Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Steely Dan live 2009: Setlist Birmingham, UK

June 29:

Teenie's Blues
Reelin' In The Years
Time Out Of Mind
Show Biz Kids
My Old School
Bad Sneakers
Two Against Nature
Black Friday
Aja
Hey Nineteen
Parker's Band
Babylon Sisters
Glamour Profession
Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More
Deacon Blues
Love Is Like An Itchin' In My Heart + band intros
Josie
Peg

Encore:
FM
Kid Charlemagne

(Thanks to Hoops McKay who posted it in the comments to this previous post.)

If you're going to any of the shows and would like to meet up with other Steely Dan fans do sign up for the Danfest list and get involved!

Upcoming shows:

Jul 01 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
Jul 02 - Paris, France - Olympia
Jul 04 - Montreux, Switzerland - Montreux Jazz Fest
Jul 06 - Rome, Italy - Cavea Auditorium
Jul 08 - Padova, Italy - Villa Contarini
Jul 09 - Milan, Italy - Arena Civica
Jul 11 - Perugia, Italy- Umbria Jazz Festival
Jul 12 - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Sporting Club

- - - - -

Two useful links:

steelydan.com - The only place for confirmed dates.
dandom.com/Bluebook - The fan page for breaking news, views and the occasional rumour.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Steely Dan live 2009: Setlists Amsterdam, Brussels and Edinburgh

Should've been reported earlier, but the warm sun got us distracted. And if you know nyhthing about Sweden it is that if you like sun, warmth and light you better make the most of those days when they show up.

OK. Back to the setlists. These are the three first shows of the European leg of the 2009 Steely Dan tour. The Left Bank Holiday leg.

Edinburgh, Scotland, June 28:

Time Out Of Mind
Show Biz Kids
My Old School
I Got The News
Bad Sneakers
Two Against Nature
Black Friday
Aja
Hey Nineteen
Parkers Band
Babylon Sisters
Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More
Black Cow
Green Earrings
Love Is Like An Itchin' with band intros
Josie
Peg

Encore:
Kid Charlemagne

Brussels, Belgium, June 26:

Reelin' In the Years
Time Out Of Mind
Godwhacker
Show Biz Kids
Bad Sneakers
Two Against Nature
Black Friday
Aja
Hey Nineteen
Parker's Band
Babylon Sisters
Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More
Green Earrings
Love Is Like An Itchin' In My Heart with band intros
Josie
Peg
Kid Charlemagne

Encore:
Do It Again

Amsterdam, Holland, June 25:

Reelin' In The Years
Time Out Of Mind
Godwhacker
Bad Sneakers
Two Against Nature
Black Friday
Aja
Hey Nineteen
Parker's Band
Babylon Sisters
Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More
Green Earrings
Love Is Like An Itchin' In My Heart with band intros
Josie
Peg
Kid Charlemagne

Encore:
Do It Again
My Old School

Thanks to Celluloid Biker (Amsterdam & Brussels) and Steve M and Jazzman (Edinburgh) who posted the list on the dandom.com Bluebook.

If you're going to any of the shows and would like to meet up with other Steely Dan fans do sign up for the Danfest list and get involved!

Upcoming shows:

Jun 29 - Birmingham, UK - NIA
Jul 01 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
Jul 02 - Paris, France - Olympia
Jul 04 - Montreux, Switzerland - Montreux Jazz Fest
Jul 06 - Rome, Italy - Cavea Auditorium
Jul 08 - Padova, Italy - Villa Contarini
Jul 09 - Milan, Italy - Arena Civica
Jul 11 - Perugia, Italy- Umbria Jazz Festival
Jul 12 - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Sporting Club

- - - - -

Two useful links:

steelydan.com - The only place for confirmed dates.
dandom.com/Bluebook - The fan page for breaking news, views and the occasional rumour.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Weekend music: The Seeds

And let's add another R.I.P. for Sky Saxon from L.A. band The Seeds. He died Thursday. Here's the great Pushin' Too Hard from the late 60's:

Friday, June 26, 2009

Michael Jackson dies

Michael Jackson dead? I could not believe it when I first heard it. OK, he was in pretty bad shape but still he was just about to enter his world tour. Now he left for his final tour. Jackson was never "my cup of tea" but one can not deny that the guy had a great impact on music lovers all over the world. Rest in peace, King of Pop.
/Siggy

