By Scott Walton
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In keeping with the title of their latest CD, Steely Dan tried the clearing-house approach to their concert Friday night at HiFi Buys Amphitheatre. But the audience wanted the band to take the “Everything Must Go” tour’s theme literally, and thunderously cheered for a second encore that never came.
Steely Dan, a classic rock radio staple, simply had too many hits to perform within the confines of the venue’s time restrictions. Frontmen Walter Becker and Donald Fagen seemed intent on reeling in the years. Still, abbreviating renditions of hits like “Kid Charlamagne,” “My Old School” and “Hey Nineteen” didn’t make room on the play list for fan favorites like “Reeling In the Years” and “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number.”
Fagen responded to the feverish crowd with lead vocals full of punctuation and personality. Becker peppered selections with sparse, spry guitar accompaniment. The four-man horn section was sparkling. The rhythm section faithfully upheld the group’s highly respected studio standards.
Selections that especially pleased the crowd included a bluesy interpretation of “Home At Last,” a horn-heavy rendering of “Aja” and a bitter-sweet take on “Black Cow.”
Much of the concert amounted to a sing-a-long, with the audience at times drowning out Fagen and his backup trio singing “Peg” and “Home At Last.”
After finishing up on a wildly appreciated “FM: for the finale, Fagen stepped for a last time to the microphone to honk, “See you next time.”
We should only be so lucky.
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