June 28, 2019 - Opening with his solo debut hit “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near),” Michael McDonald's voice was strong and he hit all the notes in his range.
McDonald went with a different arrangement for most of songs on this tour. His songs had a jazzy feel to them, leaving the pop behind. He spent most of the time behind the keyboards while belting out his hits one after the other, including “Real Love”, “Ya Mo Be There”, “I Can Let Go Now”, and “Real Love”(Doobie Bros).
He performed “On My Own” with his backup singer taking the part of Patti LaBelle, which is a difficult voice to measure up to, and it was one of the highlights of the show!
He brought out Chaka Kahn to sing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,”and “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and announced that both songs has been written by Valerie Simpson, who was sitting in the audience.
The main set was brought to a close with a treat, two of his biggest hits with the Doobie Brothers “Minute by Minute” and “What a Fool Believes”. Both sounding just like they did so many years ago.
Instead of running off the stage and coming back for an encore, he expressed that he had a better idea...“let’s bring Chaka Kahn back out.” They sang Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” then his big debut hit with The Doobies, “Takin’ It to the Streets.”
The happy crowd was standing clapping, dancing and singing along! All in all a happy nostalgic night!