Steely Dan Touring In 2022

I am way late to the party on this tour.

Being I have had tickets to see the show since 2020, I think I have a right to be a little behind in reporting about it.

The tour started on the night I was returning from my vacation, traveling by train. So I had no real communication for large parts of the journey.

Things that are different this tour, is that Conner Kennedy has left the band and Adam Rogers has been added. Something new to watch for, as I listen to the show.

We have an opening act at the Hollywood Bowl show, this time around. Snarky Puppy. I have no idea how that will work with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

Note that Snarky Puppy is only the opener, until June 19th. Then the Dave Stryker Trio takes over, for the remainder of the tour.

DATE -- VENUE -- LOCATION

MAY 20, 2022 VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM PORTLAND, OR.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

MAY 21, 2022 WHITE RIVER AMPHITHEATRE AUBURN, WA.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

MAY 25, 2022 CONCORD PAVILION CONCORD, CA.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

MAY 27, 2022 HOLLYWOOD BOWL HOLLYWOOD, CA.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

MAY 28, 2022 NORTH ISLAND CREDIT UNION AMPHITHEATRE CHULA VISTA, CA.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

MAY 31, 2022 AK-CHIN PAVILION PHOENIX, AZ.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

JUN 02, 2022 DICKIES ARENA FORT WORTH, TX.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

JUN 03, 2022 CYNTHIA WOODS MITCHELL PAVILION HOUSTON, TX.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

JUN 05, 2022 ACL LIVE AUSTIN, TX.

JUN 06, 2022 ACL LIVE AUSTIN, TX.

JUN 10, 2022 WALMART AMPHITHEATRE ROGERS, AR.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

JUN 11, 2022 LIVE AT THE GARDEN MEMPHIS, TN.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

JUN 14, 2022 CADENCE BANK AMPHITHEATRE AT CHASTAIN PARK ATLANTA, GA.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

JUN 16, 2022 RIVERBEND MUSIC CENTER CINCINNATI, OH.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

JUN 18, 2022 DTE ENERGY MUSIC THEATRE CLARKSTON, MI.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

JUN 19, 2022 HOLLYWOOD CASINO AMPHITHEATRE TINLEY PARK, IL.

Opening act: Snarky Puppy

JUN 21, 2022 SARATOGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUN 23, 2022 ST JOSEPH'S HEALTH AMPHITHEATER SYRACUSE, NY.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUN 25, 2022 WOLF TRAP FILENE CENTER VIENNA, VA.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUN 26, 2022 WOLF TRAP FILENE CENTER VIENNA, VA.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUN 29, 2022 NORTHWELL HEALTH AT JONES BEACH THEATER WANTAGH, NY.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUN 30, 2022 PNC BANK ARTS CENTER HOLMDEL, NJ.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUL 02, 2022 XFINITY CENTER MANSFIELD, MA.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUL 03, 2022 BETHEL WOODS CENTER FOR THE ARTS BETHEL, NY.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUL 13, 2022 FIRSTBANK AMPHITHEATER FRANKLIN, TN.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUL 15, 2022 LANDMARK THEATER RICHMOND, VA.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUL 16, 2022 OVENS AUDITORIUM CHARLOTTE, NC.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUL 19, 2022 DURHAM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER DURHAM, NC.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUL 20, 2022 MORAN THEATER JACKSONVILLE, FL.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUL 22, 2022 THE MAHAFFEY ST. PETERSBURG, FL.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUL 23, 2022 THE MAHAFFEY ST. PETERSBURG, FL.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

JUL 28, 2022 SEMINOLE HARD ROCK HOTEL And CASINO

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

HOLLYWOOD, FL.

JUL 30, 2022 BARBARA B MANN PERFORMING ARTS HALL FT. MYERS, FL.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

AUG 01, 2022 DR. PHILLIPS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS ORLANDO, FL.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

AUG 02, 2022 DR. PHILLIPS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS ORLANDO, FL.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

AUG 04, 2022 NORTH CHARLESTON PERFORMING ARTS CENTER NORTH CHARLESTON, SC.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

AUG 06, 2022 BORGATA ATLANTIC CITY, NJ.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

AUG 07, 2022 HARTFORD HEALTHCARE AMPHITHEATER BRIDGEPORT, CT.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

AUG 10, 2022 THE CAPITOL THEATRE PORT CHESTER, NY.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

AUG 12, 2022 THE CAPITOL THEATRE PORT CHESTER, NY.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

AUG 13, 2022 THE CAPITOL THEATRE PORT CHESTER, NY.

Opening act:The Dave Stryker Trio

==========

Photo is from the Santa Barbara 2019 Concert.

Steely Dan At The Hollywood Bowl 6/18/16 (Audio Cleaned Up)

What a nice way to end a year of disappointments. An audio version of a concert I attended, back in 2016 (when Walter Becker was still alive).

My thanks to Dan Belcher on a Steely Dan board I belong to. He did all the hard work. :-)

For your mostly audio pleasure. Enjoy an orchestra...with Steely Dan.

Steely Dan At The Hollywood Bowl

Set list at the Hollywood Bowl 6/18

LA Phil star spangled banner.

