Do It Again Video From The Wang 9/25/13

Unfortunately digital cameras do a lousy job at concerts, but at least I hold mine fairly steady.

The audio on this is terrible, but hey, check it out anyway. It's only a minute.

Do It Again*

*Recorded in honor of my card playing "son #2".

Steely Dan At The Citi Wang Theater

The missing part of my concert review, is the concert itself, on 9/25/13.

It has been too hectic to get this going, sooner, so my apologies.

Blueport - Is a Gerry Mulligan song and was our opening song for the evening. As usual, it's the band playing this song alone. At the end, on come Donald, Walter and the Steely Women. We are ready to go.

Your Gold Teeth - I have heard this song from Countdown to Ecstasy before, during the last tour in 2011 and they do a masterful job of performing it. Good start to the evening.

Aja - Yes, the great drummer, Keith Carlock has slowly but surely owned this song. As usual, spot on and Donald sang all the lyrics this time around.

Hey Nineteen - Being that I am at school this semester, this song almost felt like something different, to me. Not like I am a co-ed myself, but I am sure in the midst of many of them. Walter was masterful doing his talk, before the line about the Cuervo Gold.

Show Biz Kids - I love this song and their rendition is well performed.

Black Cow - I haven't heard this song since 2009 and it was wonderful to hear.

Black Friday - I also haven't heard Black Friday in years. An unexpected pleasure.

Time Out of Mind - This song from Gaucho, has become a staple on tour. Donald gets to play his melodica thing, with Walter on guitar. Nice job.

Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More - It's Walter Becker's moment in the sun and he does a nice job on this song.

Deacon Blues - OMG! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I haven't heard Deacon Blues since 2009 (Aja night at the Gibson) What a pleasure to hear it again. The closest you get to a Donald and Walter theme song.

Bodhisattva - Probably my favorite song that they play live. I just can't get enough of it.

Rikki Don't Lose That Number - I feel for Donald, because I know he doesn't like playing this song...but really, I love it.

Do It Again - Their first hit song and I was definitely glad to hear it again.

I Want to Do Everything for You, which is a Joe Tex song. Then they lead into the Band Intros by Walter Becker

Josie - Now starts the kick it into overdrive section. Josie starts it off, with Walter doing his guitar work.

Peg - Jon Herington in the house, cranking out some tasty guitar licks. Played as one would expect.

My Old School - Another song that touches this school girl's heart, my theme song for this semester. I guess I did go back to my old school.

Reelin' in the Years - Done the original way. Just how I like it. Jon doing a righteous bunch of solos. Off goes the band and we clap and clap.

Encore: Kid Charlemagne - Always a winner to the guitar god set. Well done, even without Larry Carlton. The two leave the stage and the band breaks into their final song of the evening.

Untouchables Theme with just the band playing. Actually a nice song to begin packing up and getting ready to leave your seat.

Well done evening. My only complaint was that I was hoping for a Countdown to Ecstasy Night, since they have performed King of the World this tour and they hinted that it might happen. Another thing I was hoping for were some Boston tunes, which they have done in the past, for the Wang Crowd. Boston Rag or Dirty Water. Unfortunately for me, I did not get either.

Donald says see you next time and hopefully, I will be there, yelling my head off, once again.

An Interview With Steely Dan Producer, Gary Katz

Back in the day, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were working in Los Angeles. The two New Yorkers had been lured there by a man they met in New York, named Gary Katz. Katz got a job at ABC/Dunhill Records in Los Angeles and got them a gig out there as Staff Songwriters. The rest, as they say, is history.

7 albums over the next 10 years and the 2 staff songwriters, who miserably failed in that job, instead formed the band that they named Steely Dan. They ended up with a hit and became household names.

Gary was there for it all and in the interview, he brings it all back to the forefront.

Enjoy a listen, to the history of a band.

You can access the interview done by Inside Musicast HERE.

A Boston Danfest - Jacob Wirth

I flew into Boston on 9/25/13, for a Steely Dan Concert, because I couldn't resist a free ticket in a city I had never seen the band in.

They have a particular love for the city of Boston and have been known for playing songs that they never play anywhere else. The Boston Rag, for one and Dirty Water (Boston's "Theme" song), for another. So to to say the least, I had high expectations going in.