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Xena sings Zappa

Actress/singer Lucy "Xena" Lawless seems to be on good terms with Gail Zappa. Lucy writes on her blog that she has spent a day in the studio with Gail, doing the vocals on Frank's song Flambay:
"We chose “MAGIC FINGERS” instead and then at the end of the day we had half an hour left and I said, why don't you throw on “FLAMBAY” and we'll just see what happens. I had never sung the song out loud before, thinking that the key was too high, etc. But something crazy happened, something alchemical."
Read the entire story on http://www.lucylawlessfanclub.com/messages.html

Four more Steely Dan interview clips from msg.com

Following the Internet request night explained clip we posted a link to a week ago, here's four more clips from msg.com:



























Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Steely Dan live 2009: Welcome to Europe!

Tomorrow marks the first show of 12 of the 2009 Left Bank Holiday tour. The town is Amsterdam, Holland and the place Heineken Music Hall. Hopefully we'll hear from someone attending and the big question is of course if the band will play some songs not played on the US Rent Party trek so far.

Here's the full list of European dates.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Walter Becker: Bob Is Not Your Uncle Anymore (Demo) & Downtown Canon (Radio Edit)

Walter Becker's new two track single as it appears on iTunes Sweden

The latest release from Walter Becker's Circus Money is yet another digital-only single. If "single" means two tracks as a sort of a- and b-side of the vinyl single.

Just like last October's Somebody's Saturday Night EP - if by "EP" you mean ... and so on - there's a radio edit (two on that EP) and a this-release-only version of an album track. The EP featured a remix of the album's title track Circus Money, this single a demo of the tune Bob Is Not Your Uncle Anymore.

And with Walter and Donald not persons to fill official releases with demo versions of songs, I was of course eager to hear in what way this would differ from Bob Is Not... from Circus Money.
The answer? Not that much.

The melody and instrumentation is there played MIDI-wise by Walter on the good ol' computer, and the vocals - added at Larry Klein's studio - is surprisingly like the final ones that ended up on Circus Money. I had expected the singing to be rougher, more basic.
The overall sythesized sound had me thinking of the production of Becker's solo debut 11 Tracks Of Whack that longtime Steely Dan über-fan Pete Fogel once said "almost amounted to a release of demo tapes".

I am one of those that was surprised by the sound 11 Tracks Of Whack when it was released back in 1994. And I think it is safe to say that a lot of fans of Steely Dan as well as Donald Fagen's solo albums expected more of the same from a Becker solo album.
With this demo version of Bob Is Not Your Uncle Anymore I think the surprise is how complete and ready the demo is to the finished song.

As for the A-side; Downtown Canon, it has been given the radio edit treatment. No big - if any - difference in the sound mix as far as I can tell, but shortened from 5:36 to 3:39 by cutting seven seconds of the intro and fade out 30 seconds earlier. The second verse (Chasing sensation to remind us...) is cut out completely, as this version goes to the female vocals oh-oooing for some 20 seconds shorter than on the original before the third and final verse (Packed up the Dylan and the Man Ray...) starts.

I do enjoy these bonus releases and hope there are more. And judging by this quote from a recent Billboard article/interview there just might be:
Becker, meanwhile, hopes to make a few more dub remixes of songs from his 2008 solo album "Circus Money" and also has "a couple of tracks left over from that session that I'll finish and put on line or propagate in some way.
Would be nice to get all these extra tracks available in some lossless format like the newsletter freebie Circus Money Hammerhead Remix, that came in mp3, mpeg4, flac and wav versions.

/N.S.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Steely Dan live 2009: Setlist The Wharf, Orange Beach, Alabama

June 19, show #7:

Time Out Of Mind
Bodhisattva
Show Biz Kids
Bad Sneakers
Two Against Nature
Black Friday
Aja
Don't Take Me Alive
Hey Nineteen
Parker's Band
Deacon Blues
Daddy Don't LIve In That New York City No More
Green Earrings
Josie
Love Is Like An Itching... with band intros
Do It Again
Kid Charlemagne

Encore:
Peg
My Old School

As posted by wormtom - scats on the Bluebook.

And that completes the first leg of the Rent Party tour. It will continue in Boston July 22. The band is off to Europe for 12 gigs branded Left Bank Holiday with the first stop being Amsterdam June 25.

You can view all previous setlists by clicking the setlist label below each post. Or just click here. ;)

- - - - -

Two useful links:

steelydan.com - The only place for confirmed dates.
dandom.com/Bluebook - The fan page for breaking news, views and the occasional rumour.