LA Phil/various

Green Earrings (Yay, angel!)

Aja

Caves of Altamira

Hey 19

Royal Scam

Deacon blues

Night by Night

Time Out Of Mind

Third World Man

Home at Last

Josie

Bodhisattva with fireworks!

Kid Charlemagne

The Steely Dan Tour Ended Thanksgiving Week

The last day of the Northeast Corridor mini-tour was Tuesday, in Syracuse, NY.

My old stomping grounds!

They seemed to get through it all OK, minus Michael Leonhart, who came up positive and had to quarantine for 10 days.

I think they learned a lot along the way and will be better prepared going out next year.

People who went to the shows all seemed to enjoy it and Donald was very upbeat and cheerful.

May 27, 2022 is my date at the Hollywood Bowl. We will see if it feels safe enough to go to it.

Steely Dan Is Back!

Steely Dan 10-25-21:

Hippodrome Theatre, Baltimore, MD

The only comment I heard was that Donald was very happy to be back performing and it showed.

Set List:
Phantom Raiders
Night By Night
Bodhisattva
Hey Nineteen
Kid Charlemagne
Aja
Home At Last
Janie Runaway
Josie
Time Out of Mind
Dirty Work
Rikki
Let the Good Times Roll (Band Intros)
Peg
Pretzel Logic
Reelin' In the Years
My Old School
A Man Ain't Supposed to Cry (Walk Off)

Concert photo by Maria Byrne

My Review: Northeast Corridor And The Nightfly Live

Soooo, what did I think of the 2 Live Steely Dan CD's?

Northeast Corridor: I was not impressed with most of the music, though they had to go with the hits (you can see the track listing HERE).

I felt the audio over-dubbing of singing was a bit obvious.

I did appreciate how clean the top and bottom were and of course, no audience talking during the performance. So, good and bad.

The Nightfly Live: Well, this one I really like...surprisingly.

I tend to not like a Nightfly song in a Steely Dan/Donald Fagen show, but playing it top to bottom was outstanding.

Also, the audio was better, I think. Maybe the songs were written more in Fagen's key.

All in all, I was glad I put out the money for them and will listen again and again.

Northeast Corridor And The Nightfly Live CD's

During the Pandemic Donald Fagen did something he normally never does. He decided to put together some of the sound board recordings of tours in the past few years.

The last time live shows were released was Alive In America back in 1995.

It was time.

The Northeast Corridor is 12 tunes on one CD. The tunes on the CD are:

Black Cow, Kid Charlemange, Rikki, Hey 19, Any Major Dude, Glamour Profession, Things I Miss The Most, Aja, Peg, Bodhisattva, Reelin', and A Man Ain't Supposed To Cry.

Vocals were re-recorded, when needed, but otherwise it is a chance to hear the band live.

The other CD he released is Nightfly Live. The 8 tunes on this CD are:

I.G.Y., Green Flower Street, Ruby Baby, Maxine, New Frontier, The Nightfly, The Goodbye Look, and Walk Between Raindrops

If you are into live recordings that are not bootlegs, it's a good thing to add to your collection.

COVID-19 Came. No Concerts.

Due to COVID-19, all concerts were canceled in 2020.

KCET did the best it could, putting some pandemic concerts together to air at home.

It was better than nothing, but live music was greatly missed.

Yes, I missed Steely Dan at the Hollywood Bowl in June. Sigh...

My 4th Santa Barbara Bowl Concert (9/24/19)

Teenie's Blues (Open)
(Oliver Nelson cover)

Sign in Stranger

Black Friday

Hey Nineteen

Aja

Time Out of Mind

Bad Sneakers

Kid Charlemagne

Rikki Don't Lose That Number

The Goodbye Look (Donald Fagen song)

Dirty Work

Home at Last (with David Crosby on Backing Vocals)

Green Earrings

Keep That Same Old Feeling (Band Intros)
(The Crusaders cover)

Peg

Bodhisattva

My Old School

Encore: Reelin' in the Years
(with David Crosby on Electric Guitar)

A Man Ain't Supposed to Cry (Band Outro)
(Joe Williams cover)

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

It was a beautiful evening at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

This was the 4th time we made the trip up to Santa Barbara to see Steely Dan in Concert. The other years were: 2011, 2015 and 2017.

The last time was shortly before Walter Becker passed away in 2017. So it was going to be a somber remembrance. As a matter of fact, Donald acknowledged his late partner, at the very end of the show. Perfect.

The seats were on the last row of section E and that actually ended up good. We could walk to the end of our row and then go up one row to the aisle, which made going up to the top of the venue, much easier.

Starting the concert with Sign In Stranger was a masterful stroke. The first words out of Donald Fagen's mouth were "Have you heard about the boom on Mizar 5?" OMG! My friend in Belgium, Gina, would have loved that.

The band has replaced Walter Becker with the young guitarist from Woodstock, Conner Kennedy. He is all of 25 and one hell of a guitarist. They had him on a tight leash for most of the concert, but he truly broke out with tasty guitar work on My Old School and Reelin' in the Years. He is the future of guitar work and worth the price of admission alone.

