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Doobie Brothers at the MACC

Band brings its 50th anniversary tour to the Valley Isle on Tuesday

The Doobie Brothers, Pat Simmons (from left),Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and John McFee will play at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Tuesday. Photo courtesy Maui Arts & Cultural Center

Bringing their extended 50th anniversary tour to the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Tuesday, the Doobie Brothers' co-founder Pat Simmons is looking forward to playing his home island again. "It's been way too long," said Simmons. "The last time we were there, Willie got up and jammed with us. There's nothing like playing there. It's the best." The Doobie Brothers last played on Maui in 2011 with Willie Nelson joining them on stage, and in 2006, they backed the country icon at the MACC. Heading to Hawaii from sold-out shows in Japan, the 2022 Mainland leg of the tour drew rave reviews. "After such a long, hard-rocking career, the band still sounds full and performs incredibly well," praised Spokane's "The Spokesman-Review." And USA Today lauded, "This tour showcases The Doobie Brothers in peak form, with both their vocals and musical dexterity undiminished." "We stay true to the records," said Simmons. "We work hard to make the songs feel as close to the original versions as we can make." Formed in 1970, and known for timeless hits like "Black Water," "China Grove," and "Long Train Runnin," the band features original co-founding lead vocalists/guitarists Simmons and Tom Johnston, along with Michael McDonald, who joined in 1975, and multi-instrumentalist John McFee, who has performed with the Doobies since 1979. Less than a handful of leading bands can claim to include two core members still playing together after five decades. "It's pretty amazing to be this old and still in existence on this planet," said Simmons, laughing. "It kind of went by in a flash. I don't feel like anything's much different for me. I love doing this, so it's been really rewarding on so many levels." McDonald, whose hits with the band included "Takin' It to the Streets" and "What a Fool Believes," and had a home on Maui, officially rejoined in late 2019. "Mike's a good friend and it's cool having him back playing with us," said Simmons. "Mike and I hung out in Maui for years and we've stayed in touch. I suggested a long time ago when we were doing some benefits on the island that he should come and do some dates with the band. I thought maybe a week's worth of shows. I don't know how much time he's going to devote to this, but so far it's been a couple of years back with us and he has his own career as well." "I'm having fun," said McDonald, about rejoining the band. "It's been great. With the 50th anniversary, Tom and Pat and John asked me if I would consider doing the tour with the band. We actually couldn't do it in our official 50th year because of the pandemic. I'm certainly enjoying playing with the guys again. "I always missed playing the show that we had with Tommy and Pat's songs. I enjoy playing those as much as I enjoy playing my own. So I'm glad to be back doing that again. And it's given me a chance to play a little more organ than I'm used to playing." Looking back at his time with the group, McDonald remembers being surprised that his song "What a Fool Believes," became a Grammy-winning hit. "I don't know that I ever really expected anything that I wrote for the band to be a hit. 'What a Fool Believes' was a surprise to all of us. It seemed to reach the audience in a way that we didn't really expect." After releasing in 2021 the rocking album "Liberté," a reference to the Chateau Liberté bar in the Santa Cruz Mountains where they started off, the band is working on a new recording with McDonald. "We're pulling him in to do some recording with us again," Simmons explained. "We're working again with John Shanks, who was on 'Liberté.' He plays guitar for Bon Jovi. I asked Mike if he would want to cut some tracks for a future project and he said sure. He jumped right in and wrote a couple of songs with John, and I wrote a song with John, and we're writing some things ourselves. I'm thrilled with one song. One started out as a kind of rootsy folk blues thing and a kind of full out rocker, kind of Lindsey Buckingham style rock. Mike has a pop soul thing and another that's really gospel rootsy, and then Tom has more of a rock R&B thing." "I think our aim at this point is to just record as much stuff as we can," McDonald added. "So we have some things to choose from. We're in that kind of fully creative mode where we're just seeing what we come up with. Knowing our band, it could be (out) early next year." "Liberté" found the group recapturing their classic signature sound heard on early tracks like "Rockin' Down the Highway" and "Listen to the Music," with new memorable songs that could have easily fit on "The Captain and Me" and "Stampede." "I kind of felt like we were in that pocket a little bit," Simmons said. "It's who we are. We don't try to reinvent ourselves completely." Living on Maui since 1997, he fell in love with Hawaiian music. "I love so much of Hawaiian music. As we were working on things, I was playing Hawaiian people that I admire for the producer. Here's some people that I love. I said you should listen to Gabby Pahinui and Barry Flanagan. I was playing stuff for him so that he would see the influences that I have been feeling." From the first time Simmons landed in Hawaii, he was mesmerized by Keola and Kapono Beamer's "Honolulu City Lights" album. "When I came to Hawaii in the early '70s and I heard that album I flipped. I went home, and I wrote 'Slack Key Soquel Rag.' I was really affected by all that and I still am." Simmons said Mick Fleetwood is expected to play with the Doobie Brothers at the MACC. "I think Mick's going to maybe sit in with us." Besides the MACC show, Simmons and McDonald will perform with Fleetwood at the Seabury Hall Craft Fair on May 13. "That should be fun," said McDonald. The Doobie Brothers perform in the MACC's A&B Amphitheater on Tuesday. Pat Simmons, Jr. will open the show. Gates open at 5 p.m. and the concert starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $69.50, $79.50, $99.50 and a limited number of $149.50 Gold Circle seats, plus applicable fees, available online at MauiArts.org. [gallery ids="1091284"]

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