Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/836013
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID M. EARNISSE (CHICAGO); ANDREW MACPHERSON (THE DOOBIE BROTHERS) For Chicago , touring is a hard habit to break. "Retire? And do what?" asks Robert Lamm (center). "What's better than being in a rock band?" The group hasn't missed a year on the road since 1967; their first show with current tour buddies the Doobie Brothers, (below, with Tom Johnston at center) was in 1973. Do your summer plans involve playing shows for tens of thou- sands of people at amphitheaters across the US? And have you been doing that kind of thing for 50 years straight? No? Then you must not be a member of the seminal rock band Chicago. "Those 50 years went by rather quickly," laughs keyboardist/ vocalist/songwriter Robert Lamm, who cofounded the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group in 1967, penning such enduring, sing-along classics as "25 or 6 to 4" and "Saturday in the Park." Fronted by new lead singer and bassist Jeff Coffey, who sings the old Peter Cetera/Jason Scheff tunes ("Jeff's a more intense ver- sion of his predecessors," says Lamm), Chicago is joined on the road by old friends the Doobie Brothers, of "Listen to the Music" and "China Grove" fame. "We love playing to a crowd and interacting," says Doobies cofounder/guitarist/vocalist Tom Johnston. "And these outdoor shows have a festive atmosphere— I'm invested in getting people out of their seats and rocking." Each band has a catalog of songs that's five decades deep, so will you hear your faves? "The chestnuts are there," reveals Johnston. "Those four or five songs that we always play. But there are also deep album cuts that we haven't played in years." Lamm adds, "It would take us many hours to play all our hits." With 21 top-10 singles and 36 albums (25 of them certified platinum), he's not kidding. "We can interchange them and still make two hours of popular songs. It's a blessing." June 17, Austin360 Amphitheater; austin 360amphitheater.com . CHICAGO AND THE DOOBIE BROTHERS TAKE IT TO THE STREETS FOR THE MOST SING-ALONG SETS OF THE SUMMER. BY KAREN ROSE ROCKING OUT "I'M INVESTED IN GETTING PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR SEATS AND ROCKING." —tom johnston AUSTINWAY.COM 59 SCENE IN CONCERT