I flew in and after a visit with a work friend and a walk along one side of Boston Common, I arrived at the venue for the evening and right across the street, the location of the Danfest...Jacob Wirths. My hostess for the evening, had informed me that she would be late and to look for a gentleman with a white suit and a white fez on. I figured I was good to go with that information and so I walked into the restaurant.

No suit, no fez anywhere...

So I decided to use the ladies and in the time that took, along came my host for the evening Paul known as "Fezzie".

He had arrived with another fan known as "Girl Margaret" and it was a delight to finally meet her. She lives in New York and made the long drive in, so I wasn't alone in my coming in from a long distance.

She is one of the younger fans, only 32 and a pleasure to get to know. The three of us sat down and ordered some food. Just as the food arrived, along came my hostess, off from work. She is known as "Denise Hinktown" in the Steely Dan fan world and we had met at a concert at Chumash in 2007. It was so good to see her again.

Almost at the same time, others started coming along. "Chan" and his son, Matt (who is another of the younger Steely Dan Fans at 23). He must come by it naturally, because he had so much to say about his home rig and some really old analog equipment that he keeps going. He's got that Steely Dan spirit, all right.

Shortly after, the other recipient of the free ticket came along. She is known as "Sue Dave". We got to meet her and her husband...who is Dave, who knew?

Next we were joined by "Jane Lightning", who had been at the concert the night before. We had never met before, so it was a pleasure.

Finally, we were joined by "Good King John" and his wife, Erica.

Well, our little group had grown to 11 fans and our table couldn't hold anymore, so Fezzie and I decided to head over to the Wang Theater.

He was waiting for some friends of his, who he gave tickets to. He also does this hanging out at the front of the venue thing. I guess the fans are really into getting their photo taken with this tall imposing figure wearing his white tuxedo and Steely Dan white fez.

It was amazing to stand there watching all this go on. While we stood there hanging out, I asked Paul, where the idea of the clothes came from. He told me that most of it is from a song called "Bad Sneakers".

The operative lines being:
"You fellah, you tearin' up the street
You wear that white tuxedo
How you gonna beat the heat"

The hat was an easy guess, since Steely Dan did a song called The Fez.

All in all, a great evening to wet my appetite for the main event.

The concert review will come next.

=================

Photo number 2
Me, Fezzie and Jane Lightning

Photo number 3
Dave, Sue, Denise, Margaret, Chan and Matt

The Setlist For The Boston Show - Citi Wang Theater

Here is the setlist for the 9/25/13 show last week, from my notes.

You can also see it on SetlistFM.

I heard that Walter Becker left the concert early Tuesday night, due to a fever. I am so glad he was in good form, for my concert.

My apologies for being so late with this post. I hope to have the concert review, by the weekend.

Blueport
(Gerry Mulligan cover) (Bipolar All-Stars only)

Your Gold Teeth
Aja
Hey Nineteen
Show Biz Kids
Black Cow
Black Friday
Time Out of Mind
Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More
Deacon Blues
Bodhisattva
Rikki Don't Lose That Number
Do It Again
I Want to (Do Everything for You)
(Joe Tex cover) (Band Intros by Walter Becker)

Josie
Peg
My Old School
Reelin' in the Years

Encore:
Kid Charlemagne

Untouchables Theme
(Nelson Riddle cover) (Bipolar All-Stars only)

Trusty "Angel" Girl

I am sure this has crossed your mind, if you post anywhere on the internet where I do. So what's with the trusty angel girl line you use? As I have mentioned in conversation before, I love the music of Steely Dan. When I first began reading a place called Under the Banyan Trees (also known as The Yellow), I noticed that posters mostly had "handles" that referred back to lyrics in Steely Dan song. One of my best friends is Luckless Pedestrian, from a line in "Don't Take Me Alive". Well, I began looking at lyrics for something that somehow spoke for "Me". Debated Katy at one time, because one of my favorite songs is on the Katy Lied album, but there was a Me Katy who posted at that time. So I looked further. I then noticed a trend...angels seem to be prominently featured in Steely Dan songs. I have no understanding as to why this occurs but there were at least (at the time) 6 references that I found to an angel. Well, I make my home in Los Angeles and I happen to be Catholic, so I have a connection to angels. I signed onto the yellow with this line from Steely Dan's first album song, "Brooklyn". February of 2001 a new entity appeared saying...

