Over the last 25 (!) years, my two daughters and the family have seen Steely Dan perform about 6 or 7 times. Older daughter Stephanie bought 8 tickets in the first balcony of the 150+ year old Orpheum Theater for Friday's opening night performance ("Aja and greatest hits"). I should contextualize last night's experience to say that my daughter had seen the Dan last week in New York (where David Crosby sat in for a surprise rendition of "Wooden Ships") and that our first family concert was to see them at the so-called Tweeter Center, when the kids were maybe two and six. We had a great dinner at Pho Pasteur, right around the corner, and then walked up to the Orpheum, which is an intimate setting for a concert. The band was tight, Donald's voice was stronger than ever. Watching the drummer perform is actually mesmerizing! The set list was "something for everybody." The crowd was generally above 50, and obviously digging it, but not more than my 25 and 29 year old daughters!

I thought the show was amazing. Donald Fagen's voice is as strong as ever. Just disappointed they didn't play one of my favorites Deacon Blues. Overall great show and Syracuse Amphitheater is a great venue!

Considering his age and the fact that he has lost his long term partner, Donald Fagen still delivered the goods to a fond and equally aging, sophisticated audience. His team of virtuoso musicians led by Musical Director Jon Herrington delivered a tight set list with the occasional departure from the original recordings with just enough flavor to deliver the intended moment of extreme pleasure. My only suggestion would be to start earlier in the evening and lose the opening act so that the merry band of old hippies in attendance can get their fill before arriving home around midnight.

Hit after hot in the Woodlands Pavillion last night, it was such a thrill to see this band of talent supporting Donald's distinct vocals. Loved how each member had their time in the spotlight. This was not about Donald Fagan, it was about the songs, crafted to perfection in the studios and played honest to that perfection giving each familiar song its own special delivery. The opener, Snarky Puppy, was enjoyable and it was nice to see how earnest the lead was in recognition of the honor to open for the legendary Steely Dan. What a thrill it was to see this show in person.

GREAT SHOW!

DATELINE: Venetian Theater, 4/28/19 After many thwarted attempts to see the band live, me and the misses settled in the lovely and acoustically solid VT. The entire performance was reminiscent of an old school R&B jazz review which should be no surprise. Excellent set list that covered all the bases albeit the inclusion of "FM" (too Top 40 considering the band's deep catalog, but easily digestible for the audience) and "Dirty Work" which is a tremendous song with David Palmer's plaintive vocal but "lounge-y" as done by the female backup artists. With the exception of hard core Dan fans and budding music students (a master class if ever there was one) the crowd appeared to be ancient Midwesterner's who on a lark dropped by on their way to the Kwik-E-Mart to get a gallon of vanilla ice cream and Hershey's syrup. (See: FM) with no thought of stepping out. Perhaps Nevada's lax cannabis law accounted for the malaise but methinks 8:00pm was bedtime for many. Too bad, great show!