Greetings from NC (just now made it home)!  Having never met the Doobie Brothers, attended a fan club convention or been to CA as an adult, we must admit WE HAD ONE HELLUVA TIME! 
 
The convention gave us a chance to meet alot of wonderful people.  It was soooo cool to share the music and love for the band with people who understood how we felt!  The west coast was the place to be... you could actually feel the energy that inspired so many of the great songs we've come to love.  The Doobie Brothers are exceptional people who truly care about their fans.  They made time for us at the convention and after each concert ( as time allowed ).  WOW, for two girls that have waited over 27 years to thank them personally, we were DOOBIFIED! 
 
As we made our way to the Winery for the first of three shows, we were awestruck by the beauty of the mountain.  With each step we grew more excited and could not stop talking.  We had no idea what awaited us but suddenly we were speechless when we handed our tickets to the usher and looked up to see what can only be described as heaven.  The venue was extremely intimate.  The stage appeared to be less than 200 feet from the entrance.  Most of the fan club seats were slightly to the left of the stage and less than 50 feet away.  Other fan club seats were mid way from the stage to the entrance.  As the Prez stated earlier "not a bad seat in the house".  He was not mistaken!
 
If you've been to a concert lately you may be familiar with the set list.  We, for sure, were more than pleasantly surprised to hear some of the old, newer and newest songs! The band rocked hard from the minute they hit the stage until they closed.  We tried to be considerate of the people behind us but we could not stay in our seats.  Security kept telling everyone to sit down.  They were told they could have our seats, we were standing.  I'm sorry but it is hard as hell to sit when the Doobies are on stage.  They gave us 90 minutes or more of non stop, overdrive classic Doobies and we were thrilled! 
 
Tom kept the crowd going with his TJ on stage style, Pat left the stage to walk through the crowd, John amazed us by playing almost every instrument with strings on stage, Guy pounded the keyboard like crazy, Marc played the sax like no other and Keith (a prince of a guy who donated the vest off his back at the auction) and Big Mike beat the drums with a vengeance.  Skylark, in true Skylark style, was so animated with his bass that his feet couldn't keep up with him and he wound up on his amp!  Excitement filled the CA mountains for three electric nights.  We didn't just listen to the music, it filled every fiber of our soul.  We loved the three new songs we heard and soooo look forward to the release of the CD. 
 
We left the convention with SO much more than we ever hoped to have.  We met some of the most wonderful people we've ever had the pleasure of meeting, we saw WITHOUT A DOUBT the greatest concerts of the millennium and filled a 27+ year dream of meeting the men behind the music.  Mere words can not possibly describe our true feelings about this experience.  If you've been to a convention, met the fan club members and the Doobie Brothers, you know how we feel.  If not, we hope to share this FANTASTIC feeling with you next year!
 
A special thank you to Laurin, the fan club members and the Doobie Brothers for making us feel so welcome.  We will attempt to personally thank each of you off list.
 
Take care,
Helen and Ann

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