A race of angels...
bound with one another...

There she was, a bit more friendly then she is now. Lots of flaming does tend to bring down ones enthusiasm a bit but she has persevered and grown in this internet world. She signed onto the Max Martini world (a new venture for her) back in November of 2006 and now she switches between worlds but the same persona exists. These past years make me feel that she has grown up to have a personality of her own. It's funny sometimes to see. She has walked and fund raised for Cure Autism Now as Angelle Lemarche, she has "starred" as a movie extra as Angelle Lemarche, and The Navy Seals send her invites to their museum events, since she donated to them, too. lol
Anyway, I felt like paying tribute to some of those lyrics that helped make her personality. What follows are angel references in Steely Dan songs. I like to think that "angel" references are on the rise in Steely Dan recordings of the 21st century, because of me. I take pride in that...if only in my own mind.

____________


Can't Buy a Thrill 1971

Brooklyn

A race of angels
Bound with one another
A dish of dollars
Laid out for all to see
A tower room at Eden Rock
His golf at noon for free
Brooklyn owes the charmer
Under me

_____________

The Royal Scam 1976

Green Earrings

Cold, daring
No flies on me
Sorry, angel
I must take what I see

Green earrings
I remember
The rings of rare design
I remember
The look in your eyes
I don't mind

Greek medallion
Sparkles when you smile
Sorry, angel
I get hungry like a child

_____________

Kamakiriad 1993 (Donald Fagen)

Tomorrow's Girls

Our home is just like any other
We're grillin' burgers on the back lawn
Some time goes by
We fall asleep with the TV on
I dream about a laughing angel
Then the laugh becomes a furious whine
Look out fellas
It's shredding time

_____________

11 Tracks of Whack 1994 (Walter Becker)

Girlfriend

So come on angel
Tune in on me
You 'll see your faithful servant
Lost in misery
And all of your hard work
Coming down to no good
Better see about me babe
If you only could now

Down at the Bottom

like the feathers and I love the hat
I like that little gypsy tune you're humming
I guess I'm happy now we've had this chat
Oh yeah I'm really glad I saw you coming
There in the corner of the eastern sky
The tortured angel of your rising sign
Darkens the evening with his one good eye
An evil omen of the dopest kind

_____________

Medical Science (Bonus track on Japanese version of 11TOW)

And all the jiveasses and the true believers
The bullshit givers and receivers
Here today tomorrow gone
To the triage tent in the great beyond
Wherein the angel tangoes with the infidel

_____________

Everything Must Go 2003

Godwacker

We track your almighty ass
Thru seven heaven-worlds
Me, Slinky Redfoot
And our trusty angel-girls
And when the stars bleed out
That be the fever of the chase
You better get gone poppie
GodWhacker's on the case

Blues Beach

Grab Big Dog a blanket
Angel of my heart
Things may get a whole lot worse
Before suddenly falling apart
Give your roommate Yvonne a ring
Cause if she still wants in I gotta pull some strings

_____________

Morph the Cat (Donald Fagen) 2006

Security Joan

Well I guess I needed a miracle
If I was gonna make my flight
I had to get to Gate C13
And it was still way out of sight
But something in my carry-on bag
Ticked off the x-ray machine
Cause then an angel straight from heaven
Asked me to step behind the screen
When I felt her wand sweep over me
You know I never felt so clean

Yes, it's a pretty diverse bunch of lyrics and I truly appreciate Donald and Walter for giving me so much to work with over the years.
Thanks guys.

"The Steely Dan Show" Is A Real Song

If you would like to hear the song and follow along with the lyrics, click the title of the song and it will bring you to a You Tube video from 2003.

"The Steely Dan Show"

Boys and Girls
They come from all around
From dear old Stockholm
To Copenhagen town
Forget their troubles
In tasty riddum n' rime
So here you are
And now it's party time
Wrap your mind
Around this sound
And let the goodness ripple down
Goodbye to Lonely Street
You're in the Catbird Seat
At THE STEELY DAN SHOW

If you got backpacks
And pointy little shoes
Late-model roadsters
Or just those walkin' blues
A case of heartache
That you're too numb to fight
A secret sorrow
That keeps you up all night
Well don't you fret
It's not your fault
Just lay it all on Don and Walt
Just trip out on these hits
The groove that never quits
At THE STEELY DAN SHOW

So buy a program
And/or a hat
You don't pass up a deal like that
It's only promo stuff
But hey it's good enough
For THE STEELY DAN SHOW

Set Lists of Steely Dan Concerts

It amazes me what comes along on the Internet. Back in the day, we would post our Steely Dan set lists over on something called The Blue Book. Then along came Twitter and the first night someone would Tweet the set list and it would post over on the Blue, too.

