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Steely Dan at Keller
By: Kurt "Swingcat" Johnson
Steely Dan appeared in concert at Portland's Keller Auditorium Aug.
1. Originally scheduled for the Memorial Coliseum, the venue was moved
on short notice. Set in a small and intimate 3000 seat venue, normally
used for Broadway plays and orchestras, the acoustics were tremendous
and there wasn't a bad seat in the house!
On tour to support the release of their newest CD Everything
Must Go,
Steely Dan played one show in Portland, then moved to the Columbia
River Amphitheatre for a next-day show. The new CD is yet another chapter
in Steely Dan's musical explorations. Incorporated in their music is
jazz, funk, blues and always sly, clever and oh-so-hip lyrics. Everything
Must Go is yet another way that composer and keyboardist Donald Fagen
and co-composer and lead guitarist Walter Becker have been able to
demonstrate their unmatched talent, creativity and growth.
In a telephone interview, Nikki Branco, Steely Dan's publicist at Warner
Brothers/Reprise Records had this to say about the new CD, "Any
Steely Dan fan will fully enjoy the show. The album is amazing and
speaks for itself. It's really got an up-to-date edge to it. It shows
how they've grown as artists."
With the opening song, the full seven-minute Aja, the band then followed
up with Time Out Of Mind. There were several cuts from the new album
including Blues Beach, along with old favorites such as Babylon
Sisters from the Gaucho album where the crowd roared when the three female
vocalists sang "You gotta shake it baby, you gotta shake it." After
Babylon Sisters, Walter Becker, Steely Dan's co-composer and lead guitarist,
was talking to the crowd and said this; "It's great to be here
at this beautiful venue." He continued, "Girls, girls, girls.
So far on this tour, you people here are the biggest horn-dog crowd
yet." The crowd ate it up and roared their approval! Later, during
the encore rendition of My Old School when Fagen sang "California
tumbles into the sea," the crowd hooted and hollered in approval!
The show was full of surprises. Whether it was the incredible psychedelic
video projection displays on three huge canvas screens, the five
color-changing monitors suspended from the ceiling or the computer-controlled
stage
lighting system, you were constantly visually dazzled.
There were musical surprises as well; for instance, when Walter Becker
sang a Steely Dan song. On this night, Becker sang lead solo on
Haitian Divorce. Now he doesn't have that wonderful soaring voice
of Donald
Fagen, but he more than holds his own and is a perfect match for
that song. Another surprise was the addition of trombonist Jim
Pugh. Something
new for the Dan, they've always had a brass section but no trombone.
And he played that 'bone HOT!!
One of the crowd's favorite songs was Hey Nineteen. This writer's
favorite was Josie, with solos by each of the band members and
an amazing three-minute
drum solo by drummer Keith Carlock. Midway through the solo,
he lost a drumstick, but just reached down and grabbed another
stick
and
didn't miss a beat!
Throughout the show, the mostly over-40 crowd was remarkably
quiet as they completely concentrated on every subtle nuance
of the music.
It was gratifying to see the teen-agers diggin' the grooves!
Towards the end of the show, the crowd just couldn't contain
itself and
the waving lighters came out! There were even some people waving
their
bright blue neon lit cell phones, a sign of modern times, perhaps.
They quickly filled the aisles and started dancing to the beat.
With an all-star musical line-up with full brass section, three
female vocalists, Fagen, Becker, a pianist and guitarist,
the group included
Grammy Award winners, Broadway performers and most with their
own CD releases. The result is the most professional and
sophisticated music
you'll find. It's far more than just rock, jazz, blues or
pop. It's timeless. At the very end, after a two song closing encore
of My
Old School and FM, projected on the huge screen was a three-in-the
morning,
TV broadcast off-the-air test pattern with the old Indian
Chief
head.
This writer would like to thank Steely Dan's label, Warner
Brothers/Reprise Records, the Promoter, Seattle's House
of Blues and Rose Garden
Management for coordinating and making it possible for
Positively Entertainment
and Dining to bring this exclusive story and photos to
our readers. But above all else, thanks to Steely Dan for just
being Steely
Dan!! You can see all of Steely Dan at their website: www.steelydan.com.
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