THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 7, 1996 TAG: 9607070109
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Music Review
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 59 lines
Who says Steely Dan is a studio band?
If Saturday's concert at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater proved nothing else, it was that such classics as ``Peg,'' ``Do It Again,'' and ``Black Cow'' sound every bit as good live as they do on record - if not better.
Advertisements to the contrary, the concert was not Steely Dan's first in Hampton Roads.
Two decades ago, they opened for Elton John at Hampton Coliseum.
Considering how often Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have toured since then - practically zilch - they could have coasted through their greatest hits and the audience would have gone home happy.
The 12,000 or so who showed up did go home happy, but it wasn't because Steely Dan coasted. Familiar songs were given new shapes and structures, letting them take off in challenging new directions that bridged the years since they were originally released.
The only down note on an otherwise flawless summer night was the size of the crowd: The amphitheater was just over half full.
Those who came were a little gray around the temples, but what they lacked in hair, they made up for in enthusiasm.
For those who stayed home, it was their loss.
Steely Dan opened the show with one of the first singles that made them a national name, 1972's ``Do it Again.''
Fagen, wearing a black suit and shades, and Becker, more casually attired in jeans and a sport coat, took their seven-piece band through a faithful arrangement - until Fagen raised his fist and the band shifted into a jazzy overdrive for the ride home.
The musicians didn't miss a beat all night.
Veteran saxman Cornelius Bumpus led a tight three-piece horn section while bassist Tom Barney and drummer Ricky Lawson provided a solid foundation.
Guitarist Wayne Krantz was outstanding; his solos on ``Peg'' and a revved-up ``Kid Charlemagne'' painted those songs in an entirely different color.
After 1974's ``Pretzel Logic,'' Becker and Fagen retired to the studio.
There they recorded the acclaimed ``Katy Lied,'' ``The Royal Scam'' and ``Aja'' before going their separate ways after the release of ``Gaucho'' in 1980.
They were back together again 12 years later with Becker producing Fagen's solo album ``Kamakiriad.''
In 1994, Fagen co-produced Becker's ``11 Tracks of Whack.''
In between, they went back out on the road.
Saturday night, drawing from the timeless Steely Dan catalog and their individual works, it seemed as if they had never been away. ILLUSTRATION: L. TODD SPENCER/The Virginian-Pilot
Steely Dan opened the show with one of the first singles that made
them a national name, 1972's ``Do it Again.'' Walter Becker, above,
casually attired in jeans and a sport coat, and Donald Fagen, at
left, wearing a black suit and shades, took their seven-piece band
through a faithful arrangement - until Fagen raised his fist and the
band shifted into a jazzy overdrive for the ride home. by CNB