The show I was at was (as I recall now) TIGHT - it moved along - scripted? - yeah, but with no long back and forth with the audience stuff, just moved along playing/singing - sooo good, sooo good - they were there to play their songs - they knew we were there to hear them and that’s what we did!
Another fun post, Michael. I'm trying to play catch-up, but it's probably more likely that I'll jump into the current and hopefully stay afloat. I didn't know the back-story to Black Friday, so that was cool! Was Michael McDonald opening for Steely Dan? Was he solo? And I've had the wild hippie dancer (usually more than one) in the seat/s in front of me before and that does indeed ruin it. I usually try and find a new seat, but often the free-spirited dancer is blocking the view of lots of people so saying something is often appreciated by the other poor saps with seats behind them.
Yes, Michael McDonald solo opened for SD - really good, we got there kinda late and missed part of it. CSNY the previous night was OKish - maybe an off night or something, they just weren’t quite coming together - not a bust by any means, and SD was sooo good, very tight show - it was by far the most memorable
Love the Mika-peek! First time I've seen an "unprotected" fuzz-bucket! "Look out, Mika!"
Enjoyable Dan-peek, too (Hey, wasn't he in America? My mind wandered)....I just put these two together: Becker and Fagen, as I know you know, Michael, began as ABC Publishing staff songwriters following their Bard attendance. So, their entree into "the biz" was as songwriters, just as the core of Genesis (Becker and Fagen, plus the Genesis lads were all within a couple years of each other in age): Late '60s, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford (guitar, bass) and keyboardist, Tony Banks, got together over songwriting as Charterhouse schoolboys in the UK.
That's when they were discovered by hit songwriter/producer, Jonathan King, which led to that first pop-forward, 3-minute-song-fest (that sounded too much like The Bee Gees), "From Genesis to Revelation," an album SO outside their eventual output, I almost never filed it with their other albums on my shelf!
My point? Those gifted with the songwriting talent, can and will have it manifest itself in the way their musical motivation will lead it (and, not always in the cute, 3-minute pop songs "most" songwriters are often pushed by labels/publishers to pen):
The Dan duo into the jazz-flavored tastiness that yielded songs that almost reluctantly made it onto the charts (but, were oh, so original and catchy), and the Genesis songwriting core, taking their initial "standard" pop-songwriting album, and completely blowing it up, and creating mind-blowingly original longform songcraft, before tweaking it in the '80s to, yes, make it far more radio friendly, but still infinitely original and boundary-pushing!
As for concert experiences...they are many and varied, as you might imagine! I saw Dan's Houston stop off their debut "Thrill" album (either late '72 or early '73 at Houston's Music Hall...I was a high school senior), their short-lived "frontman" era with David Palmer (and drummer, Jim Hodder). They opened for The Kinks, likely touring off their "Everybody's in Show Biz" album released two months before Dan's November '72 debut drop!
Singer/songwriters can only pull off long form songs if they work with and TRUST the musicians who may not have written the song but either COULD have, or wish the would have so they’re intense about making it great - partly for the audience and only partly for themselves/money fame. It’s uncommon, but legendary when it works.
And, that's what makes Genesis (and, other long-form prog-rockers like Yes, Rush, ELP, et al, although Genesis is, by far, my fave) so fun to watch and listen to. So much buy-in is necessary for the non-writers in those groups....which is so worthy of more understanding and appreciation by their fans!
There's so much room for jealousy and resentment to creep in...the non-writers need to be lauded for not getting in the way.....until they do!
Interesting. I never knew where the term "Black Friday" came from before! Just watched the new Yacht Rock documentary on Max and it really emphasized the great musicianship and influences of Steely Dan, Michael McDonald, etc. Well-worth seeing!
The musicianship and artistry of Steely Dan are unparalleled. RIP Walter Becker.
The show I was at was (as I recall now) TIGHT - it moved along - scripted? - yeah, but with no long back and forth with the audience stuff, just moved along playing/singing - sooo good, sooo good - they were there to play their songs - they knew we were there to hear them and that’s what we did!
Another fun post, Michael. I'm trying to play catch-up, but it's probably more likely that I'll jump into the current and hopefully stay afloat. I didn't know the back-story to Black Friday, so that was cool! Was Michael McDonald opening for Steely Dan? Was he solo? And I've had the wild hippie dancer (usually more than one) in the seat/s in front of me before and that does indeed ruin it. I usually try and find a new seat, but often the free-spirited dancer is blocking the view of lots of people so saying something is often appreciated by the other poor saps with seats behind them.
Yes, Michael McDonald solo opened for SD - really good, we got there kinda late and missed part of it. CSNY the previous night was OKish - maybe an off night or something, they just weren’t quite coming together - not a bust by any means, and SD was sooo good, very tight show - it was by far the most memorable
Love the Mika-peek! First time I've seen an "unprotected" fuzz-bucket! "Look out, Mika!"
Enjoyable Dan-peek, too (Hey, wasn't he in America? My mind wandered)....I just put these two together: Becker and Fagen, as I know you know, Michael, began as ABC Publishing staff songwriters following their Bard attendance. So, their entree into "the biz" was as songwriters, just as the core of Genesis (Becker and Fagen, plus the Genesis lads were all within a couple years of each other in age): Late '60s, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford (guitar, bass) and keyboardist, Tony Banks, got together over songwriting as Charterhouse schoolboys in the UK.
That's when they were discovered by hit songwriter/producer, Jonathan King, which led to that first pop-forward, 3-minute-song-fest (that sounded too much like The Bee Gees), "From Genesis to Revelation," an album SO outside their eventual output, I almost never filed it with their other albums on my shelf!
My point? Those gifted with the songwriting talent, can and will have it manifest itself in the way their musical motivation will lead it (and, not always in the cute, 3-minute pop songs "most" songwriters are often pushed by labels/publishers to pen):
The Dan duo into the jazz-flavored tastiness that yielded songs that almost reluctantly made it onto the charts (but, were oh, so original and catchy), and the Genesis songwriting core, taking their initial "standard" pop-songwriting album, and completely blowing it up, and creating mind-blowingly original longform songcraft, before tweaking it in the '80s to, yes, make it far more radio friendly, but still infinitely original and boundary-pushing!
As for concert experiences...they are many and varied, as you might imagine! I saw Dan's Houston stop off their debut "Thrill" album (either late '72 or early '73 at Houston's Music Hall...I was a high school senior), their short-lived "frontman" era with David Palmer (and drummer, Jim Hodder). They opened for The Kinks, likely touring off their "Everybody's in Show Biz" album released two months before Dan's November '72 debut drop!
Singer/songwriters can only pull off long form songs if they work with and TRUST the musicians who may not have written the song but either COULD have, or wish the would have so they’re intense about making it great - partly for the audience and only partly for themselves/money fame. It’s uncommon, but legendary when it works.
And, that's what makes Genesis (and, other long-form prog-rockers like Yes, Rush, ELP, et al, although Genesis is, by far, my fave) so fun to watch and listen to. So much buy-in is necessary for the non-writers in those groups....which is so worthy of more understanding and appreciation by their fans!
There's so much room for jealousy and resentment to creep in...the non-writers need to be lauded for not getting in the way.....until they do!
Interesting. I never knew where the term "Black Friday" came from before! Just watched the new Yacht Rock documentary on Max and it really emphasized the great musicianship and influences of Steely Dan, Michael McDonald, etc. Well-worth seeing!