Saw Steely Dan


Saw Steely Dan live last evening at the Lehigh Valley MusikFest 2011 in Bethlehem, PA. I had seen them Nov 2009 in Phila and I have to say both performances were OUTSTANDING. Stupendous. Wow. Among the cuts they performed, they did all but one song off the AJA album (Deacon Blues)plus Time out of Mind, Hey Nineteen, My Old School, FM, Dirty Work, Reelin' in the Years, etc. Man, what a night. Warm summer evening under almost a full moon and clear skies. Huge band and 3 beautiful back up singers (Carolyn Leonhart is beyond gorgeous). If you get a chance to see them and you're a fan, don't miss them. They're on tour this year with an extensive travel schedule.
pdn
I saw them at Red Rocks last summer and the summer before, (and two summers before that). My favorite band in the world. They have never been anything but spectacular!
I've seen 'em live a couple of times...it is SO cool to hear that stuff loud. I'm really glad they still get out there and tour as they always have the best people in their band.
Sure would like to see them today. Saw them back in '73, at Tampa Stadium - they opened up for Chicago. They were the original line up with Jeff Procaro on drums, and Jeff Skunk Baxter on Guitar and pedal steel. Chicago was promoting their 6th album at the time. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen.
Saw them twice at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell pavilion in Houston, tour '94 & '00. Once in San Antonio at the now defunct Verizon ampitheater, in '06. Both venues are outdoors.

I must say all 3 had the best sound quality of any concert I have ever been to, indoor or out. They were crisp, clean and not at all distorted. All the musicians could easily be heard. I was completely surprised at the quality of the sound and event. All 3 were superb.

For anyone who enjoys SD I highly recommend catching them on the rare occasions they play live.

Best,

Dave
Just saw them a few weeks ago at Tanglewood in the Berkshires.
They are just awesome. I enjoyed every second. They were so good, my wife's texting didn't even bother me.
Your wife was TEXTING during a Steely Dan concert? That's just wrong!!! I would have made her walk home :-)
Has Steely Dan been using the Instant Live recording system at their shows? It would be fantastic to have a recording of their tour live.
"Your wife was TEXTING during a Steely Dan concert? That's just wrong!!!" Make your choice, live with your choice!
Of course, I will leave that choice behind if I go see SD
in NYC later this year.
I see they're scheduled to play at the Minnesota State Fair, which BTW is always awesome. Might check them out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylr2D4Pwn58

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiy09DIsZFU

not the same as live, but fairly decent quality.
enjoy.
I just realized an error in my post. One of the times I saw them was not in '00. I had already moved to San Antonio by then,'95 in fact.

So it had to be before the '94 tour, '91,'92 or '93. However I can't find anything supporting this on their site.

Best,

Dave
Going to their show tonight at The Wharf Amphitheater in Orange Beach,Alabama.
I really enjoyed the show. They always seem to assemble a great touring band and get great sound from any venue. They opened with "Your Gold Teeth" and encored with "Kid Charlemagne" and played all their big hits in between including a Bossa Nova version of "Show Biz Kids". The only downer for me is the fact that Fagen is steadily losing his voice (the curse of rock vocalists).
I was disappointed when I saw them (last year?) because of Fagen's voice. I am still going again this year so hopefully I can get past that.
Occasionally you just have to ignore the voice degradation and enjoy the moment/music. Steely Dan always tour with a killer band and the music is top notch.

Bob Dylan is another good example.

But I guess that was true 45+ years ago. :-)
I agree with your assessment regarding Steely Dan, Bill. Not so much with Dylan; while I've seen him several times over the years with performances ranging from OK to mesmerizing, the last time I saw him (around 8 years ago) the SOB played for 55 minutes, mumbled thanks and walked off the stage. Never again (especially at current ticket prices).
Audiofeil, agree with you. As for Dylan, well never saw him live and thats ok. Not a big fan.

Best,

Dave