Tag Archives | Concert reviews

By Bill Ellis Memphis Commercial Appeal The long Walnut Grove traffic lines said something special was happening at Shelby Farms on Saturday. It was more than a pleasant weekend evening outdoors. It was rock-jazz giant Steely Dan in the band’s only regional show of their current tour, and some 6,365 paying fans made sure they […]

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 […]

By Steve Persall St. Petersburg Times TAMPA — The knock occasionally raised against Steely Dan is that everything, especially the band’s latest release, “Everything Must Go,” sounds exactly the same. Same as what? Its own uniqueness? No other band has mastered such intricate neogenre arrangements, so deceptively peppy for the cryptic lyrics they’re wrapped around, […]

By Vit Wagner Toronto Star As Steely Dan frontmen Donald Fagen and Walter Becker strolled on to the stage of the Molson Amphitheatre Sunday night, a guy a few seats down turned to his friend and asked: “I wonder what kind of groupies they get?” Groupies? It’s absurd to think of Fagen and Becker -— […]

By JASON MACNEIL Toronto Sun TORONTO — It might have taken them a month longer than anticipated, but Steely Dan’s breezy ’70s sound rounded out the Molson Amphitheatre’s summer schedule on a high note. Originally set for mid-August, the show was postponed due to the blackout. It was something not lost on the core tandem […]

After 30 years, the music is still at the top By Mark Bialczak Syracuse Post-Standard Walter Becker decided he liked the state fair. “I bet you, dollars to doughnuts, that our state fair is the best fair in the state,” Becker told the crowd. Donald Fagen knew he was in the land of “lots of […]

By James Lamperetta The Saratogian SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — Steely Dan was the reigning king of FM style and sophistication through the ’70s and into the ’80s. However, since the group existed almost exclusively in the studio during this time, seeing Steely Dan in concert just didn’t happen — then. On Friday night, the dynamic […]

By Eric Fine Atlantic City Press A Steely Dan concert sounds almost exactly like the recorded version of the “group.” But that’s OK — anything close to a live performance is welcome after a nearly 20-year hiatus from the stage. The band’s recent gig at the Tweeter Center in Camden featured an 11-piece ensemble that […]

By Joe Heim Washington Post BRISTOW, Va. — There was much to celebrate about Steely Dan’s concert at Nissan Pavilion on Wednesday night, not the least of which was that no one was struck by lightning. Much of the venue is covered, of course, but the evening’s massive storm arrived at the same time as […]

By GREG SMITH Norwich Bulletin MOHEGAN, Conn. — They’re known for their sophisticated studio genius and not their live performances. In fact, Steely Dan founders Donald Fagan and Walter Becker shied away from the stage even during their most potent years in the 1970s. But it’s not the promise of stage antics or pyrotechnics that […]