Steely Dan 5/21/07 At The Beacon
As readers of this blog know, I am a big music fan, and attend several shows a year. Steely Dan has always been one of my favorite bands due to their acerbic lyrics and shocking level of professional polish. So I took my brother in law James Goldsmith to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members' show the day before he turned...er, the day before his birthday. We had a splendid, mellow time as we were regaled by a set list that featured much of my personal fave album Gaucho and almost all of the legendary Aja album. Front man Donald Fagan was in excellent voice, crooning and rocking at the piano like a white version of Ray Charles, as you can see in the excellent picture by Mick Hutson. Co-Dan founder Walter Becker noodled oodles of bluesy licks, and lead axeman Jon Herington smoked several razor sharp solos throughout the set, particularly on a rousing Kid Charlemagne and an almost feral Bodhisattva to close out the show. As usual with the Dan, all of the musicians were top shelf, but special mention goes to Keith Carlock, the second best drummer I have ever seen (behind Neil Peart of Rush, of course) . If you get a chance to see this band live, jump at it...unless you hate jazz, in which case run in the other direction.
posted by Zach at 3:40 PM
3 Comments:
Zach: Thanks for this great birthday concert (and for finally mentioning me in the blog). Carlock the drummer was nothing short of spectacular, and Fagan and Becker haven't lost a step since the days when I was something other than your sister's fat, elderly husband and the father of your niece and nephews. It's true, you have to at least like jazz to looooove Dan, but they're still the best.
Love to you and Ling,
Jim
Hi Zach---
Your concert reviews are always a pleasure to read, maybe you should moonlight as a critic! I like jazz too, one station here in L.A. I sometimes listen to is "Smooth Jazz 94.7 The Wave".
Your brother in law's name is James Goldsmith? I knew a James Goldsmith here in Torrance, Ca. when I was in elementary school. Doubt it is the same one though, very common last name. I also have my doubts your brother in law is related to (Rest In Peace) Jerry Goldsmith, ha ha!
Well, take it easy. Bit of interesting trivia: Today is June 15th, it is exactly 17 years ago today that Gremlins 2 hit theaters, I still have my ticket stub from opening night. Man, if it were not for CGI, maybe Joe Dante might consider a third one!
Take care,
J.D.
question for Zachy:
what is your favorite Aretha Franklin song?
love
lupe
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