Steely Dan live 2009: Setlist St. Augustine Amp., St. Augustine, Florida

June 18, show #6:

Time Out Of Mind

Bodhisattva
Show Biz Kids
Bad Sneakers
Two Against Nature
Black Friday
Aja
Don't Take Me Alive
Hey 19
Parker's Band
Pretzel Logic
Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More
Gaucho
Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart with band intros
Josie
Do it again
Kid Charlemagne

Encore:
Peg
My Old School

Thanks to the madman who posted it on the Bluebook.

- - - - -

Two useful links:

steelydan.com - The only place for confirmed dates.
dandom.com/Bluebook - The fan page for breaking news, views and the occasional rumour.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Steely Dan live 2009: Internet request nights explained

Here is a short video of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker explaining those nights on the tour were the ticket buyers get to vote for the songs to be played. Entertaining duo, as always :)

Steely Dan live 2009: Setlist Barbara B Mann, Ft. Meyers, Florida

And for all interested here's what was played on July 16 and show #5:

Time Out Of Mind
Bodhisattva
(...I can't read my writing..sorry.) UPDATE: Show Biz Kids (*)
Bad Sneakers
Two Against Natur
Black Friday
Aja
Don't Take Me Alive
Hey 19
Parkers Band
Pretzel Logic
Daddy Don't Live In Than New York City No More
Third World Man
Band Intros to Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart
Green Earings
Josie
Kid Charlemagne

Encore:
Peg
My Old School

As posted to the Dandom Digest by Paul.
(*) According to a Bluebook post by Nosey Nate.

Upcoming shows:

Jun 18 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amp.
Jun 19 - Orange Beach, AL - The Wharf

Then it is off to Europe for a dozen dates ibetween June 25 and July 12 on the Left Bank Holiday Tour.
- - - - -

Two useful links:

steelydan.com - The only place for confirmed dates.
dandom.com/Bluebook - The fan page for breaking news, views and the occasional rumour.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Steely Dan live 2009: Setlist Bob Carr, Orlando, Florida

June 15. Show #4 of the tour. Setlist as posted by "VeteranCosmicRocker (VCR)" over on the always informative Steely Dan fan guestbook called the BlueBook.

Time Out Of Mind
Bodhisattva
Show Biz Kids
Bad Sneakers
Two Against Nature
Black Friday
Aja
Don't Take Me Alive
Hey Nineteen
Parker's Band
Home At Last
Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More
Third World Man
Band Intros to Love Is Like An Itching...
Green Earrings
Josie
Kid Charlemagne

Encore:
Peg
My Old School

Upcoming shows:

Jun 18 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amp.
Jun 19 - Orange Beach, AL - The Wharf
- - - - -

Two useful links:

steelydan.com - The only place for confirmed dates.
dandom.com/Bluebook - The fan page for breaking news, views and the occasional rumour.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

"Dweezil has to come up with something new"

Everybody (including the Radio Dupree staff) seem to be quite enthusiastic over the recent Zappa Plays Zappa tour. To bring some balance here we asked Swedish musician Hans Annéllsson of The Vegetarians what he thought of the Malmö show on June 11:
"The set list was a bit boring. Drummer Joe Travers did the lead vocals on Cosmik Debris but I don't think his voice really fits that song. It sounded weak and nasal (reminded a bit of Bob Dylan). Joe's background vocals were superb though. Ben Thomas, the new lead singer, did OK, but he forgot the lyrics to St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast and had the lyric sheets laid out on the floor in front of him.
The band sounded somewhat tired and uninspired (except for Zomby Woof). Dweezil has to come up with something new to get me to pay 500 kronor for a concert ticket again.
On the other hand Zoomby Woof sounded fantastic and on Inca Roads we got some nice solos from both Billy Hulting and Jamie Kime. Dweezil plays great and he has a great guitar sound.
I would have liked to hear Billy the Mountain, although I know they do not play it with the new lead vocalist Ben Thomas."

Hans Annéllsson lives in Malmö. He has recorded his own versions of several Frank Zappa songs. In the early 90's he actually got permission from the Zappa family to release the song Penis Dimension with lyrics in Swedish.

Monday, June 15, 2009

The "new" Steely Dan album

As we wrote a couple of weeks back (May 29 to be exact) the next album from Steely Dan is near. It is in the form of a Greatest Hits package and naturally released in time for the ongoing summer/autumn tour.

