Saturday, July 5, 2008

Steely Dan, Finally

Todd and I had waited a long time to see Steely Dan, and we finally got the chance last night at Casino Rama in Orillia. This was the first time I'd been in a casino, and the aisle I saw en route from the casino's front door to the theatre entrance was entertaining enough, but we didn't linger. After taking a series of probability courses in the third year of my math undergrad program, I'd decided that there was no point in ever visiting a casino. Dropping my pocketbook in the street would be a more efficient and less painful way of losing my money.

Back to Steely Dan .... Great concert! It wasn't the religious experience that the recent Leonard Cohen concert was, but it was two hours of first-rate music played by exceptional musicians. Spectators not familiar with Steely Dan might have thought it was a one-person band. Donald Fagan was in the spotlight for most of the concert, with Walter Becker wandering out of the shadows for the occasional guitar solo and speaking part. The one-song encore left me wishing for more, but given that they played a good mix of their recent work and old classics (including three of my top five), I didn't leave disappointed. Todd, a harsher critic than me when it comes to guitar legends, also left satisfied, glad to have finally seen Walter Becker live, even if most of the solos were left to the younger and nimbler Jon Herington.

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