Riverstage Brisbane

Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs and The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, Riverstage, Brisbane - 27 February, 2010

Before Mick Fleetwood and his Blues Band took to the stage, the fine punters at Brisbane's Riverstage - those that had bothered to show up on time - were thoroughly soaked from a summer downpour and clutching feverishly to their $5 ponchos, which did little. Could the mood better be set for a little summer blues?

Fleetwood, naturally of Fleetwood Mac fame, cut a swarthy figure behind his black and gold-plated drum kit and you saw just how gigantesque he was as he leapt to his feet and saluted the crowd between songs. His blues band was fronted by the dapper Rick Vito, who impressed with some elegant slide playing, an epic vintage guitar collection and some nods to Peter Green on 'Black Magic Woman' and 'Love that Burns'. The band funked it up with 'Shake your Moneymaker' and the chemistry between the jolly Santa-like Fleetwood and the refined style of Vito was fun to watch.

For those about to soft/yacht rock we must salute the blue-eyed soul of the fabulous Michael McDonald (Steely Dan/The Doobie Brothers) who brought the energy to the Riverstage in the form of a talented seven-piece band. Opening with 'Peace' and following swiftly with a Ray Charles cover 'You Don't Know Me', the smooth bass groove of 'I Keep Forgettin' had us cursing the rain and wishing the crowd would all rise collectively and dance.

McDonald's Motown tribute got the medley treatment - 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine', 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', 'Aint Nothin' Like The Real Thing' - and his cheering band worked hard to get the crowd involved, but most punters weren't game enough to get to their feet. Two extensive keyboard intros to two of The Doobies' biggest hits, 'What a Fool Believes' and 'Takin' it to the Streets', sounded every bit as golden as their original recordings and the band left the stage to roaring applause.

Boz Scaggs stepped quietly on to the stage and cranked out 'JoJo' and the bass-driven funky 'Hercules'. Scaggs' band was rock solid but his backup singer, Monet Owens, was the standout from the set's beginning. She hammed it up without the cheese, hit flashy Aretha-ish notes and was instrumental in injecting some life into the drenched crowd. After McDonald's upbeat set, you could be easily disappointed with the quieter moodiness that Scaggs brought to the stage.

A feisty sing-off/lick-off between Owen and Scaggs on 'Miss Sun' and the soaring Stevie Wonder ballad 'Until You Come Back To Me' - which Owens sang solo - got the crowd to their feet in rapturous applause. The opening notes of 'Lido Shuffle' brought the some dodgy RSL-inspired dancing by punters on the ground; but it was the show's encore - the epically lengthy 'Loan Me a Dime', with Scagg's lead guitarist bringing to life the late great Duane Allman - that had the crying blues solos ringing out, note-perfect, into the Brisbane summer night. The weather had the last laugh however, and rain poured on the punters who were queuing to grab their cloaked umbrellas.

Fiona Laughton
2 Mar 2010