The autumn leaves go tumbling by. Clouds march by, amassing their troops in the skies. Don't let them shoot my kite down. Looking forward to seven months overcast skies. Leaves swirl at my feet and I walk along the crowded downtown Seattle sidewalks with my head in the clouds. The ennui's setting in so I sit down to dust off my collection of Rod McKuen records. You know the guy; dime-store poet / Jacque Brel's drinking buddy circa '66. Memories of the summer are still clear. Romance, wine, and song. One of those memories is the Doobie Brothers live on the Willamette River, September 2002, A.D. (After Doobie). No I'm serious. SERIOUS.
What can I say about the Doobies that hasn't been said already? If they'd been standing guard at Altamont, we'd all be in better place right now. You know, we'd all just have kept rollin' down the highway. God knows the Stones could have spent some time in China Grove. Right before Watergate, when the Vietnam war was winding down and there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel, a bit of optimism crept back into American culture. It was a hard earned optimism, so it was an optimism that involved among other things, working on your bike, getting laid, and cracking a Schlitz, in no particular order. And then it was over. AA, STDs and helmet laws kicked in. Things got ugly. The records remained, however, and so does the band.
You can see the band today. They've got four guitarists, three drummers, 2 bass players, one white soul sax player and a keyboardist. They play all the old hits and all the oldtimers try and party like it's 1972. I was born in 1972. Half the band was born after me. I think there were two original Doobies. No Michael McDonald, he's off getting stoned with Jeff Bridges now. Speaking of getting stoned I got stoned right before the concert. Get it? Smoking a doob at the Doobie Brothers. What's more American than that? Here's the announcer right before the concert: "The bowl's just about loaded, must be DOOBIE time!!!!" Everyone gets it, get it?
They played some new songs, too. They didn't go over so well, and why would they? They're not "Jesus is Just Allright" or "Listen to the Music." Oh well, they can try and rekindle the magic for the new generation. Time to hit the beer garden. Next time you have a beer, buy one for the Doobie Brothers.