Three Dog Night!

 Three Dog Night was a virtual hit parade by itself back in the late 1960s and thru the mid 70's. 21 consecutive top 40 hits, millions of albums sold , millions of 45's, Jesus when you think about it you can't help but remember them all if you're of a certain age of course.

What remains of Three Dog Night came to the Holland Center last evening for a 90-minute set of hit after hit after hit. Led by 80-year-old Danny Hutton, the lone remaining original Dog , the band began with Family of Man and never let up. Helped along by fellow singer David Morgan and guitarist Paul Kingery, Hutton and his mates often sounded exactly like the old days and just as often did not. Since the death of Cory Wells in 2015 and the fact Chuck Negron refuses to participate, it is really difficult to copy the voices lost. We saw Chuck Negron on the Happy Together tour a few years back and his voice is very recognizable on the old hits. It was missed on many of the songs played.

This is not to say the band didn't kill it. They did. Since Three Dog Night was probably the most successful cover band of all time in the first place, this new version covered the old songs well and had the older crowd rockin in the aisles. Every song was an oh yeah moment. Black and White, Old Fashioned Love Song , Out in the Country, Mama Told Me, Liar, Eli's Coming and the show ender Joy to the World (which when we saw Negron sing it he introduced it with a I can't believe I'm still singing this fucking song 50 years later intro). Along the way there were stories from Hutton and Morgan about getting old, making records, making bad decisions on what singles to release and how much fun they were still having. It was a great time.

The band. Drummer Pat Bautz kept the beat going and sang lead on Mama Told Me Not To Come, arguably their strangest and perhaps best song. Lead guitarist Paul Kingery provided the third voice, often mimicking Negron's unique pipes. Bassist Tim Hutton, son of Danny, didn't do much but play and  keep the rhythm alive. But keyboard player Howard Laravea was the glue that kept this band as great as they were. He was working his ass off moving between the piano chords of some songs and the organ backing of others and at the end of the concert had the chance to shine on his own. 

The new song they played right before Joy to the World. You know the "let's go get more beer songs" other bands play. The "this is from our new album" songs. You know. Nobody wants to listen to them. But this one, "Prayers for the Children" was a song about the effects of war on innocents. Sung by the Huttons, Kingery and Morgan acapella, the song was beautiful and compelling. With only a slight organ note or two, the crowd was silent as it was sung and erupted at the end. And then came Joy to the World and the place went nuts. 

They still have it. They're older and slower but then so is the crowd. It was a great time.