Jon Herington on lead was magnificent and him having the second guitar, definitely helped give a richness to the performance, that was missing last year at the Forum.

Carlock's drum solos were out of this world fabulous. He never disappoints at all.

How was Donald's voice? Not great, but not bad, either. He was Donald. The Danette's back him up wonderfully and know just what to do, to help the overall sound of the songs. Catherine Russell did quite a number, at one point. She is a great solo performer.

As the past concerts have been, the smell of pot was just all over the place and my Husband said someone was vaping something with coconut flavor in it and he was going crazy, because he can't stand coconut. Sigh...

The big event of the evening was that Donald brought out David Crosby, to sing with the Danette's on Home at Last. I didn't hear him in the mix, but it was good to see.

The big highlight was they brought him back for the encore "Reelin' In The Years". A 3rd electric guitar is just what this girl wanted. WOOT!

The photo at the top is Reelin', btw. (Don't tell Donald we took this photo, lol)

Great concert and worth every penny.

Walter Becker Way Is Coming To Queens

Steely Dan (specifically Walter Becker fans) were sent information about an event happening on October 28th of this year.

The City of New York has decided to name an intersection in Forest Hills Queens, Walter Becker Way.

If you want information, check this page out. Walter Becker Way

Here is a screen capture of 72nd Drive and 112 Street, which is where Walter lived during his younger days.

It is about a block from Grand Central Parkway, so the street he lived on dead ended a block away. To give you a hint of where it is, it is by Grand Central Parkway, across the parkway from the World's Fair Site.

I will have just visited NYC, so I will miss this event, though I am sure it is tied to the Beacon dates in NYC.

Glad to hear about it, though. I wonder if Donald will make an appearance.

Steely Dan With The Doobie Brothers (2018)

It was a jam packed night of music. I had originally decided to skip this concert, since it was at The Forum (which is not the best venue for music).

I didn't have much money, so several hundred dollars was not in my budget.

Then along came an offer from Live Nation (Irving Azoff's company) and I could not resist.

2 concerts for $29 (plus fees). We got seats about half way back (way at the top in row 26) and were happy.

We got to the Forum in plenty of time for the 7:30PM start and waited.

The Doobie Brothers did not come out until around 7:45P. We were late right off the bat.

Here is their set list, via Setlist FM. Trust me, mine was a mess, since I don't really know Doobie songs...well, minus the big hits.

Natural Thing

Rockin' Down the Highway

Road Angel

South City Midnight Lady

Dark Eyed Cajun Woman

Jesus is Just Allright (The Art Reynolds Singers cover)

Eyes of Silver

Disciple

piano intro/Takin' It To the Streets (with Bill Payne)

The Doctor

Black Water

Long Train Runnin'

China Grove

Encore:
Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)
(Kim Weston cover)

Listen to the Music

My thoughts as I listened.

There were too many guitars and they just overpowered everything.

Seriously, Steely Dan's Jon Herington sounded so weak, after that guitar overload.

Their sax player was great! I really appreciated when he took over.

They also had one of the guitarists play pedal steel during one number...but we were moving down to a closer seat that was given to us. Big improvement on location (row 8), but I missed watching the pedal steel in use. I am sure, back in the day, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter could have played that very instrument.

"Black Water", a total high point, for me. They had us sing along with them. Love that song, especially since it brings me back the spring of 1974, when I was at my 2 year college.

I knew several songs, but had a hard time hearing the lyrics. My Husband said basically the same thing.

We got through it...but it went on too long and too loud.

Next up, Steely Dan, who arrived just before 10PM. I know I turned to My Husband and commented, long night.

I wrote these down, but I did check what Setlist FM had and concur with them. Here it is:

Fan It, Janet (Maynard Ferguson cover)

Bodhisattva

Hey Nineteen

Black Friday

Aja

FM (No Static at All)

Time Out of Mind

Kid Charlemagne

Rikki Don't Lose That Number

Green Earrings

Dirty Work

Don't Take Me Alive

Peg

Keep That Same Old Feeling (The Crusaders cover)

Black Cow

Josie

My Old School

Encore:
Reelin' in the Years

The Untouchables (band only)
(Nelson Riddle cover)

Thoughts on the Steely Dan set.

Walter was missed!

At one point, pretty early in the concert, Donald apologized that his partner could not make it this evening. The crowd reacted and then Donald said, "I miss him too...but we will go on".

It was a touching moment.

They need to get another guitarist! My thought, add Wayne Krantz to the mix. Jon is doing a masterful job holding both seats, but it needs more.

Some of the songs that have been used as last songs, or encores were ended with that last song/encore end. Kid Charlemagne, Don't Take Me Alive, Josie. It was a bit different and I am not sure I like it done this way.

I had not seen Don't Take Me Alive, for almost a decade. Good to have that back.

I had also not heard FM in quite a while, glad to get that in the Set List.

High points, Green Earrings, always stellar and loved by this "angel".

Rikki. Never hear this one enough, so it was good to have that oldie but goodie.

All in all, a good performance and an appreciative audience.

For The LA Times take on the concert, check HERE.