Author Topic: Donald Fagen Band Tour '06 (Read 514 times)

kmh364 · « **on:** March 02, 2006, 06:16:04 AM »

For Dan Fans:

Caught the maiden voyage (i.e., opening night of the tour) of the Donald Fagen Band at the State Theatre in lovely downtown New Brumphus, er, um, New Brunswick, NJ, LOL! He's out plugging his third release entitled Morph the Cat due out in the next couple of weeks.

The performance was stellar! No surprises here: this is essentially the same band that's performed as Steely Dan for the past two tours. Substitute studio giant Wayne Krantz for Walter Becker and Freddie Washington for Tom Barney and there you have it.

I snagged one of those Five Star VIP Packages which entitled me to attend the soundcheck (lasted over an hour and was great!), a private reception with wine/beers/hors d'oeuvres, some goodies AND FRONT ROW CENTER SEATS!!! It was awesome: no one in front of me and directly in front of DF's Fender/Rhodes EP!

Freddie was an excellent in the pocket player...too bad he doesn't play Alembic: A Fender Jazz and a Smith 5-str. He sounded good through his SWR rack-mount pre/power amp separates and Goliath 6X10 cab.

Wayne and Jon Herrington were excellent...Wayne's a sight-reading monster and his chops were incredible. The highlight for me was their dual lead rendition of Larry Carlton's minimalist but sublime solo(s) during Third World Man (last track off of Steely Dan's Gaucho). Jon played his usual Gibson Custom Shop 336 thru his Guytron head and 2X12 cab (a modded Tele and Hamer LP-style guitar were the back-ups). Wayne played a Tyler Strat-style (S/S/H) exclusively thru his Bogner head and 2x12 cab.

Keith Carlock was, as is usual, a monster power Jazz drummer. The twin horns of Walt Weiskopf and Michael Leonhart were great as always.

As an added bonus, my seat afforded me the opportunity to discover first-hand that (Michael's sister) Carolyn Leonhart is as gorgeous physically as she is vocally!

Highlights:

Here At The Western World (outtake from the Royal Scam sessions)- totally re-worked and used as the opener...I would have been blown away with surprise had it not been for the version I caught during the soundcheck.

IGY/Greenflower Street/New Frontier (from The Nightfly) - simply awesome!

Snowbound/Teahouse On The Tracks (from Kamakiriad) - made you wanna dance!

'Nuff said. Catch 'em at a venue near you and you won't regret it!

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Kevin

David Houck · « **Reply #1 on:** March 02, 2006, 08:06:09 AM »

Nice review Kevin!!

bigredbass · « **Reply #2 on:** March 02, 2006, 10:32:02 AM »

KMH

Don't the tracks from Kamakiriad always strike you as a little strange . . DF's usually so cynical, on Kamakiriad he sounds almost mellow, love songs? Always sounds like Letterman right after his heart surgery.

Looking forward to Morph the Cat, as The NightFly is ALWAYS in my personal rotation, the best sounding CD I own. Not to mention Anthony Jackson and Abraham Laboriel and Will Lee!

Ditto, nice review. And I get to see James Tylers here in Nashville from time to time. Though he's not making basses at this time, they were the ULTIMATE Fender clone, MILES ahead of Sadowskys, Lulls, et al.

J o e y

kmh364 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 02, 2006, 10:54:04 AM »

Thanks, guys!

Crowd response to the band was awesome...a packed house for sure...loud cheers for each soloist...I could see Wayne Krantz smiling to himself each time he solo'd and got a raucous cheer from the crowd. You could tell they were having fun up there.

Yeah, I thought Kamakiriad was a bit weird myself when I got it in '91-'92. It has grown on me over the years. Not an immediately likeable disc, other than Snowbound and Teahouse on the tracks which I liked the first time around.

Nightfly is one of my all-time favorites (They also did the title track and The Good-bye Look as well). Maxine is one of those tunes I use for hi-fi component auditioning as well as a demo to show-off my system to visitors.

FWIW, I didn't care for the way the Tyler looked (crazy crooked chunky headstock with tyler written 20 times and a weird looking pickguard), but in the hands of Krantz, it SOUNDED awesome!

After hearing the new CD at the party, plus the couple of tunes from Morph The Cat they played live, this one promises to be better than what the Dan has turned out in their last two tries.

They're on the East coast for a while, so ck the site and get your tix. You won't be dissapointed!

I would go to see 'em again in a heartbeat!

http://www.iloveallaccess.com/#

Cheers,

Kevin

(Message edited by kmh364 on March 02, 2006)

jazzyvee · « **Reply #4 on:** March 02, 2006, 02:43:52 PM »

I hope they come to the UK.
I've never seen Steely Dan Live.

kmh364 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 03, 2006, 05:40:37 AM »

Jazzy (Delano):

I hope you get 'em too. I don't see any mention on the site of a European leg, but keep ck'ing:

http://www.donaldfagen.com/

http://www.steelydan.com/

It's worth the time, expense and the trip to catch this tour...it's that good, IMHO.

I've seen the Dan on every tour since Walter and Donald reformed the act. They always tour with stellar musicians. This new tour is an awesome opportunity to hear Donald's solo stuff as well as some Dan chestnuts thrown in for good measure.

As you might have already guessed, I'm a HUGE Dan Fan...have been since my teenage days. As mentioned previously, I'm a hi-fi nut as well and for the past 25-plus years have I refused to buy any hi-fi component that I haven't succesfully auditioned with Dan/Fagen source music (especially Aja and Nightfly).

