[DANDOM-NYC] SPOILER: 9/17- Rarities & B-Sides, A Dream Come True!

Thu Sep 22 00:48:15 EDT 2011

What Ed said.  HFS indeed.  Brilliant, Girl Margaret, brilliant.
R

On 11-09-21 10:39 PM, "ed beatty" <e.beatty at roadrunner.com> wrote:

> hfs 
> 
> On Sep 21, 2011, at 9:27 PM, DanFiend <the.danfiend at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Margaret
>> 
>> You are quite the writer.  I could not have chronicled Saturday night better
>> if I tried.  You captured each moment perfectly.  *sigh*
>> 
>>   So it's Wednesday night and I'm overcome with sadness at the reality that
>> this experience is two days away from being over.  These 7 days and 5 shows
>> have whisked by so fast it's hard to keep any of it straight.  However, I
>> find temporary solace in the fact that it is not over.  We get one more show
>> together--one that is sure to invoke more whoops, hollers and tears from us
>> both.  This is what makes life worth living and I could not imagine a better
>> person to experience it with.
>> 
>> Let us not allow another 5 years to pass before we go 'back jack do it again'
>> when the 2011 towel beating is over for good.  See you Friday, my Steely Sis
>> and hopefully in 2012 for a new tour.
>> 
>> Until then
>> Tee aka Danfiend
>> 
>> On Wednesday, September 21, 2011, by way of Dandom Digest Submittals
>> <GirlMargaret at aol.com <mailto:GirlMargaret at aol.com> > wrote:
>>> > Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
>>> > Content-Language: en
>>> >
>>> > To write a review of the events of Saturday night any sooner than tonight
>>> would have been impossible.  I feel as though I have been basking in the
>>> afterglow of the most amazing of dreams for the last several days.  Was I
>>> really there? Did what happen REALLY happen?  It was incredible: I was at
>>> Beacon Theater, with my Danfriends and family, and hearing songs played live
>>> - right in front of me! - that I'd never imagine I'd hear live ever!  And
>>> all those wonderful people that were there, it must have been a dream!  I
>>> haven't seen some of these folks in years, and all of a sudden I'm embracing
>>> them once more.  There's my Steely Parents Ed and LWO, my Steely sistahs
>>> SueDave and Lady Bayside, my long lost partner in crime Danfiend, and so
>>> many wonderful friends who round out my divine Danfamily: Alan, Joe, Hoops,
>>> Lisa G, Big Fan, Pete and Shari, and my token Canadian, Randy J Where else
>>> but in my wildest dreams could I be sharing the same space with these people
>>> and hearing The fucking Bear?!
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Forget The Bear (or has the bear forgotten you?). Let's start with some of
>>> the other songs I'd never thought I'd hear, period.  Your Gold Teeth? God,
>>> does that song bring back some very fond memories.  To be honest, the dream
>>> was a little too real when I started hearing some of those old chestnuts
>>> being played to me for the 900th time (Hey 19, anyone?), although, to be
>>> fair, I have said and meant that as long as SD is playing, I will go see
>>> them, even if they're playing the same twenty songs over and over again.
>>> But fer cryin' out loud, this was the Rarities and B-Sides night!  Put those
>>> AM Gold hits away and start hitting me with those bolts of lightning.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Before I go any further, I should point out that I was four rows back from
>>> Jon Herington, sitting next to my dear friend, Danfiend.  We haven't seen
>>> each other in five years, and it was like we never parted company.  I've
>>> been having just as much fun with her at these shows as I was on the 2006
>>> tour.  The young'ns ride again!
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > So the two of us are reacting the same to every song - "Hey 19 is a rarity
>>> my ass!" - and begging Donald to please "shock us" with something we would
>>> never expect.  It started with The Bear (holy shit, they're doing The
>>> Bear!!!), which I, in my efforts to remain surprised and avoided all spoiler
>>> alerts, was completely surprised by (even though I did hear Herington
>>> mention it in conversation two nights earlier).  As Donald was telling a
>>> story to introduce the song, I literally stopped breathing, and had myself
>>> so worked up that I caused to have an acid reflux attack and came thisclose
>>> to puking in the aisle. It was worth it.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Several other acid reflux attacks stemming from my excitement would take
>>> place that night.  I was beyond stoked to hear Walter sing "Jack of Speed",
>>> because IMHO the 1996 version is the best ever.  EVER.  However, this disco
>>> version certainly blindsided me ("What the hell is this? I can't follow the
>>> beat."), and even seemed to stump Walter at times.  But it was still pretty
>>> awesome.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Then we enter into what I swear was one of the greatest moments I've ever