What songs make up the collection this time around and what will the cover look like? Well, here are the answers to both those questions:

Disc 1:
1. Do It Again
2. Dirty Work
3. Reelin' In The Years
4. Only A Fool Would Say That
5. Change Of The Guard
6. Bodhisattva
7. The Boston Rag
8. Show Biz Kids
9. My Old School
10. Rikki Don't Lose That Number
11. Night By Night
12. Pretzel Logic
13. Any Major Dude Will Tell You (Album Version)
14. Black Friday
15. Bad Sneakers
16. Doctor Wu
17. Any World (That I'm Welcome To)
18. Chain Lightning

Disc 2:
1. Kid Charlemagne
2. Don't Take Me Alive
3. Haitian Divorce
4. The Fez
5. Here At The Western World (Album Version)
6. Black Cow
7. Aja
8. Deacon Blues
9. Peg
10. Josie
11. F.M.
12. Babylon Sisters
13. Hey Nineteen
14. Time Out Of Mind
15. Third World Man

Release date: June 29.

We just got this info and have't had time to compare it to previous Best Of/Greatest Hits-collections. But a quick glance says that this is not aimed at covering the whole career of the group. Not a single song from the two latest albums; Two Against Nature (2000) and Everything Must Go (2003).
And it's yet another Steely Dan album without Donald and Walter on the cover.

UPDATE: After a bit of should we or should we not bother to, we decided to look at the string of compilations and compare them to this one.
There's the first Greatest Hits (1978), Steely Dan (1978), Steely Dan (1981), Gold (1982), Gold, Expanded Edition (1985), A Decade Of Steely Dan (1985), The Very Best Of Steely Dan: Reelin' In The Years (1985), The Very Best Of Steely Dan: Do It Again (1987), Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story, 1972-1980 (2000), Steely Dan: The Definitive Collection (2006) and The Millennium Collection (2007). Phew! That's a lot of compilations! Eleven. Plus the new one which basically is a repackaging of the 2000 Showbiz Kids. Same songs in the same order. And it looks like its an European/non-USA release. Neil McCormick - well-known UK music critic - has written some new liner notes.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Steely Dan live 2009: Setlist Mizner Park Amp., Boca Raton, Florida

June 13: The third show of the tour was in Boca Raton, Florida at the Mizner Park Ampitheater.

[UPDATE: Thank yous to the person who posted a comment with a link to a review (with pics) of the show. Just click here! ]

As for the songs played "BocaDanFan" posted this setlist on the BlueBook:

Time Out Of Mind
Godwhacker
Reelin' In The Years
Bad Sneakers
Two Against Nature
Black Friday
Aja
Sign In Stranger
Hey 19
Parkers Band
Babylon Sisters
Daddy Don't Live In That NYC No More
Here at the Western World
Band intros to Love Is Like An Itching...
Black Cow
Josie
Kid Charlemagne

Encore:
My old school

The next stops on the tour:

Jun 15 - Orlando FL - Bob Carr
Jun 16 - Ft. Myers, FL - Barbara B Mann
Jun 18 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amp.
Jun 19 - Orange Beach, AL - The Wharf

- - - - -

Two useful links:

steelydan.com - The only place for confirmed dates.
dandom.com/BlueBook - The fan page for breaking news, views and the occasional rumour.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Steely Dan live 2009: Setlist Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, Florida

The second show of the 2009 tour took place yesterday at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida.
Thanks to "TampaDan" who posted the songs played over on the Bluebook which, incidentally, is the place to check for setlists and other Steely Dan-related stuff. A subscription to the Dandom Digest is also advisable.

The setlist:

Time Out of Mind
Godwhacker
Reelin' In the Years
Bad Sneakers
Two Against Nature
Black Friday
Aja
Sign In Stranger
Hey Nineteen
Parker's Band
Babylon Sisters
Daddy Don't Live in That NYC No More (Becker vocal)
Here at the Western World
Band intros by Walter while the choir sings The Supremes' Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart
Black Cow
Peg
Kid Charlemagne

Encore:
Josie
My Old School

Changes from the first show? Home At Last and My Rival dropped in favour of Two Against Nature and Sign In Stranger.

