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So after I arm wrestled with the sound collecting for the radio story and got to my seat, the band had found a respectful groove, and they were truly nerdy like you’d expect. Totally engrossed in their instruments, very little eye contact, and tossing off classic licks with original flourishes that would have made lesser musicians weap. Fagen sat up front behind a Fender Rhodes and shades, tilting his head almost like Ray Charles, and developed a rasp, but he was totally committed. He’s gone way beyond irony and ennui, now you almost get the feeling this stuff gives him a kick. But like the others, he’s way too cool to let on. Becker stood center-left in front of a music stand that obscured a lot of his work, but he took plenty of solos, even though that kid Jon Herington is stone dazzling. The drummer, Keith Carlock, is a serious talent, he didn’t let Gadd intimidate him one bit, had the whole Aja thing rolling and spinning on his fingertips, quoting the record, then spinning off again, then coming back to reference your favorite little fills. He can’t be 30. IT was one of those concerts that makes you feel old — in a good way. Backup singers off to the right were always worth watching, smiling, swaying, concocting little dance moves, the only ones at their own private party over there. Fagen didn’t talk until after Aja came to a finish, and then he announced they would play ROYAL SCAM. BOOM! “Kid Charlemagne,” with 3500 people standing up singing every word. Ensemble got tighter and more involved as it rolled on. And that was something to hear, since they were spot-on to start — now they started sweating. And the encores started with “Hey Nineteen” and went on from there, another 40 minutes at least of odds and ends. No material past 1980. Closed with “Boston Rag” and “Dirty Water,” as if the hippest beatniks in the world could also pretend to be Red Sox fans.
Listen up to today’s story on NPR’s HERE AND NOW at 12:45pm EDT, podcast coming shortly.
Rent Party 09 lineup
