the smell of "doobie" cleansed the arena air. All four front men switched between lead vocal through out the evening, however it was John McFee who really stood out in a talent contest where everyone was a winner.
McFee was mesmerizing with his constant switch of instruments, from lead guitar, to fiddle, to keys, to violin and then punching out The Doctor without skipping a beat. The multi instrumental solos led into Taking It To The Streets which had fans dancing in the aisles. Kudos to the security team on point for not being overzealous with those looking to boogie.
The back end of the Brothers Doobie set was a hit filled fluster. Black Water and China Grove and hands down song of the night Long Train Running, with it's distinct guitar lick that had everyone in attendance wondering "Without love, where would we be right now?!".
The "Doobies" smashed it out of the park, being the only support band this reviewer has ever seen return to the stage for an encore. They left Santana with too high a mountain to climb. Their final track, the sing-along classic Listen To The Music saw the now capacity crowd in full voice. An excellent way to start/end the evening on a high!
Coaxed out under the cover of darkness, only to be betrayed by the bright neon Doobie Brothers light, three and a half elderly men adorned with guitars and one drummer launched into Jesus Is Just Alright. The Doobie Brothers were here and they were ready to rock. And rock they did!
Age has not withered their impeccable skills, nor soured their vocal sounds. Though shared vocalist and guitar man Tom Johnston's moustache and hair were contrasting shades of brown. You can't have it all at 68 I suppose.
Three songs in and they finally took a breath. "How's everyone doing up in here Perth?", the nearing capacity crowd (remember, these guys were supporting) cheered with glee as the smell of "doobie" cleansed the arena air. All four front men switched between lead vocal through out the evening, however it was John McFee who really stood out in a talent contest where everyone was a winner.
McFee was mesmerizing with his constant switch of instruments, from lead guitar, to fiddle, to keys, to violin and then punching out The Doctor without skipping a beat. The multi instrumental solos led into Taking It To The Streets which had fans dancing in the aisles. Kudos to the security team on point for not being overzealous with those looking to boogie.
The back end of the Brothers Doobie set was a hit filled fluster. Black Water and China Grove and hands down song of the night Long Train Running, with it's distinct guitar lick that had everyone in attendance wondering "Without love, where would we be right now?!".
The "Doobies" smashed it out of the park, being the only support band this reviewer has ever seen return to the stage for an encore. They left Santana with too high a mountain to climb. Their final track, the sing-along classic Listen To The Music saw the now capacity crowd in full voice. An excellent way to start/end the evening on a high!