Upcoming shows:

Jun 13 - Boca Raton, FL - Mizner Park Amp.
Jun 15 - Orlando FL - Bob Carr
Jun 16 - Ft. Myers, FL - Barbara B Mann
Jun 18 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amp.
Jun 19 - Orange Beach, AL - The Wharf
- - - - -

Two useful links:

steelydan.com - The only place for confirmed dates.
dandom.com/Bluebook - The fan page for breaking news, views and the occasional rumour.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Zappa Plays Zappa: the review

That's the picture quality you get with a Sony Ericsson k800i from the 12th row ;)

Zappa Plays Zappa, Cirkus, Stockholm June 8, 2009:


Apostrophe ('): A blazing show opener that sets the standard for the evening. Very much energy. Lotsa guitar and fuzz bass! Arrangement close to the original. Drummer Joe Travers even copies Jim Gordon's short drum solo note for note.

Montana: Time for new lead vocalist ben Thomas to show up. Dweezil has the good taste to include a guitar solo in this song just like Frank would do during the 1973 and 74 tours. Keyboard player Scheila Gonzalez sings the "I'm plucking the ol' dental floss..." interlude and she plays some keys meanwhile. That gal' sure can play!

Zomby Woof: Dweezil has a good sense for what the audience wants to hear. Ben Thomas is doing really OK here. This guy isn't too bad!

Village Of The Sun: Roxy & Elsewhere version. Scheila does the lead vocals.

Echidna's Arf/Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?: Done in the Roxy style with drum solo and kazoo ending.

Cosmik Debris: Good to hear this blues based song after all that instrumental trickery. Done the classic way a' la Dub Room DVD.

The Black Page drum solo: I was a little suprised here. Travers is good but no Bozzio (who is?) Still he dares to try this one out. And he does it pretty well.

Black Page # 2: The connoisseures expected this one to follow. For the non-connoisseures Dweezil tells the story accompanied by the disco vamp a’ la Frank’s In New York album.

Bamboozled By Love: Almost in the slow blues workout arrangement that Frank used to do in the late 70’s. Ben Thomas takes the lead vocals and he handles it great. Then all of a sudden the band changes into double tempo and we get the 1984 solo vamp which is actually the chords to Yes’ hit Owner Of A Lonely Heart. Spectacular but not too exciting musically. And then back to original tempo again, thank you.

King Kong: The monster song (the long instrumental of the show, just like Frank used to do). Arrangement a’ la Make A Jazz Noise Here, with fast tempo and where the theme is divided on several instruments. Now is the time for some experimenting and interacting with the audience. Dweezil conducts the audience with hand signals. Scheila plays a nice sax solo over a familiar chord pattern which I soon identify as the chords during the solo section of Fifty-fifty (Over-nite Sensation).

Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up
: Since vocalist Ben Thomas has been involved in the staging of Joe’s Garage recently I guessed that Dweezil would include a couple of songs from that particular album. And here they come. Great to hear this one without those digital drums of the 80’s ;-)

Outside Now: Ben is absolutely fantastic on this one. Great vocals. Some mean guitar from Dweezil plus those low marimba notes rather loud in the mix just like on Joe’s Garage. Wonderful!

The Purple Lagoon: Hmm, this was a pleasant surprise.

Inca Roads: This is the tune that the new lead singer Ben Thomas sang at the audition this spring. The hardest task for Ben during this concert. He did OK though.

More Trouble Every Day: Starting like on the KCET/A Token Of His Extreme footage, with hammering on one chord. When the band changes to the A Token Of My Extreme outro we know that the ordinary set is over.

Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow: The first encore. Some persons in the audience may have wanted to hear the entire Yellow Snow suite but we only get the first part and then the band goes into

Peaches En Regalia: This may not be the song that I was most eager to hear, but as soon as the first bars are played I realize it’s a great piece to hear live with this band. Great to hear the theme being divided on so many instruments and all those harmonies. A lovely arrangement!

Willie The Pimp: Closer to the Hot Rats version than Frank used to do live in the 80’s. Dweezil almost duplicates some of Frank’s guitar licks between the song verses. Yet another song that fits vocalist Ben Thomas very well.

Bobby Brown: The last encore is an experiment with a song that the ZPZ band never has played before. Dweezil’s idea is to let the audience do the vocals to the band’s accompaniment. Everybody is standing up and it feels a little weird to hear 1600 persons singing about tower of power and golden showers. Maybe this works out so fine because the Swedes love their “allsång” tradition so much.