Now days, there is such a thing as Set List FM and look how cool it is!

Set List FM.

What I have learned from checking this out once in a while, is that the really cool songs I would have died to see, are gone. Darn!

Check out your favorite bands set lists, if you are so inclined. Lots of stats, too.

I love evolving technology.

Rarities & Unreleased: Steely Dan At The Beacon

I wanted to get back East before the bad weather came for another year. I knew that Steely Dan was touring and had a large amount of concerts at the Beacon, one of which I was interested in attending. I started checking out flights and saw the price was not too bad. When I asked my husband if it was OK to book the flights, I got caught up in the airlines raising the price, due to the expiration of some federal law. That was just not acceptable to me and so I had to wait a few days, before it all settled down. We finally made the booking happen and got tickets to the Steely Dan Rarities and Unreleased show, on Saturday September 17th. The tickets were not cheap..but they were right by the soundboard (a perfect place to be seated, in my humble opinion).
The pre-concert meet up was at the Amsterdam Ale House, around the corner from the Beacon. We got there in plenty of time, but the place was absolutely packed. After saying hi to many of my Dan friends (Ed, LWO, Danfiend, Pete, Shari and Hoops), we walked a block and had dinner at Big Nick's Pizza...which is right across the street from the theater. We had been there in the past and liked the food.


After dinner, we walked into the Beacon and checked out the scene. The place is stunning! A real lovely restoration and I was glad I got to see it. Roseland (where I saw Steely Dan in 2003), was a mess and minus the wonderful time I had at that concert, the setting itself was drab and old and detracted from the evening, just a little.

Just before 9PM, the band came in and started with the first tune. We were sizzling...

Set List

Dizzy's Bidness
Your Gold Teeth
Aja
Black Friday
Hey 19
You Got The Bear
Time Out Of Mind.
Rikki Don't Lose That Number
Jack of Speed 1996 Version (Walter Sings)
Show Biz Kids
Pearl of the Quarter
Bodhisattva
Second Arrangement
Dr Wu
Papa Don't Take No Mess / Band Intros
American Lovers
Josie
Peg
My Old School
Reelin in the Years
Encore: This Mobile Home

The first 4 tunes were part of a normal concert, though Black Friday has been played much less then the other tunes, so I guess you could say it was a rarity. I had seen the other 3 in Santa Barbara. Your Gold Teeth is quite a wonderful arrangement and I enjoyed it a second time.
Finally Donald introduces the next tune as one that was written for Aja...but not used. They break into the opening of the song The Bear. Wild applause ensues.
I had heard part of the song before on You Tube, since it was played on the opening night of the tour, but the end was new to me and I enjoyed it.
Then into Time Out Of Mind, which again I heard in Santa Barbara. It has become a standard of their set list.
Next up, a song that was a big hit for the band, but then they didn't like it anymore...at least according to Donald. Rikki was then played. I loved hearing it in 2009 and totally enjoyed it tonight, too. :-)
The next song was introduced as the original 96 Version of Jack of Speed, sung by Walter Becker. All I can say about this song is that it had some problems, but they made it through. I heard later on that some of the band members were getting confused with the recorded version and so different parts of the band were in different places, at the same time. It was what it was...a chance for Donald to get a rest for a few minutes.
Showbiz Kids was next and I saw them perform it in Santa Barbara. Great tune.

Pearl Of The Quarter played next and I was in love. It's a quiet tune and such a difference from what Steely Dan normally plays. It had been played a few days earlier, for the Dawn of the Dan evening. I was so glad they did it again, for us.

On to Bodhisattva, which is a standard tune, but I love it! The thing was, no one got up to dance to it. What was the problem with this audience? I always dance to this tune!

