HEARTFELT MEMORIES
Slain surgeon’s band plays on
Dr. Michael Davidson never backed down from a challenge.
Whether he was performing high-risk heart surgery or taking up guitar without a single lesson, Davidson was always game.
That gritty determination — often fearlessly done for the benefit of others — is the theme of a Sept. 26 concert, aptly titled “Rock Like Mike,” which will honor the renowned Boston cardiologist who was tragically shot and killed in January at Brigham and Women’s Hospital by a deceased patient’s son.
The event will be put on by Davidson’s amateur rock band Off Label — his musical family for the last 3 years of his life.
“He lived on the edge of his comfort zone,” said Dr. Shira Doron, infectious disease specialist at Tufts Medical Center and lead singer in Off Label. “He was always willing to operate on anyone. Not many heart surgeons will do that.”
She said, “If we can take anything from his life, it’s to be inspired by the way he lived.”
Proceeds from the event, which costs $60 a ticket, will go to Davidson’s four children, now 10, 8, 3 and 4 months.
“We know that Mike would have wanted to continue to provide for his family,” Doron said. “And he can’t.”
Davidson started the band with a fellow surgeon, Dr. Daniel Wiener. “Off label” is a term given to medical products that can be used but are yet to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Wiener said shock and fear left little room to properly celebrate Davidson’s life during his funeral. The concert, he said, is an opportunity to do just that.
“I think at the time of his death, there was a lot of anger and sadness and confusion. I think we all felt threatened, like our workplace was violated in a terrible way,” said the Brigham thoracic surgeon, who’s a rhythm guitarist and backup singer for the band. “Now we all feel this sense of loss and miss him terribly, and we’re able to just sort of remember him and celebrate him more.”
The event will be held at The Paradise Rock Club in Boston. Local Wellesley band Grounds for Divorce will also perform, along with Rod the Long Bone, a band made up of Harvard-trained surgeons.
There are still songs that Off Label members can’t play because the chords are so intertwined with memories of Davidson, Doron and Wiener said. “American Girl” by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers is one of those. Davidson nailed that solo during his last jam session with the band.
But just as Davidson lives on in the rhythm of the beating hearts he saved, he’ll live on in the rhythm of the music he brought to Off Label’s usual lineup, like the soulful “Boom Boom” by John Lee Hooker.
“There were songs that were his favorites that we can play now, and remember him without being distressed,” Wiener said. “Certainly, the songs keep the memories alive.”