Thanks to a Goldstar email offer, I got a last-minute ticket to The Dukes of September ~ Michael McDonald (the Doobie Bros.), Donald Fagen (Steely Dan) and Boz Scaggs. On the Jimmy Fallon show, they covered one of my favorite songs "I'll Be Good To You" by the Brothers Johnson. That was enough to sell me. Their set was a mix of covers - rock, blues, R&B - and several of their individual hits. My thoughts:
- Michael McDonald should sing background vocals on every song to be recorded. He is THAT awesome.
- Donald Fagen is incredibly electric to watch onstage. During Kid Charlemagne, he really came alive and his presence was so commanding. He's absolutely brilliant.
- I expected Boz Scaggs to sing Lowdown and Lido Shuffle. He did Lowdown. He did not do Lido Shuffle. How does Boz Scaggs NOT DO LIDO SHUFFLE?! Pfft. He DID sing my favorite Boz song - Miss Sun - so I cut him some slack. Later, he did this insane cover of a Teddy Pendergrass song Love TKO. All was forgiven.
- I would love love LOVE to be a back-up singer for this group.
Friday night had me driving out to the middle of nowhere to catch an amazing double-bill ~ Squeeze and the B52s. As much as I love San Diego, the surrounding areas scare the crap outta me. This Harrah's Rincon Casino is an oasis in the midst of a stark, depressing town. After winding roads, no stop lights and a thisclose to three hour drive, I arrived.
The B52s were awesome! Start to finish, it was a dance party ~ 52 Girls, Mesopotamia, PLANET EFFING CLAIRE, Whammy Kiss (which I've NEVER seen performed live). The crowd was loving it! Sadly, the casino told people the B52s were up after Squeeze, so loads of people missed the set. We were singing and dancing. It was a great time.
Saturday night, I saw the same double-bill, but closer to home. The Greek is one of my favorite venues - outdoors, great seats, good vibe but the stacked, ripoff parking is horrible. This time, Squeeze opened the show. I LOVE these guys ~ Glenn was jovial and chatty, Chris was happy and dance-y, Stephen, Simon and JB were their usual exuberant, fun selves. They played 3 new songs - Tommy, Top of the Form and Honey Trap. Just like R. Kelly says, after the show, it was the after-party. It was crowded, chock full o'people who were somebody. Or, not. I loved watching these people push their way through for face-time with the bands. Knowing everyone in the room wants face-time, too, some people just did not move on, choosing to hold tight to the moment. A girl with a beach ball asked Cindy Wilson to sign it, but the pen didn't work. The girl asked this guy with a stack of CDs and LPs if she could borrow his pen for Cindy to sign. Dude said no. Really, dude? Whoa. Girl was stunned. Cindy grabbed a pen, signed the beach ball and the girl left happy. SO interesting watching the interrupted conversations, the calculating movements, the eyes darting, stopping, dismissing. A guy leaned over to me "So, who do you know?" I stuck out my hand, introduced myself. "I know you." Luckily, he walked away as Glenn came over to say hello. I said my hellos to all, collected hugs, had lovely chats then decided I'd had enough. I collected one more hug, said my goodbyes and limped up the hill to my car with a smile on my face, lovely words in my ears and a heart full of love.
I doubt any other concert this summer will be as up-close and personal. And, I don't care.
NEXT!
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music."
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