Last night, Diane and I went to the Steely Dan concert at the sold-out Shea’s Performing Arts Center. Of course, we saw only half of Steely Dan because Walter Becker died on September 3, 2017. Mid-way through the concert, Donald Fagan (the surviving half of Steely Dan) did a tribute to his friend. Donald Fagan performed with the Steely Dan Band: eight musicians and three lovely backup singers. Not a lot of chit-chat (fine by me!). They just played the hits I grew up with. Do you have a favorite Steely Dan song? GRADE: A-
SET LIST:
Fan It, Janet
Black Cow
Green Flower Street (Donald Fagen song)
Aja
Hey Nineteen
New Frontier (Donald Fagen song)
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
Time Out of Mind
Book of Liars (Walter Becker song)
Black Friday
Dirty Work
Bodhisattva
I Want To (Do Everything for You) (Joe Tex cover)
Josie
Peg
My Old School
Reelin’ In The Years
Encore:
Kid Charlemagne
The Untouchables
Showbiz Kids and Dirty Work are my favorite Steely Dan songs. They never seem to do Showbiz Kids live.
Steve, Jeff and Jackie Meyerson have seen Steely Dan in concert more than I have. Maybe “Showbiz Kids” showed up at one of those concerts.
“Time Out Of Mind” is my favorite, but almost anything on the Gaucho album is great. I love Ricki Lee Jones’s version of “Showbiz Kids”.
Deb, GAUCHO might be Steely Dan’s best album, although I’m fond of KATY LIED.
Somehow this group eluded my attention. Not sure why. If it was the early seventies I was trying to learn classical music and didn’t listen to much rock. No one told me I could listen to both.
Patti, Steely Dan’s music is a fusion of rock and jazz. Their albums won awards for the excellence of their recording technology.
A great way to decompress from Bouchercon. More fun than doing laundry!
Bill, Diane’s doing more laundry today. I’m almost caught up with the mail and periodicals. Coming home from a trip and confronting the mountain of mail (and review copies!) is always arduous.
Rick, we put it on this morning. AJA is definitely my favorite.
Jackie said that the “mountain of mail” we get is mostly just junk mail.
Jeff, I’m on some free book lists so review copies show up all the time now! And, of course, I order from AMAZON frequently.
We get some junk mail, an occasional bill, and a rare magazine (we subscribe to just 2), so a week away would take about 15 minutes to go through.
Rick, now that I’m getting review copies of books, there’s a box arriving practically every day.
I’ve loved Steely Dan right from the start, and during all those years there was nobody else I listened to who was even remotely like them. Never saw them in concert, but there’s still time if Fagan’s planning to continue the band. My favorite Dan song is “Deacon Blues”.
Michael, “Deacon Blues” is my favorite Steely Dan song, too! And, I wish they’d sung “FM” last night.
We have seen them do Showbiz Kids, last at the Beacon in October of 2016, They did Dirty Work at the Classic East concert at Citi Field in July.
My favorites are Deacon Blues (which they haven’t done lately) and My Old School, which was prompted by a “politically motivated” drug raid at Bard College (in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, hence the lyrics) by then prosecutor (I swear I am not making this up!) G. Gordon Liddy (“Daddy Gee”) with Fagen and Becker were in college there.
Great minds think alike, Michael! We’ve seen them do concerts centered around specific albums, like AJA, where Deacon Blues comes from, of course, And concerts where fans get to vote on what songs they do (though naturally they do most of the hits too). They always have great musicians when they tour.
Jeff, you’re right about the great musicians in The Steely Dan Band. Guitarist Jon Harrington was thrilling as was drummer Keith Carllock.
I already did the laundry!
We’re seeing Michael McDonald in concert on Thursday, with Marc Cohn opening for him. And we’ve seen Ricky Lee Jones do Showbiz Kids in concert!
Jeff, Diane is a big fan of Micheal McDonald! I’d like to hear Ricky Lee Jones do “Showbiz Kids.” I’ll have to look online and see if it’s available.
Jackie says her favorites are the seldom performed (these days) Rikki Don’t Lose That Number (though they did do it this year) and Hey Nineteen (“The Cuervo gold, the fine Columbian, make tonight a wonderful thing”).
Jeff, they did both “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” and “Hey Nineteen” last night. The crowd starting singing “The Cuervo Gold/the fine Colombian…”
…and everyone else has come here, commented, and gone on with their day, while here on the best cost we’re just waking up and having our first cup of coffee…
I like every song on your list, a lot. In fact I cn’t think of a single bad Steeley Dan song (but then if it was bad, maybe I’d not think of it). I rely love the Aja album, so especially anything off of it. Top favorites? Hey Ninteen, Deacon Blues, Reelin In the Years… heck all of them. Think when I get home from errands (labs, library) I’ll put Aja on.
Rick, we put it on this morning. AJA is definitely my favorite.
Rick, I’m fond of “FM” which doesn’t get played enough.
Never heard Rikki Lee Jones do Showbiz Kids. Have to look it up. Wouldn’t see Michael McDonald if you paid me. Too MOR for my tastes.
Here ya go:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5hw4BIYh-2s
Deb, thanks for the link! I love Ricky Lee Jones’s whispery voice on “Showbiz Kids”!
Deb beat me to it.
The only song that rings a bell is Ricky Don’t Lose That Number, and I don’t like it!
I’m also doing laundry. Jeans, socks, and undies are all done! Shirts, towels, and sheets today! Life is exciting!
Bob, cleanliness is close to godliness.