Chicago, Doobies let music do the talking at SPAC
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » A packed house got a lesson in pop music history BD — before digital — on Tuesday night at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, led by one of few active bands that can say it has experienced much of that history.
The Spa City was the latest stop for the band Chicago on its 50th anniversary tour, and the nine-man combo gave those who braved the unseasonable chill a 2 ½hour ride through an extensive library of hits that has defied labels and entertained fans from its beginnings as a self-described “rock and roll band with horns” into a chart-topping hit machine that has been recognized by Billboard magazine as the most successful American band of all time in terms of both album and single sales. From the opening strains of “Questions 67 and 68” off its debut 1969 album “Chicago Transit Authority” to the closing encore of “25 or 6 to 4” from “Chicago II,” the band wound a circuitous path through an extensive catalog of jazz-infused classic rock that had a mostly older crowd dancing in the aisles and singing along from beginning to end.
In an age of digital enhancement, Chicago — as well as opening act The Doobie Brothers — offered fans a night of organic, unaugmented rock ’n roll that relied on musicianship instead of electronic gimmicks to entertain. Chicago flawlessly passed lead vocal duties among its members as it rolled through hit after hit from the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, exhibiting both technical precision in maneuvering through many complex compositions and an enthusiastic, fun-loving performance that belies a band whose members are mostly eligible to collect Social Security. The three-man brass section, featuring original members James Pankow on trombone and Lee Loughlane on trumpet, along with Ray Hermann on saxophone and woodwinds, added not only to Chicago’s signature sound, but also brought an element of playfulness as they interacted both among themselves and with other band members. Meanwhile, drummer Tris Imboden and legendary percussionist Walredo Reyes Jr. — better known as a longtime member of Santana — backed that sound with flawless rhythms that drew heavily from jazz, blues and Latin music, even sharing a solo during the band’s cover of the 1960s Spencer Davis Group classic “I’m a Man” that featured impeccable synchronization.
Though the band’s newest member, bassist and vocalist Jeff Coffey failed to match the high bar set by predecessors Peter Cetera and Jason Scheff, his falsetto adequately filled the bill on iconic ballads like “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” “You’re the Inspiration” and “If You Leave Me Now.”
The Doobie Brothers faced a similar dilemma in trying to fill the smoky baritone of longtime lead signer Michael McDonald — who left the band more than a quarter-century ago. While other band members covered McDonald’s vocals on hits like “Takin’ it to the Streets,” they failed to match both McDonald’s depth and range and even left one of the group’s biggest hits, the McDonaldfronted “What a Fool Believes,” off its setlist.
The Doobie Brothers, just a year younger than Chicago, rolled through a slightly less extensive library during its hourlong set, touching on all its other familiar tunes, including a rollicking stretch that opened with “Streets” and went on to rip through “The Doctor,” “Black Water” and “Long Train Runnin,” before concluding the main set with “China Grove.” After playing much of the early set with precision but little enthusiasm, the band seemed to relax as it rolled into its biggest hits, bringing a mostly sedentary crowd to life with it.