My girlfriend, who usually listens to dance music and is largely ignorant of Jazz, Jazz-Rock Fusion, Classic Rock, et al, was totally overwhelmed by the band. I'm trying to educate her, escpecially Jazz-wise, by exposing her to my music. Because she hadn't heard virtually anything by the Dan previously, it was all new to her. She loved the show, but I think she actually enjoyed the soundcheck more. The rythymn section practiced without the horns, singers and Donald for all but 3-4 numbers, and she was totally infatuated with the raw sound of the band (i.e., Messrs. Krantz, Herrington, Carlock, Washington), especially Keith Carlock's incredible drumming. I had taken her to see Phil Lesh and Friends last fall (which she loved), but she dug the core Dan/Fagen band even more.

FWIW, while I love most everything they've done, Third World Man is one of my all-time fave SD tracks. Larry Carlton's (one of my favorite players and one of the most gifted improvisers ever, IMHO) arrangement and understated guitar work in that cut speaks to me more than any 64th note solo he's ever done. While I'm sure he'd rather be remembered for fiery solo's he's done like Kid Charlemagne and Josie, I'll take his work on Third World Man any day. I'm betting that it was a completely off-the-cuff improv that he completely forgot doing, but it is hauntingly beautiful to me. I imagine the beauty of Larry's work wasn't lost on Messrs. Fagen, Krantz and Herrington as well. They did a note-for-note tribute to Larry and the doubled guitars sounded like I died and went to Heaven. If the Dan does that tune, the guitarist du jour usually does his own thing with only a slight flavor of LC thrown in for interest.

Cheers,

Kevin

kmh364 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 03, 2006, 05:44:53 AM »

I forgot to say my patented cliche':

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! LOL!

kmh364 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 06, 2006, 05:23:55 AM »

Anybody here going to see Donald at the Beacon Theatre in NYC tomorrow (3/7) or the Borgata in AC Friday (3/10)?

I'm thinking about going to AC to catch that show.

kmh364 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 06, 2006, 05:26:42 AM »

FYI, Here's the remaining tour itinerary:

3/6 Washington, DC Warner Theatre
3/7 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
3/9 Boston, MA Opera House
3/10 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata
3/12 Ottawa, ON NAC
3/13 Toronto, ON Massey Hall
3/15 Cleveland, OH Palace Theatre
3/16 Detroit, MI Opera House
3/18 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
3/19 Minneapolis, MN State Theatre
3/21 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre
3/24 Las Vegas, NV The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
3/25 Temecula, CA Pechanga Theatre
3/27 Los Angeles, CA The Witem LG
3/28 Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre
3/30 San Diego, CA Viejas Concerts in the Park
3/31 Santa Barbara, CA Arlington Theatre

kmh364 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 06, 2006, 05:38:21 AM »

Soundcheck, 4:30pm, 3/1/06 State Theatre NB, NJ.
Bad pic, but it's all I got. Enjoy!

That's my shiny buzz-cut head...I'm wearing a Atlantic County (AC) Harley shirt...the girlfriend is to my right.

kmh364 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 06, 2006, 05:41:03 AM »

OK, one more bad one:

No, that's not my bald head, LOL!

kmh364 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 06, 2006, 05:54:14 AM »

For all you gluttons for punishment, here a streamed interview (w/transcript) of DF, done the day after the show I saw:

http://www.mp3.com/donald-fagen/artists/3582/summary.html

kmh364 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 08, 2006, 11:53:04 AM »

For those that care:

The new Fagen album, er, um, CD, aka Morph The Cat is awesome! It's due to be officially released next week, but I've had a chance to listen extensively to an unofficial copy. Personally, I think it's stronger than the previous two SD efforts, namely Two Against Nature (2000) and Everything Must Go (2003).

Highlights are:

Morph The Cat - great groove and vocal harmonies;
H Gang - snappy rythmn and choruses;
What I Do - Donald consulting with the ghost of Ray Charles;
Mary Shut The Garden Door - a modern take on the Love Unlimited Orchestra with vocals, LOL!

Some really nice bass lines and upbeat lyrics make you wanna shake a leg and, generally, make you feel good!

Nothing against Walter Becker, but I really don't miss his playing and I especially don't miss his singing. While singing is NOT his forte', and his playing (guitar and bass) is fine, I prefer to hear some of the studio giants that Donald usually recruits instead.

I imagine that's one of the main reasons why I enjoyed the DF band's performance so much...it's Walter-free, LOL!. I really could do without Walt's monotone voice and fairly predictable single-note lines, thank you very much. Having said that, I luv ya anyway Walter!

Highly Recommended!

Enjoy!

Kevin

kmh364 · « **Reply #13 on:** March 10, 2006, 11:45:30 AM »

NO takers for the DF show in AC at the Borgata Casino/Hotel?

If all that won't get you out to see the show, how's about this:

See, I told you Carolyn Leonhart (Jazz great bassist Jay Leonhart's daughter) was a honey! She sings as good as she looks (maybe even better than that)!

Cheers,

Kevin

the_mule · « **Reply #14 on:** March 11, 2006, 02:18:50 AM »

I'm waiting to find the special edition of 'Morph The Cat' with the DVD-Audio bonus disc. I haven't heard it yet, but for me personally it'll be hard for it to beat SD's 'Two Against Nature', one of my favourite albums of all time.

Wilfred