Summary: Although it can not beat the first line up of ZPZ that I saw when stars as Napoleon Murphy Brock, Terry Bozzio and Steve Vai shared the same stage, this is a great show! Dweezil has grown as a stage personality. He knows how to handle howlers that shout “Play Fuck the Swedes!”. He picks the songs that many fans like to hear. His guitar playing is really interesting. He plays a mix of his own style and the way Frank used to sound. The band really rocks and can play those tricky songs as well. I remember the doubts many fans (and myself) had just before the first Zappa Plays Zappa tour. This is the 3rd world tour and Dweezil still amazes the audience with his own versions of his father’s songs.

/Siggy, Radio Dupree

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Happy Anniversary Circus Money!

Walter Becker's solo album Circus Money is one year old today.
If you haven't heard it already you can listen to some short clips of all songs on this page.

In a buying mood? Not a CD kind of person? On this page you can buy a digitally adept mp3 version as well as that superior lossless FLAC version. That's what we shopped a few minutes after midnight one year ago.

Congratulations to Walter et consortes on a fine album! And please; keep 'em coming!

: : : : :

And - totally unrelated - here's our silliest spam of the day just as it arrived in the mailbox:
Hi,Good Day!!!

wednesday 10 juni 2009 08.46
From:
To: xxx@xxxx.xxx

Hello Dear Good Day!!!,
How are you today, i hope all is well with you. My name is Miss Gift I want to have a good relationship and share things in common with you. i will like to tell you more about me and send some of my pictures to you, As soon as you reply my letter to my private email.(xxx@xxx.xxx) Hoping to have a good relationship with you. yours lovely Friend,Miss Gift
(xxx@xxx.xxx)
Hey Walter & Donald. There's a lyric and a melody in there somewhere...

A bad back and lack of excitement makes James miss Steely Dan

Looking for reviews of the first Steely Dan show of the 2009 tour, we found this blog entry from James. A kid that dad wanted to come along to the show, and initially he said yes. But as the day approached he got second thoughts and finally mum and dad left for the show without him.

Here's his thoughts as the parents enjoy the June 9 show in Durham
. It's worth a read.

Zappa plays Zappa Stockholm, June 8: Photos

While we're working on the big review of the show you might be interested in seeing a few professional pics from the Zappa plays Zappa-evening just uploaded to festivalphoto.se.

Don't miss this one of a smiling Dweezil helping a just as happy winner of the Hagström guitar giveaway to get a riff going. Her name is Katarina.

And some more photos are available here = rockfoto.nu.

And finally - for as long as it is available - the sing-a-long version of Bobby Brown as it sounded on the night in question. And from two different angles:

Twitter + Steely Dan 2009 setlists = true!

Yes. The need to get those setlists as they unfold can this tour be satisfied thanks to the work of Jim Hoops McKay and firends over on dandom.com.

As this is published the first show of the tour is just about to start. Get on over to dandom.com and catch what songs are being played as they're being played. Chat with other fans and have fun!

UPDATE:

Here are the songs played on the first night (Performing Arts Centre, Durham, NC):

The Sam Yahel Trio was the opening act.

* Reelin' In The Years (funky/Jazzy version)
* Time Out of Mind
* Godwhacker
* Bad Sneakers
* Black Friday
* Aja
* My Rival
* Hey 19
* Parkers Band
* Babylon Sisters
* Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More (Walter on vocals)
* Here at The Western World
* Home At Last
* Band intros by Walter while the choir sings The Supremes' Love Is Like An Itchin' In My Heart
* Peg
* Josie
* Kid Charlemagne

Encore

* Black Cow
* My Old School

A few nice surprises for the real fans without forgetting the "hits" for the casual listener.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Jon checks in from Steely Dan rehearsals

Guitarist Jon Herington is happy with his new Talladega Pro Hamer guitar, and writes a letter to designer Jol Dantzig to tell him so.
All can be read in this blogpost dated June 9. For the guitar-curious there's another post about Jon's new one dated May 29.

