Friday, March 18, 2005

Donald Fagen, Todd & the rest

As reported on RadioDupree's homepage, Donald Fagen was one of the guests at a fundraiser on Hawaii March 5.

A couple of reports have landed. The first one published in the Internet Mail Service/Newsletter/Whatever for Steely Dan fans ; The Dandom Digest.

Date: Mon, 07 Mar 2005 00:07:44 -1000
From: Justin Thyme
Subject: Saturday Night with DF, TR, et al: "a "terzo mundo" of an
entirely different sort"

I'm back home on Windward O'ahu, noodling on the GigaStudio and
poking at this PC keyboard after spending an enjoyable 30 hours on
Kaua'i's North Shore (where the winter waves are POUNDING!) I should
be remixing some tracks, but I'd rather post this to you instead.

This isn't meant to be a set-list (we were too "happy" for clear
morning-after memories, and besides, nobody had anything to write
on); it's more an experiential loose-memory gestalt.

The DF/TR performance at the Princeville Resort was lots more of an
impromptu jam than a rehearsed gig -- but it was terrific
nonetheless, despite mediocre sound engineering in an
acoustically-challenged hotel ballroom venue. (The sound engineering
problems were understandable, as there was no time for a decent sound check.)
Keep in mind that this was an "hometown" fundraiser, after
all, for a small private school -- yes, the hometown was North Shore
Kaua'i, and the entertainers were local residents despite their
celebrity -- but it was a fundraiser jam at its core.

Michele (Grey) Rundgren, whose youngest son is a student at the
school, auctioneered vintage guitars, ukuleles, and clothing. Then
she emceed wonderfully, and afterwards settled comfortably into her
former persona as a sexy back-up singer. (She's still plenty sexy,
and she can still sing her ass off!) And if you haven't seen her DVD,
"NC-17 From a 34-C," then you haven't yet appreciated the best of the
North Shore Kaua'ian rocker-comediennes (her day-job band is called
the "North Shore Sluts."). Take a look at
http://www.michelerundgren.com .

New Grammy-winner Ken Emerson from Kalihiwai and the ever-wonderful Toni Childs opened (in that order) with solid performances,
especially Toni's one-day-old untitled composition than brought tears
to my eyes and chickenskin (a/k/a goosebumps) to my arms and neck. (I believe she's due for and verging on a comeback, mark me.)

Then Todd Rundgren appeared and rocked the Kaua'i Kasbah with
perennials (such as "I Saw The Light" and "Hello It's Me" with bossa
styling, a la "With A Twist"). Todd also ventured into his newest
work with "Soul Brother," from his recent and excellent "Liars"
album. His performance high point was the classic medley from "A
Wizard A True Star" ("I'm So Proud/Ooh Baby Baby/La la Means I Love
You," but sans "Cool Jerk"). Todd was in fine voice, dressed to kill,
and very much at home.

Our hero DF appeared and played an acoustic grand piano (I lamented
the absence of a Rhodes and wished I had shipped one of mine over).
The high-point of his too-brief performance was "Third World Man"
(performed in a "terzo mundo" of an entirely different sort),
followed by "Black Friday." These selections were interspersed with
some straight-ahead bluesy 50's rock'n'roll stuff ("Lucille," for
example) on which Donald gleamed while grasping (successfully) to
find some common musical ground with musicians who had barely
rehearsed together and who didn't know much of anything about
Donald's material. Todd's and Donald's voices blended surprisingly
well in duets. The show closed with "Bang on the Drum All Day" with
Toni belting it out like Janis Joplin, Todd wailing as only he can,
and Donald high-harmonizing while he savaged the keyboard.
Predictably, the crown was up on its feet, roaring along with the
chorus. Then lights up, and exit into the flower-scented tropical
evening.

Altogether a most unusual and satisfying evening on Hanalei Bay.

Aloha,
--jt

Click the "headline" of this post to view some pictures from the show.

Also check out http://dandom.com/
for more on The Dandom Digest and related Steely Dan stuff.

The second report was posted to members of the donaldfagen group over at
http://www.googlegroups.com/

From: "Lewis Fairlawn"
To: donaldfagen@googlegroups.com
Subject: Wang-dang-doodle in Princeville
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 11:57:38 -0800

3/16/05
Our man in the Aloha State, Bubba Spreckels (let's call him that), went to a wang-dang-doodle in Princeville the other night. Here's his
report:

March 7, 2005

Even before we arrived, we could tell by the traffic on the North Shore
that the entire social register of the island had turned out for the
Kula Jam at the ballroom of the Princeville Hotel last night. And,
boy-oh-boy, was the joint ever jumping! First the crowd was treated to the the mellifluous melodies of slack key guitar whanger Kenny Emerson and local warbler Toni Childs. And what a couple of closers -- that's right, you've already heard about it -- Todd "The Mod" Rundgren and Donald "Nightfly" Fagen finished the audience off and had the leftovers for breakfast on Sunday morning. The headliners were backed by a pack of solid senders including drummer Tris Imboden,guitarist/singer Allan "A.T." Thomas, Jimmy "Doc" Winkler on the eighty-eights and Trey Thompson a'slappin' on the groanbox.

I caught up with mistress of ceremonies, singer, radio personality and
surefire woo-bait Michelle Rundgren in the lobby. "What a night!"
gushed Michelle. "And we raised lots of money for the Kula School too!"
The sentiment was dittoed by event organizer Benjy Garfinkle. And Mr. and Mrs. David and Samantha Geimer made sure the event ran like a Swiss clock.
Heads turned for the late entrance of the sparkling (as always)
aviatrix and kickboxer Lisa Hobbs . Also glittering among the revelers
were the Misses Garfinkle, Amber and Chloe; Miss Koa Norman; Miss
Vanessa Jade Martinez; and Mr. Keoni Steiner of Kilauea.

--
Sounds like a profound gass, Bubba. Thats all for now,

Lewis

http://www.donaldfagen.com


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