Three Dog Night w/ Little River Band in West Texas.

Three Dog Night w/ Little River Band in West Texas

What an absolute treat we had last Thursday night here in El Paso, Texas at the lovely Plaza Theatre as the Little River Band and Three Dog Night graced us with an evening of classic hits, one after another, after another.   Of all the shows I’ve covered, this one holds a special place in my heart, truth be told, Three Dog Night w/ T Rex in support was my very first concert, the year was 1972, I was 15.  So, needless to say, you can imagine how excited I was once approved to cover this epic event, yeah, the date was circled. 

 So, two legendary bands on one night, on the same stage and the stage was set, set for an evening of memories to coming flooding back to most everyone in this sold-out show, 2500 in attendance.  In the late 60s and 70s, Three Dog Night was a powerhouse of making hits, 21 in total between 69-75, when I saw them in 72, they were on fire, selling out everywhere they went, but as fate would have it, fell apart after a short 6 years, mainly because of indifferences, lawsuits and drug addiction. Line-up changes is an understatement, but in the Good News Department, Three Dog Night is alive and well with Danny Hutton as the soul original member, the line up I saw is sadly gone, but not to take anything away from the current line-up, they sounded great and were on point.

Now when you have two bands of this caliber on the same bill, sometimes they alternate as in who closes on that particular evening, not the case on this tour, Three Dog Night was the headliner, so we have the Little River Band in support, talk about a one two punch!   These Aussies have been at it since 75 with 24 releases and 25 million albums sold and if you haven’t heard any of their music over the years, well, you’ve been living under a rock.  Hits like Take it Easy on Me, Lonesome Loser, Lady and my personal favorite, Reminiscing.   I say LRB was in support, but they played a full set as well as Three Dog Night, 90 minutes each.

Three Dog Night hit the stage at 9 sharp to a crowd that had just been worked over by the boys from down under, make no mistake, these fans from West Texas were ready for round two, the bell rung and Danny Hutton on vocals, Timothy Hutton on Bass (Danny’s Son), Howard Larayea on Keyboards, David Morgon on vocals, Pat Bautz doing the honors on percussion and Paul Kingery on guitar and vocals and these seasoned veterans went through a 17 song set list like a hot knife though butter.  Hit songs like Black and White, Never Been to Spain, An Old Fashion Love Song, Mama Told Me Not to Come and everyone’s personal favorite, One.  I love shows like this, music I grew up with and as stated, memories of 52 years ago, I love the way music does this as in takes you back to a simpler time and fond memories, not to mention, it also makes me feel old, but I gotta tell ya, being a teenager in the 70s, nothing better my friend.   This tour is going to run the rest of the year thought-out the States ending in St. Charles, Illinois on 14 November.   So, if you’re in your 60s like most in attendance at this show, I highly suggest you check those listings and as always, get those tickets in advance especially since these cats are selling out everywhere they go.  Thank you so much and of course, we’ll see you at the next rock show.

Story and Photography by Tim Schumann

Set List-

The Family of Man

Black and White

Never Been to Spain

Shambala

Out in the Country

East to be Hard

Play Something Sweet

One

Let Me Serenade You

An Old Fashion Love Song

Sure as I’m Sitting Here

Liar

Mama Told Me Not to Come

Celebrate

Keyboard Jam

Eli’s Coming

Prayer of the Children