That set us for the a song, that Donald started explaining, got erased back in the 70's. I knew immediately what it was and started screaming, to let the band know I REALLY wanted to hear this tune. The 2nd Arrangement was played and half way through the song, I found myself crying with joy. Hearing the song with Donald's voice...it was something I never thought I would ever hear. My night was made...but it got much better. :-)

Dr. Wu was next up. Probably my favorite Dan song. I had heard it in 2009 and never thought I would ever hear it again. Well, I was wrong. They played it tonight. I was in heaven. Good thing because then came the slight downers, the band intros and a song that was recorded by Thomas Jefferson Kaye called American Lovers. Catherine Russell sang that song, again to give Donald some off time. It was lovely, but I did not know it at all. Oh well.

We were at the part of the concert that I call, kicking it into overdrive.

Josie, Peg, My Old School were played and it took us a bit, but we finally got the audience up and dancing on the third tune. Seriously, this crowd was not into dancing...

Reelin In the Years was next and at that point I was tired of my seat. I knew it was the end of the concert and I ran up to the front and danced with some Dan fans. Alan from Australia and Joe (South of Hollywood) were up there with me, and others. I didn't have my camera or anything, so I just danced and watched the band. It was great.
Donald then says that they are going to end this concert the way they want to! They then broke into a song they played on their 1974 tour: This All Too Mobile Home. What makes it so cool as a closer, is that each band member leaves one at a time, until nothing but the drum is left. Well we didn't get that far this time, the guitar and bass were up there with the drum, but it was still as cool as all heck and a totally unexpected end to a great evening.

Do I wish I had more? Probably. Do I feel I got what I had paid for? Absolutely.

Thanks to my many Dan friends who shared this evening and of course, thanks to the guys, once again. You pulled it off, with style and grace.

Here are my you tube videos of the concert, all in one place.

The Bear

Pearl of the Quarter

2nd Arrangement

American Lovers

This is not mine, but you can see me sometimes boppin', during the encore. Yeah, a total weirdo. :-)

This All Too Mobile Home

Santa Barbara Bowl

This is what I wrote on the Steely Dan Website, in regard to the concert on Wednesday night.



Santa Barbara Shuffle Diplomacy Review

WHAT A NIGHT!

The End. :-)

-----------------------------


Actually, I loved the venue. Santa Barbara Bowl is just beautiful. Lots of money going into the renovation of it and it shows. Take a look at these photos, which were the only ones I could take. The first one is the view of the Channel Islands, from our seat. The second is my view of the stage and the third, the rest of the bowl.


On a personal level, I just couldn't get over being just 12 rows from The Donald and for the first time, I could see him playing his keyboard. It was mystical and wonderful and just added to the magic of the evening. The only bad part is that I was the last seat in row 12 and that meant that I had to keep getting up to let people in and out and more importantly, I had to not use my camera, because security was "SO OUTRAGEOUS"! My Husband (many on you know how even tempered he is) finally got into a shouting match with the security guard, because he kept shining the flashlight at him, to check out the lady with a cell phone next to him. She had a set list and was checking it each song. She was not taking photos, but he kept coming at her anyway. It was truly a royal pain!

Me and 4 others behind me danced the entire show. We were the people over on the far camera right totally enjoying the evening. Some guy passed us by and said he wanted to come over for our after party. We thought that was pretty funny, actually.

EMG being played for the first time since 2003 (if memory serves) was just Masterful! Folks, it was an interesting song in 2003, but the words now days just show that Steely Dan was 5 years ahead of their time with this song. You couldn't write a better song about this current depressing economic downturn.



I enjoyed the way they shifted the songs around, I had seen the set list, but didn't have it memorized, so it was a nice change for me. I think Paso Robles was the only other time I was so clueless about the set.
I would have liked them to try out something else that they plan on using, later on in the tour, but it was not to be.

Place was packed. I was surprised, since it was a small town and a Wednesday night.

Special thanks to my "Steely Dan Friend" who made my night...Gus.


Thanks guys and girls...or is that ambassadors and brats. ;-)


Set List 7/6/11 Santa Barbara Bowl

INTRO: Dizzy's Business

Your Gold Teeth
Aja
Hey Nineteen
Green Earrings
Everything Must Go
FM
Time Out Of Mind
Godwhacker
Show Biz Kids
Black Cow
Dirty Work
Neighbor's Daughter/Band Intros
Night By Night
Josie
Peg
Reelin' In The Years
Bodhisattva

ENCORE: Kid Charlemagne

OUTRO: Last Tango In Paris