The Doobie Brothers - Live At Wolf Trap
Performance
Production
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The Doobie Brothers - Live At Wolf Trap
Performance
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Talk about wanting to kick yourself in the ass! There I was, this spring, making my annual decision of which summer concerts to attend. Rush? Check. Yes & Dream Theater? Oh hell yeah! Styx & Peter Frampton? Why not. The Doobie Brothers at Wolf Trap? I only live about a half-hour from the place, but, damn, I've already spent all of this money on these other tickets. Let me think about it. Then, before you know it, the pavilion seats were all sold out, and it was too late. It sure as hell would have been nice to know back then, that they were FILMING THE CONCERT FOR A DVD - THAT I WOULD BE REVIEWING!!! I think I might have scrounged up the money if I would have been in on that little fact. A few months ago I had just reviewed The Doobie Brothers' excellent Rockin' Down the Highway DVD - their 1996 concert to benefit The Wildlife Conservation Society - and liked it enough to add it to my 2004 Top Ten list. I ended that review saying that the only thing that could top this would be a DVD recording of their next concert tour, since Rockin' was more a TV special than an actual concert. Low and behold, we now have Live At Wolf Trap, from their 2004 summer tour. I didn't know my reviews were so influential (LOL at myself). I have since replaced Rockin' with this slightly more satisfying DVD on the top ten list. Live At Wolf Trap includes 23 songs, spanning The Doobies entire 30-plus year career. The majority of the songs are from their seminal early-70's output, including five songs each from the classic Toulouse Street and The Captain & Me albums of 1972 and 1973. The only remotely new material that gets performed are two songs, "People Gotta Love Again" and "Five Corners", from their last studio album, 2000's Sibling Rivalry, and "Dangerous" from 1991's Brotherhood album, which to me is still "new" Doobies' music. Understandably, you do not get much of the Michael McDonald-era songs, since his unique vocals make the songs so distinct. They do perform a highly improvised version of "Takin' It To The Streets", with Pat Simmons and, bassist, Skylark taking turns on the lead vocals. The song begins with an impressive extended keyboard intro by Guy Allison, and ends with some great sax. They almost steer completely clear from the Minute By Minute album, one of my favorites, and only break out the blue-grass, instrumental "Steamer Lane Breakdown", only referred to as "Steamer Lane", on the DVD. I would have loved to have heard Simmons' "Dependin' On You" or "Don't Stop To Watch The Wheels" from that great album. Don't fret, you can see great performances of "Minute By Minute", "What A Fool Believes", and "Takin' It To The Streets" with McDonald on the Rockin' DVD, as well as McDonald' s A Gathering Of Friends DVD, which featured a guest appearance by The Doobie Brothers. Pat Simmons and Tom Johnston's lead vocals do not have the power they once did, but you can say that about almost every rock vocalist who is in his fifties. They don't get much assistance from the mix either, as the lead vocals are sometimes slightly drowned out. However, almost everyone in this eleven member band lends some vocals to the mix, and the harmonies sound fantastic. With this many talented musicians up on stage, the sound was huge, and it was all mixed brilliantly into a powerful DTS audio transfer. Each instrument was clear and distinct, and the surround sound capabilities were employed superbly. The picture was sharp and crystal clear thanks to a brilliant Hi-Def, widescreen video transfer. It was also refreshing to have a director who knew how to provide the viewer with a sense of being there. The multiple camera angles captured the overall excitement of the show, and also provided some great close-ups of each band member doing their thing. The occasional split-screen is used, and was not distracting to the performance. The camera changes were never too quick and allowed you to soak in the show, without getting dizzy from too many camera edits. There was one annoying production glitch with this DVD, however. During playback, there are no chapter numbers or elapsed time readings on the DVD player's display. It calls every chapter "title 1". Also, when played back on my computer's DVD drive, the song title displays are out of order with what is being performed. The special features consisted mainly of interviews with the band members. Also, during five songs, a small icon of either Tom Johnston or Pat Simmons appears on the screen for ten seconds. When you press enter during that time, the video cuts to Tom or Pat explaining the process of writing that song. They also throw in some hilarious footage of a drunken female fan who took it upon herself to start "singing" along to the songs (excruciatingly-horribly - I might add) using the audience mike, which they had positioned at the front of the stage. Doobie Brothers' fans have been very fortunate this year, as the band has released two outstanding, and unique DVD concerts in 2004. These guys are undeniably still performing with the passion and energy of their glory days, and sound as good as ever. Somebody remind me to catch their show at Wolf Trap next year. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - January 2005 |
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Running Time: 121 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - November 2004 |