Success for Zappa Plays Zappa


Many fans have been a little doubtful over what to expect of the recent Zappa Plays Zappa band, since there are no members from Frank's band around anymore. (Lead vocalist Ray White left recently just prior to the tour.)
But no one attending the Stockholm concert on June 8 could have left with disappointment. Dweezil and the band played a hard rocking show and the audience responded with standing ovations.
They opened with a blasting Apostrophe ('), which sounded close to the album version.
Montana and Zomby Woof followed.
They played for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Most of the material was taken from the mid 70's albums that Dweezil seems to prefer. Very rocky. Lots of guitar.
The show ended with a rather bizarre experiment: Dweezil asked the audience to sing Bobby Brown along the band's accompaniment. It felt a little weird to hear 1600 persons singing about "golden showers" like it was a big family gathering or an evening of Swedish "allsång".
A longer, more detalied review of the show will follow soon. Meanwhile, here is the song list:
1. Apostrophe (')
2. Montana
3. Zomby Woof
4. Village Of The Sun
5. Echidna's Arf
6. Don't You ever Wash That Thing?
7. Cosmik Debris
8. The Black Page drum solo
9. Black Page #2
10. Bamboozled By Love
11. King Kong
12. Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up
13. Outside Now
14. The Purple Lagoon
15. More Trouble Every Day/A Token Of My Extreme outro

Encores:
16. Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
17. Peaches En Regalia
18. Willie The Pimp
19. Bobby Brown

/Siggy

PS. Forgot to include Inca Roads. It was played somewhere in the first half of the set.

Steely Dan live 2009: First show tonight!

Tuesday evening, June 9, Performing Arts Center in Durham, North Carolina, USA is where the Rent Party '09 kicks off.

We won't be there, but look forward to the reports from the show. Will this year's special full album and internet request nights affect what's being played on "ordinary" nights like the one in Durham? We'll see...

Monday, June 08, 2009

Zappa Plays Zappa while Radio Dupree listens


Right now Radio Dupree is stalking the streets of Stockholm, where Zappa Plays Zappa will play tonight. It's the first of two Swedish gigs on this tour and you can expect a full review sometime tomorrow.

It's 4,5 hours til showtime. Time for a beer in the sun!

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Steely Dan live 2009: Four more for New York!

In what might be a salute to the National Day of Sweden as well as the 65 years since D-Day and the 150 year anniversary of Oscar and Constance Wilde's marriage, a brand new issue of the Steely Dan Newsletter appeared this Saturday.

News item number 1:
Four more New York dates added, making the total numer of shows in that city eight this tour. These are the four new one:

Aug 03 - New York - Beacon Theatre / Internet Request Aja (Plus)
Aug 04 - New York - Beacon Theatre / Internet Request
Aug 10 - New York - Beacon Theatre / Aja (Plus) The Royal Scam (Plus)
Aug 11 - New York - Beacon Theatre / Internet Request

UPDATE a few hours later: Looks like the newsletter and the homepage (steelydan.com) differs on the August 3 & 4 shows. We're going with the homepage having the correct info and have adjusted the info above accordingly.
And while we're at it: Our phrase below; "opening acts", actually says "special guests" in the newsletter. And while they most likey are opening acts they could very well be artists joining the band for a song or three, so...

Sorry for any inconvenience this may or may not have caused you. If you're at the Padova or Perugia shows we'll buy you a beer or any beverage of your liking to - in some small way - make up for this fumble. ;)

News item number 2:
A tip to keep an eye open for announcements of opening acts. Make that "special guests".

Get your personal subscription to the newsletter here.

- - - - -

Two useful links:

steelydan.com - The only place for confirmed dates.
dandom.com/Bluebook - The fan page for breaking news, views and the occasional rumour.

Rare Ray Collins interview

If you're interested in Frank Zappa's Mothers of the 60's you will probably enjoy reading this rare interview with the group's lead vocalist Ray Collins.

His swell voice can be heard on classic Mothers albums as Freak Out! and Cruising With Ruben & The Jets, but he has hardly ever wanted to contribute in interviews, until now:
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_12484780

Picture: Ray (center) with Frank and the other Mothers.

Friday, June 05, 2009

Abba-Benny supports feminist politician

The composer Benny Andersson, former member of Abba, gives one million Swedish kronor to politician Gudrun Schyman's campaign for the election to the European parliament.
This may surprise people since Andersson has never shown any support for any political ideas in public earlier, and Schyman represents the feminist party Feministiskt initiativ.
Schyman told Sveriges Televisions news program Aktuellt that Andersson wants to support technicals details in the election. Swedish news bureau TT reports that Schyman has complained that some polling stations are missing ballots for her party.

Steely Dan live 2009: Win tickets in the sweepstake!


