By Mike McKenney, Rock At Night New England
Live Review: Three Dog Night and Jay Psaros – Indian Ranch, Webster, Massachusetts – July 24, 2022
Baking in the hot sun with the heat index hovering around triple digits, an outdoor afternoon concert isn’t for the casual fan. However, Three Dog Night’s seasoned followers filled the stands at the Indian Ranch to dance and sing along to a lifetime of their old favorite hits.
One of the most prolific bands of the 60’s and 70’s. Three Dog Night had 21 consecutive Top 40 hits, including 3 #1 singles, 11 Top 10’s, 18 straight Top 20’s, 7 million-selling singles and 12 straight RIAA Certified Gold LPs.
The opening act, talented local singer/songwriter, Jay Psaros, played a well-received set as the crowd filed in.By the time Three Dog Night took the stage, all the covered seating was full and the temperature had climbed to near 100 degrees.
Three Dog Night starting off just as hot with “The Family of Man”, “Black and White”, and “Never Been to Spain”. Three Dog Night continued to thrill the crowd with hit after hit, “Easy To Be Hard”, “One”, and “An Old Fashioned Love Song”, were just a few of the fan favorites.
Although they didn’t write most of the songs they made famous, the genius of Three Dog Night was their ability to recognize the great writing of relatively unknown new songwriters such as, Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Laura Nyro, Elton John, Paul Williams and Hoyt Axton and turn them into mega hits.
Without concern about labels, their hits found their way onto best-selling charts spanning all genres (pop, rock and country), and they were able to create a great diverse body of work that still holds up today.
Of course’ with longevity comes change. Founder Danny Hutton (lead vocalist), David Morgan (vocals), Paul Kingery (bass/vocals), Pat Bautz (drums), Howard Laravea (keyboards) and Tim Hutton (bass) make up the current tour lineup. However, the name has stayed the same.
The band took their name from an Australian expression describing low nocturnal temperatures in the outback (the colder the night, the more dogs needed to keep warm while sleeping).
As the concert continued, fans were pouring water on each other to cope with the heat, but they never stopped singing and dancing as the parade of nostalgic hits.
“Liar”, Eli’s Coming”, “Celebrate” and deeper cuts “Let Me Serenade You”, “Play Something Sweet” (Brickyard Blues), and “Sure As I’m Sitting here” complimented each other perfectly.
Even with the searing heat, Three Dog Night did not short change the crowd, playing a full set complete with an encore of “Joy to the World” and new song “Prayer For the Children”.
Three Dog Night continues to tour this summer and plans to release a new studio album “The Road Ahead,” later this year that will include “Prayer of the Children” along with other new material.
PHOTO GALLERY
Three Dog Night Setlist:
The Family of Man
Black and White
(Earl Robinson cover)
Never Been to Spain
(Hoyt Axton cover)
Shambala
Out in the Country
(Paul Williams cover)
Easy to Be Hard
(Galt MacDermot cover)
Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)
(Allen Toussaint cover)
One
(Harry Nilsson cover)
Let Me Serenade You
An Old Fashioned Love Song
(Paul Williams cover)
Sure as I’m Sittin’ Here
(John Hiatt cover)
Liar
(Argent cover)
Mama Told Me Not to Come
(Randy Newman cover)
Celebrate
Eli’s Coming
(Laura Nyro cover)
Joy to the World
(Hoyt Axton cover)
Prayer of the Children
Mike McKenney is an award winning professional photographer and current New England Correspondent for Rock At Night magazine.
With his years of experience and passion for Concert Photography, Mike has photographed many of the famous acts in the world today.
Rock Icons such as Sting, Peter Gabriel, Dave Matthews, and Fleetwood Mac along with Country artist Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney,and Jason Aldean have all appeared before Mike’s camera.
"My goal is always to present the experience truthfully so fans can feel the energy and emotions the Artists convey. It’s a tremendous honor and responsibility to be allowed to create art while blending my two passions, music and photography”
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