Review: Steely Dan at Merriweather Post Pavilion Aug. 2

with fervor. Fagan was an animated leader for an excellent backup ensemble. Walter Becker, the guitarist who is the other half of Steely Dan's core duo, was less impressive. He spent a good part of the show leaning on a stool set back on the stage, and ceded much of the heavy lifting to tour guitarist

.

Musically, the band bailed him out, but the crowd's reaction was metered. The audience responded best to "My Old School," the second-to-last song of the set.

I had not realized that number was such a favorite. Everybody stood, sang along, and clapped in time during the bridge/breakdown toward the end. Still, people were headed for the exits before the band finished its encore - a classic "Kid Charlemagne" spiced up with some really complex action from the horn section.

Maybe people had come to relax. It was an older crowd. But this was not a show that was intended to be relaxing.

The band lent a fullness to many of the songs that isn't present in the studio takes (and Steely Dan is a great studio band). I certainly hope they'll come around again with The Embassy Brats, a trio of backup female vocalists who provided a depth of vocal range throughout the show that allowed Fagan to shine.

The Brats got a moment to themselves when the band played James Brown's "Papa Don't Take No Mess," which was a fun take, if a little glossy. I'm always up for some JB, and it gave Becker an opportunity to introduce the rest of the band. They deserved it.

Becker didn't stand up until midway through the second full song. He took a solo during "Aja" and the crowd responded enthusiastically. His best moment was probably during a call and response with Fagan's wind piano.

During "Hey Nineteen", he took a few minutes to relay a weird description of the types of things that may happen to patrons after the show, which involved traveling to “a trailer down by the railroad tracks.” In short, he promised that couples would find the two things that would become the refrain of the song, things that would “invoke the specter of past pleasures."

“The Cuervo gold, the fine Colombian, make tonight a wonderful thing.”

A little freaky, but the crowd dug it and everybody sang along. He should have done more. Fagan, by contrast, was with it the whole time. I don't think I heard a wrong note from the backup band all night. Kieth Carlock was explosive on the drums. But as much as a backup band could do, the people came there to see two men, and they didn't get all of Walter Becker.

During the frantic, faithful take on the classic "Bodhisattva," a man stood up in the crowd and yelled, “Stand up, please!” I wondered if he was hoping to reach Becker or the people surrounding him who continued to sit still and watch.

Set List:

Intro

Your Gold Teeth

Aja

Black Friday

Hey Nineteen

Everything Must Go

Time out of Mind

(Can't confirm this, but it was likely I Got the News)

Show Biz Kids

Bodhisattva

Babylon Sisters

Godwhacker

Dirty Work

Papa Don't Take No Mess (James Brown cover)

Josie

Peg

My Old School Reelin' in the Years

Encore

Kid Charlemagne