Friday, October 29, 1999
CONCERT REVIEW
'Skyline' CD yummy concoction
BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Free Doobies was the special Thursday when Skyline Chili threw itself a 50th birthday party at Firstar Center.
That's why the 13,000 tickets for the show were snatched up so quickly. But the Cincinnati restaurant chain also served up a heaping helping of hometown cooking.
The opening act was an hour-long revue featuring many of the artists on the Skyline Golden Sampler.
The Goshorn Brothers kicked things off with a tight, but laid-back, three-song set. Timmy Goshorn was so casual he wore a cell phone along with his guitar as he sang the band's contribution to the CD, the Beatles' “Get Back.” Their next song, Sonny Landreth's “Congo Square,” was even better. Larry Goshorn closed with his Pure Prairie League classic, “Two Lane Highway.”
Latin X-Posure was next with another three-way. The local salsa band delivered a spicy “Oye Como Va,” along with a couple of pieces from its forthcoming CD, including the title track, “Quiero Mas.”
The next act was simply astounding. Scotty Anderson, arguably the area's fastest guitarist, opened with a country boogie that blinked from lightning leads to rich chords to pedal steel bends. Before the crowd could catch its breath, he launched “Orange Blossom Special” into the stratosphere.
Then it was time for the Skyline Soul Revue, featuring the five female singers and their songs from the CD — P. Ann Everson-Price's “Dancing in the Street;” Dixie Karas and Walt Coleman with “Ain't No Mountain High Enough;” Mandy Gaines and a Superfly-garbed Rufus Allen on James Brown's “I Got You;” Camille Smith's sassy “I Heard It Through the Grapevine;” and a down-home “Twist & Shout” by Cincinnati's Queen of the Blues, Sweet Alice Hoskins. Then the Mistics did their best Temptations on “Get Ready,” before Ms. Smith and the entire ensemble returned to reprise “Dancing in the Street.” The party was officially started.
The Doobie Brothers were the perfect party band. With Michael McDonald gone again, this wasn't the wimpier, late-'70s, lounge-soul Doobies. This was the rockin' biker band of the early '70s, the one that birthed a million air guitarists with the irresistible tunes springing from Tom Johnston's rocking rhythm guitar.
For their 70-minute show, Mr. Johnston and company did Best of the Doobies Vol. 1. There was “Rockin' Down the Highway,” “Jesus is Just Alright,” “Black Water,” with John McFee trading guitar for fiddle, and the double-barreled encore of “China Grove” and “Listen to the Music.” Pat Simmons did a lovely slack-key guitar duet with Mr. McFee and the band did a fine remake of Thurston Harris' 1957 rocker, “Little Bitty Pretty One.”
Not everything was so good. There was an unconvincing stab at blues, “Don't Start Me To Talking,” and the very bland new ballad, “Can't Stand to Lose.”
But when the Doobies stuck to their harmony-fueled, guitar-driven classics, it was as potent and satisfying as a coney with the works.
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