A HARMONIOUS REUNION FOR DOOBIE BROTHERS

SAN DIEGO-The Doobie Brothers broke up five years ago over a variety of musical and personal differences, but the group kicked off its mini-reunion tour here Thursday night with a show that emphasized harmony.

There were a few people in the near-capacity crowd at the Sports Arena who were old enough to have been on hand when the band, which was originally based in the San Francisco area, first gained national attention in the early ‘70s with such lyrical, but hard-driving hits as “Listen to the Music” and “China Grove.”

Yet most of the crowd was probably too young even to have caught the second phase of the band, characterized in the late ‘70s by smooth, soulful Michael McDonald compositions such as “What a Fool Believes” and “Takin’ It to the Streets.”

Both audience factions, however, cheered with equal verve as the Doobies went through songs from both musical eras, often with as many as a dozen musicians on stage at the same time (all had been in the band at some point over the years).

Drummer Keith Knudson admitted in an interview before the show that there had been some anxiety among the musicians about the reunion, which was partly organized to raise money for various charities (proceeds from tonight’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl will go to the Vietnam Veterans Aid Foundation).

“Some guys haven’t played live for a while,” he said. “But once we got started, things went well. The only way we could have pulled this off is if people remembered their parts. It’s amazing that you can remember songs so well that you haven’t played for years.”

Despite the good will on stage, it was hard not to think of the concert as an unofficial battle between the band’s original twin directions--as exemplified in the music of singer-guitarist Tom Johnston, who sang the early hits, and McDonald, who became the focus of the group after Johnston left.

If it was a battle, the result was pretty close to a draw. Both singers were first rate.

While the Doobies shifted over the years from the bar-band rock ‘n’ roll of the Johnston era to the almost sophisticated soul-rock band of the McDonald period, the bar-band-style reigned Thursday as four drummers and a percussionist maintained a steady, driving beat.

Essentially playing in Johnston’s ballpark, McDonald had to adapt his slick tunes to that rowdy accompaniment, which he managed admirably. McDonald’s more refined songs, such as “Real Love” and “Minute by Minute,” sounded fine even when transformed with more boisterous arrangements.

With his gruff, bluesy vocal style and good-ol’-boy charisma, Johnston was outstanding, often raising the crowd into a frenzy. He still doesn’t have any polish, but that’s a big part of his appeal.

The Doobies were always more of a commercial band than a critic’s favorite, but this show proved just how appealing unpretentious commercial music can be.

The Doobie Brothers, whose last Warner Bros. album was 1981’s “One Step Closer,” split after a farewell tour in 1982 amid rumors of internal dissension.

But drummer Knudsen, who organized the reunion, refuted those negative reports in the preconcert interview, mostly blaming the old-standby, musical differences.

“There were differences of opinion on which way to go musically,” said Knudsen, who was in the band for 10 years. “We couldn’t make up our minds on a direction. Also, we had nothing new to offer. We could have milked the Doobies for years if we had wanted to. But that would have been unfair to the fans.”

Knudsen got the idea for a reunion early last year. Initially he envisioned a single show as a benefit for the Vietnam Veterans Aid Foundation, an organization he’d become involved with through a friendship with its head man, Shad Meshad.

Knudsen, who had been in contact with most of the band members, started calling them about nine months ago. “I didn’t just want the members of the last band,” he said. “I wanted to get all the guys who were ever involved in the band. That would make it really special.”

He wound up with McDonald, Johnston, singer-guitarist Pat Simmons, bassist Tiran Porter, guitarists Jeff Baxter and John McFee, sax player Cornelius Bumpus, percussionists John Hartman and Bobby LaKind, and drummers Michael Hossack and Chet McCracken.

But Dave Shogren, bassist with the original band, isn’t in the show. “He wasn’t one of the people I called,” Knudsen said. “I’ve never even met him.”

The only other former member not on the tour is bassist Willie Weeks, who was in the band during its final years. He was simply unavailable, Knudsen said.

Everyone was so enthusiastic about the reunion that the one benefit concert mushroomed into a short tour, which includes a stop June 1 at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.

It helped when rehearsals began nearly two weeks ago that all the former members are still involved in music in some way.

McDonald, however, is the only one who’s become a star on his own. The others have been laboring in relative obscurity. In the last three years, Knudsen and guitarist McFee have been working together in a country-rock group called Southern Pacific, which will open some of the shows on the tour.

Will there be a reunion album or further dates after this short tour? “Nothing has been planned,” Knudsen replied. “I really doubt it. We all have other things to do. We’ll probably get back to doing whatever we were doing as soon as these few dates are over.”

GETTING TO THE BOWL: Shuttle bus and Park & Ride service to and from the Hollywood Bowl will be available for tonight’s Doobie Brothers concert. Buses will run beginning at 4:30 p.m. from locations on Barham and Ventura boulevards, and beginning at 5 p.m. from Park & Ride sites in Westwood, Pasadena, Canoga Park, Torrance and Fullerton-Anaheim. Round-trip charge is $2 for the Barham/Ventura shuttles and $4 for Park & Ride. Information: (213) 850-2000.

LIVE ACTION: After its colorful splash on Paul Simon’s recent “Graceland” tour, the 10-member South African vocal ensemble Ladysmith Black Mombazo will headline its own show June 12 at the Wiltern Theatre. Tickets go on sale Sunday. . . . Also on sale Sunday: Oingo Boingo at the Greek Theatre on July 29 and 30, Kid Creole on July 3 at the Hollywood Palladium and Kansas at the Universal Amphitheatre on July 17.