On This Day in History

On this date in history, 6/24/2018, a dear friend and I attended The Summer Of Living Dangerously Tour featuring Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers at Deer Creek (or Ruoff Music Center if you want to get technical)! In recent years, classic bands have been staging these package tours in the summer months featuring 2 or 3 co-headliners. This is great for the promoters, the fans, and the bands themselves. I was thrilled at this combination, having never seen either band before. One of my best friends would always play music by these two iconic groups at parties he would throw when his parents were away while we were in high school, so there was a high degree of nostalgia permeating this show for me. The Doobie Brothers kicked things off with a stellar set of predominantly hits and fan favorites. Long time members Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston handled the majority of lead vocals and both played topnotch lead guitar, along with John McFee, who also added some violin work on a couple of tunes. Bill Payne (of Little Feat fame) played keyboards and there was a phenomenal sax player who earned a lot of solo spots and elevated every song he was featured on. Steely Dan took everything to the next level, providing excellence in every facet of their performance. Donald Fagan led his extraordinary live band through a treasure trove of Steely Dan highlights including Kid Charlemagne, Aja, Babylon Sisters, Reeling In The Years, Dirty Work, Black Cow, Peg, Hey Nineteen, Bodhisattva, Green Earrings, and My Old School. Every member of the band was hall of fame worthy on their chosen instrument, and the two women handling backing vocals added a lot of wonderful harmonizing and soulful feeling to the deliciously written songs. Of course, Walter Becker will always be missed, but Fagan seems dedicated to keeping Steely Dan alive and well as long as he can. This was a glorious night of blissful music…perfect weather and wonderful company made this a totally joyous occasion for me, one I will treasure always.

Written By The Concert Critic AKA Braddon S. Williams