The Doobie Brothers - SNACK Benefit, Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, CA, 3-23-1975

This is a concert that seems to have slipped under the radar. But hopefully this post will help change that. Last month, I posted a Doobie Brothers concert from 1973. I said I wanted a concert of the band from the time when Tom Johnston was still the main lead vocalist, because he was replaced by Michael McDonald in 1975 (and then kicked out of the band in 1977). I said I had found what appeared to be the best bootleg from that era.

But then I came across this one. It's even better, because it's from two years later, which means more classic songs were included, especially their Number One hit "Black Water." I think this bootleg has gone under the radar because it's part of the SNACK benefit concert, which had lots of other big name artists, like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Santana, Jefferson Starship, and the Grateful Dead. The concert happened because the San Francisco school district announced they would cut all extra curricular programs for students due to a budget shortfall. The concert allowed the programs to continue. Over 60,000 people attended.

This is a soundboard bootleg. The lead vocals were a little low, but I boosted them for all the songs using the UVR5 audio editing program. The concert was rather short, due to the band being on a bill with lots of other artists, so I've added two songs at the end. Those come from a concert later in 1975 (specifically in Huntsville, Alabama, in October). By that time, McDonald had joined the band, but more as a keyboard player, and didn't yet dominate the vocals.

This album is 48 minutes long. The SNACK portion is 33 minutes long.

01 talk (Doobie Brothers)
02 Jesus Is Just Alright (Doobie Brothers)
03 talk (Doobie Brothers)
04 Neil's Fandango (Doobie Brothers)
05 talk (Doobie Brothers)
06 Take Me in Your Arms [Rock Me a Little While] (Doobie Brothers)
07 talk (Doobie Brothers)
08 Black Water (Doobie Brothers)
09 talk (Doobie Brothers)
10 I Been Workin' on You (Doobie Brothers)
11 Long Train Runnin' (Doobie Brothers)
12 talk (Doobie Brothers)
13 China Grove (Doobie Brothers)
14 Rockin' Down the Highway - Road Angel (Doobie Brothers)
15 South City Midnight Lady (Doobie Brothers)

NOTE: I've removed the download link due to a copyright issue. Sorry about that.

I don't know anything about the cover photo, except that it's from around 1974. I picked it mainly because I know the Doobie Brothers' set at the SNACK benefit took place outside during the day, and this shows them playing outside during the day as well.