If you go to the msg.com Steely Dan page and qualify as a "legal US resident, 21 years of age or older at the time of entry", you can enter your name in a sweepstake for a chance to win one of those VIP-packages that sell for $495:
  • A pair of tickets in the first 10 rows after golden circle
  • Pre-show party, including dinner & drinks
  • Exclusive Steely Dan gift bag
  • 5 Star souvenir laminate
  • Hassle-free entrance to the venue
  • Crowd-free merchandise shopping
  • Parking where available
There is one VIP-package each for the Internet Request nights in Boston, New York and Chicago.

Here's the link: http://msg.com/steelydan/

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Bruford: Four Of A Kind

Here's another example that shows that vinyl is not dead. The record company Discipline Global Mobile, DGM, is re-releasing four albums by prog drummer Bill Bruford in ye olde LP format.
The albums are Feels Good To Me, Gradually Going Tornado, One Of A Kind and Rock Goes To College. The latter one is an album compiled of music that was recorded for a television show in 1979. All four albums are highly recommended if you're into prog and excellent musicianship. The LP:s are available at Bill's shop as well, www.billbruford.com
They can be pre-ordered today.

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Radio Dupree Top 20 - June 2009

1. Steely Dan - Haitian Divorce
The Royal Scam

2. Love - Old Man
Forever Changes

3. Todd Rundgren - Black Maria
Something/Anything?

4. King Crimson - The Howler
Beat

5. Genesis - Robbery, Assault And Battery
A Trick Of The Tail

6. Stevie Wonder
- You Haven't Done Nothin'
Fullfillingness First Finale

7. George Duke - I Love The Blues, She Heard My Cry
My Soul - The Complete MPS Fusion Recordings

8. Walter Becker & Donald Fagen
- Don't Let Me In
Catalyst

9. UK - Time To Kill
Night After Night

10. Warren Zevon - Genius
Genius - The Best Of Warren Zevon

11. Larry Carlton - I'm A Fool - Mr. 335 Live In Japan
12. Cream - Deserted Cities Of The Heart - Wheels Of Fire
13. Donald Fagen - Rhymes - The Nightfly Trilogy - 10 Extras
14. Gentle Giant - Nothing At All - Gentle Giant
15. Donald Fagen - Tomorrow's Girls - Kamakiriad
16. Emerson Lake & Palmer - Jeremy Bender - Tarkus
17. Frank Zappa - Whipping Post - Them Or Us
18. Gong - Sleepy - Expresso II
19. Pink Floyd - Pigs (edit) - Animals
20. King Crimson - Sleepless (dance mix) - Maxi single
-------------------------------------------------------
Chart compiled by listeners voting
on the songs they hear on Radio Dupree

Chart Commentary

A bunch of more or less typical Radio Dupree artists are found on the chart of the recent month. Steely Dan, King Crimson and Genesis are among our big favourites here at the station.

We are also glad to see that a song from Todd Rundgren's Something/Anything? has reached a top position.

(Yes, you probably know by now that the Radio Dupree monthly chart is produced by YOU listeners, by pushing those thumbs up and down buttons in the player window while listening.)

The Rundgren album was our Album of the month during May, and the chart position may show that some of you listeners enjoyed it.

But where are Frank Zappa and David Bowie, two of our other favourite artists? Well, Frank shows up at position 16, but with a cover song...Whipping Post (The Allman Brothers). And there is no sight of Bowie at all. Maybe we should let the thin white duke rest a little for a while?

/Siggy

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

The Beatles: Rock Band

Here's what George and John look like in the video game The Beatles: Rock Band:
Coming September 9 is 45 songs that you can play along to in various scenes from The Beatles career.

The game was presented at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles, and here's BBC:s video of the somewhat unscripted appearance by Paul and Ringo:


There's a site where you can learn more about the game: www.thebeatlesrockband.com

Monday, June 01, 2009

New Marian McPartland interview

All ABout Jazz has a brand new interview with musician, composer, writer and radio host Marian McPartland, who has this to say about Steely Dan:
Yeah, we've had people that you wouldn't call jazz: Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. When we had Steely Dan on, people wrote in and said, "Is this jazz?" but it was jazz. They were two guys that really loved jazz. They were so thrilled that I knew Duke Ellington that we spent half the show talking about Duke. I just loved those guys. There are so many newer people that are so very interesting.
Read the whole Marian McPartland interview here.

P.S. If you haven't checked out the McPartland/Steely Dan Piano Jazz CD, do yourself a favour and ... do!