It had been several years since I last saw Steely Dan live, so I was really looking forward to this show. We sprung for high dollar tickets, and were not disappointed, with seats in the7th row of the pit area, with a great view of the band.
We got to our seats a few minutes after 8:00, expecting to see the opening act playing, but to our surprise, Fagen and Becker walked out to join the rest of the band "already in progress" within about 60 seconds of our sitting down. It certainly wasn't disappointing, just a bit surprising.
As expected, the band sounded great. The 4 piece horn section really did justice to all the great horn arrangements from the Dan classics. The female backup singers, projecting just the right mix of edginess and cool aloofness to complement the songs.
Fagen and Becker were, of course, great. Becker's guitar playing exudes an old soul blues flavor that merges surprisingly well with the sophisticated harmonies and arrangments of most Steely Dan songs. As for his singing, well, he only sang one song, which was plenty, though is rap during Hey Nineteen was very amusing.
Donald Fagen showed great energy and enthusiasm; you'd never realize you were watching a 60 year old man up there. His love for the music really shines through. It's so good to see someone so into playing and performing the songs, despite the fact that most of them are at least a quarter of a century old or older. I've seen too many "classic rock" performers who just seem to be going through the motions. None of that here.
The crowd was very enthusiastic, and Becker and Fagen seemed genuinely impressed with their response. Some may have been disappointed not to hear Reelin in the Years or Deacon Blues, but I thought the set list was fantastic, including personal faves like Bad Sneakers.
