Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party

[F. Bueller]

Just a few words in favor of this oft-unrated performance, as we (you, over
there) wait for the summer tour:

"What a Shame about Me"
and (especially)
"Gaslighting Abbie"

Damn! Check it out! (Again!) Abbie funks!

Even better than the studio (ProTooled) versions.

Fenris B.

[diane]

That was an incredible show. I was there in the audience the first of
two nights when they documented it. Imagine sitting in a television
studio with about 150 people and having Steely Dan on stage right in
front of you, blowing you back into your seat.

And yeah, their performances of the tunes from 2vN were much better
than the album versions.

In fact, I wrote a long report on that weekend, if you're interested.
It's here:

http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/diane.htm

I'm gonna pull out my videotape of that show and watch it tonight! And
what about the interviews? Is Cornelius Bumpus priceless? What a guy.

love and kisses
diane

[diane]

I did watch this last night; thanks for the teaser, FB.

This reminds me of a discussion we had here about whether or not Walter
uses a pick. I've always maintained he doesn't.

He plays his guitar like a bass player, plunking on the bottom E-A-D
and sometimes G, strumming with his finger/thumb combo, finger tucked
under the thumb, with the thumb easy to free for plunking and
finger-picking.

This is when it's obvious to me that he's not using a pick. You can't
simultaneously separate your thumb and index finger to play free notes
if you're using those fingers to hold a pick in position.

Then it appears he picks out all his solos with his index finger. It
doesn't look like he uses the other fingers except to grab the D-G-B-E
strings and pull a chord.

Of course, he could be performing a sleight of hand and palming his
pick when he needs to free up his thumb, but especially near the end of
the Plush video/DVD you can clearly see his fingers (maybe on Jack of
Speed or Pretzel Logic) and there is no pick in them.

But contrast Herington's playing and shots of his fingers with
Walter's. You can clearly see the pick at all times among Jon's
fingers.

And speaking of Walter's guitar-playing, I was re-impressed by how, on
maybe 20th viewing of this show, just how skilled he really is. I don't
always like the notes he chooses to solo, but I really do love the
sound he gets out of that Sadowsky, for sure.

love and kisses
diane

[Greg Beaulieu]

On 7 Jun 2006, diane wrote:
> In fact, I wrote a long report on that weekend, if you're interested.
> It's here:
>
> http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/diane.htm

Diane, thanks for the reminder. I had last read your report about 5 years
ago and had forgotten some of the things, such as the boys playing a
couple of songs that appear nowhere on the DVD. Let's see that footage!

I have just bought a new 42" Sony HDTV and a home theater receiver, so I
can now listen to the tracks in all their 5.1 glory. Actually the
differences are rather subtle, but it does make for a more interesting
sound.

I love the concert and play it fairly often. That was my first
introduction to Jon Herington's playing and I thought he did a good job in
pulling off a very tough assignment. I love to watch his fingerwork on
some of the solos. I always enjoy watching Donald channelling Ray Charles
at the Fender Rhodes, and the close-ups of him singing on Peg showing
those Dracula-like incisors always give me a chuckle. I'm glad the
director chose to feature the backup singers as much as he did, and I
remain in lust with Victoria Cave.

I have many favorites from that show (which really makes it tough to call
them favorites I suppose) but I love to watch them do Black Friday,
Gaslighting Abby, FM, Kid C, Jack of Speed, Babylon Sisters, Shame, Peg,
and my #1, Pretzel Logic. Their performance of PL just makes me tingle
every time I see it. I love the way that Herington did the first solo and
Walter's near the end is just about perfect. Like someone else says, he
seems to play the guitar like a bass and so the sounds are not the same as
a traditional lead guitarist, but in the context that he plays within I
really enjoy it.

Thanks to all for reviving the discussion on this.

Greg Beaulieu ab...@chebucto.ns.ca Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

[diane]

Hey Greg! Nice to hear from ya.

I actually wish I could rework that thing and take out my several
mistakes and clear up some other things. I wrote it in four or five
installments, beginning at about 2 a.m after I got home on the subway,
and continuing off and on until the evening of that day.

I'm glad to hear that Cynthia Calhoun will be on the road with them
again this summer. She's hot and a fabulous singer, too. They never
hire anyone who's less than fantastic in the backup position.

But yeah, the Ray Charles thing, the vampire teeth, the featured
players, the interviews with everyone, especially Cornelius and Pete
Fogel: priceless.

And I forgot about that exchange between them about playing before the
smallest crowd since they played the Ice House in Glendale in the
1970s. That was back when I lived in L.A. and I have some vague
recollection of my friend Eddie Sylvis coming by and asking if I wanted
to go hear Steely Dan play at some bar. I didn't go. What an idiot.

One of my favorites is Cousin Dupree. This was the first time they
performed any songs from 2vN, and they already mixed it up with Cuz:
"How bout a kiss/How bout a kiss for your cousin" instead of "How about
a kiss for your Cousin Dupree" over and over. VERY hot, and the
interplay between Donald and the backup singers was even hotter.

Also, you probably noticed in the video that they were rehearsing the
title song. But I don't remember it ever being played on the road after
that. Is that right? It was probably my favorite all-around song on
that album.

And Jack of Speed was included even though it wasn't played the first
night, Friday, when I attended, but was added to the setlist on
Saturday. I didn't know, when I wrote my little review, that they'd
played JoS the next night and was pleasantly surprised when I bought
the videotape of the show (from one of my local PBS stations in
exchange for a pledge) and noticed subtle differences in places.

They had to use the same wardrobe for both shows, though. Can you
imagine rocking out in your silk shirt or velvet pants and then having
to put them on again 24 hours later? I think someone said the girls had
duplicate pants.

Maybe they found a one-hour dry cleaner on Saturday.

I never have warmed up to Jon, but Walter loves him and who am I to say
what's what? I actually located another blog I've never seen before
that reviewed a Los Angeles 2003 performance where Jon had to perform
Kid C and Don't Take Me Alive back-to-back. The author gave him rave
reviews.

The blog is here: http://www.serendipit-e.com/wu/. I don't know why it
came up in my search, which was completely unrelated to Steely Dan.

But then, I don't like CDs. I like vinyl records, and I always will,
and I will always prefer their sound--scratches, pops and all--to
digital sound.

Thanks for jumping in, and to FB for starting the thread.

love and kisses
diane