Reeling in the Years

June 28, 2017 Simone Ellin, Associate Editor

View from the lawn at Merriweather Post Pavilion

Although my birthday on June 1, 2011, should have clued me in, the truth really hit me on Aug. 2 of that year. I was old, like really old.

That was the day when I told a few younger co-workers about my plans to catch Steely Dan at Merriweather Post Pavilion that night, and nobody had ever heard of them.

Really???

You know, “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number?” “My Old School?” “Hey Nineteen?” Still no recognition. I thought back to college days in my suite at SUNY Purchase and could actually picture “Aja” spinning on the turntable in my dorm room. (I guess the fact that a turntable loomed large in the memory should have given me a sense of just how ancient I was.)

Nevertheless, later that evening, my then-husband and I packed a picnic dinner and a bottle of wine and headed to Merriweather. It was broiling hot, but that didn’t dampen my excitement about this rare opportunity to hear a band that rarely toured.

Once settled on our blanket, I looked around and could see that I wasn’t the only “elderly” Steely Dan fan at the pavilion. In fact, I might have been one of the younger people in the audience, if that was even possible?

The concert that night was a tad disappointing. It was obvious why Steely Dan had traditionally been known as a “studio band.” Onstage, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen had zero chemistry. Even more of a drag was the fact that they seemed to be sick of playing their 1970s hits.

Who could blame them, really. They’d been playing them for more than three decades. Instead, the band spent most of their time onstage performing jazz tunes.

I’m a big jazz fan, and they played well. Yet, that wasn’t why I was there that night.

I guess “I’m never going back to my old school.”

___________________________

Merriweather Memories

We Need More Barenaked Ladies – Adam Stone on one of his favorite bands

Merriweather and Ol’ Blue Eyes – Michael Olesker on remembering the beginning of Merriweather and Columbia

Running into the Sun (But I’m Running Behind) – Alan Feiler on musical bragging rights

So Much Music, So Little Time – Amanda Krotki on growing up attending concerts in Columbia

Merriweather on My Mind – Molly Blosse on summer concerts as an escape from reality

To share your own stories, please go to www.facebook.com/JMORELiving and let us know who you’ve seen at the concert pavilion.

Follow Merriweather’s announcements and updates at twitter.com/MerriweatherPP

Tweets by MerriweatherPP