>>> experienced in my lifetime.  In my memory book of Steely Dan concerts, this
>>> one will be highlighted and earmarked til my final days.  Donald starts
>>> talking about Gaucho and the master tapes incident and how this one song was
>>> pretty much gone, but hey let's play it tonight.  Cut to me and Danfiend
>>> clinging to the edges of our seats, squealing,
>>> "Ohmygodthey'regonnaplaySecondArrangement!"  And lo and behold, I hear those
>>> magical opening notes of The Second Arrangement.  The Second fucking
>>> Arrangement!  To say I love love love that song is a massive understatement,
>>> how does one describe the beauty of such majesty?  The tears started welling
>>> in my eyes, as I drank in this magical moment, thinking especially of the
>>> late Bill Griffin (SpongeBill), who always had a soft spot for that song.  I
>>> can only hope he was looking down at us that night and singing along. They
>>> finish the song, Danfiend and I lose our minds with applause, and Donald
>>> mentions that "This next song we get a lot of requests for, but don't play
>>> it a lot, but tonight we're going to" (Me: Oh god, it's gonna be Rikki Don't
>>> Lost That Number).  And damn, if Donald didn't hit me again with shock as he
>>> played the opening chords of Dr. Wu.  DOCTOR FUCK WU!  Danfiend and I lost
>>> it all over again, as we both burst into tears and gave each other a big
>>> hug.  Seriously, how in the name of Jeff Porcaro do you top hearing The
>>> Second Arrangement AND Doctor Wu back to friggin back live by Steely Dan?
>>> Answer: You don't.  You can't!  Ok, MAYBE if they pulled me onstage and let
>>> me sing with them.  But as long as I'm having this magnificent dream, I
>>> won't push my luck.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > So the evening of rarities and awesomeness continues with The Embassy
>>> Brats(!) performing a song Donald and Walter wrote for Thomas Jefferson Kaye
>>> called "American Lover."  Personally, this one was a huge surprise because
>>> not only was I not familiar with the song (a rarity for me at a Dan concert,
>>> period), but because it was a song D+W wrote for someone else.  What's next,
>>> a Jay and the Americans medley (DO IT)?  Not my favorite surprise of the
>>> evening, but damn if I don't love Catherine Russell's voice on lead.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > So the evening wears on, they close with "My Old School" and walk off,
>>> then I expect them to come back on and play something like "Reelin in the
>>> Years".  Thankfully I was proven wrong, as Donald said "We're gonna do what
>>> WE wanna do!" and announced that for their final song, they would end the
>>> show like they did back in '74 and do "This All Too Mobile Home".
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > SERIOUSLY?!?!
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Cut to Danfiend and me jumping up and down screaming in the aisle, while I
>>> high-fived Big Fan who had the good fortune (or misfortune, you'd have to
>>> ask him) to be sitting behind us. Talk about a dream!  If they got out the
>>> Ouija board and scared up Jeff Porcaro and Jim Hodder that song couldn't
>>> have been any better.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Now let's be honest for a minute: we all know how we know these songs.
>>> Don and Walt know.  They're not stupid.  But I did wonder for a moment if it
>>> was right to sing along with the unreleased songs, as I have now made it
>>> obvious that I'm the owner of one or two (dozen) "special" recordings.  Like
>>> Walter was gonna stop the song halfway thru and point to us and scream
>>> "BUSTED!"
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Thankfully he didn't, and thankfully the best band in the world finally
>>> gave in and played some of the songs that we diehards have been fantasizing
>>> about hearing live for years and years.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > When the house lights came on, I dropped to the floor and declared "You
>>> can literally scrape me off the floor now."
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > There's only thing that could have made this show better, and that's if it
>>> was at Roseland Ballroom, so I could stand shoulder to shoulder with the
>>> rest of my Danfamily and cry and laugh and sing along together.
>>> Incidentally, that's where I was first introduced to most of you exactly 8
>>> years ago.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > What truly solidified the fact that this was nothing more than a glamorous
>>> dream was that it all happened in a whirlwind.  One moment I was saying
>>> hello to people I haven't seen in two years, the next I'm saying goodbye to
>>> them.  When I awoke the next morning, I felt like Dorothy Gale, waking up
>>> back at the farmhouse.  "I had the most wonderful dream, and you were
>>> thereŠand youŠand youŠ"
>>> >
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