Go see that band before it’s too late!

I am sad about Walter Becker’s passing, but very grateful I got to see Steely Dan before it was too late

As a Steely Dan fan, when the news of Walter Becker’s passing broke I was sad. Although there have been reports that he was ill for the past few months, I was still a bit shocked to hear that he didn’t recover. I certainly don’t want to downplay the situation, but there was a little part of me that was happy. Not because of his passing, but because I made a great decision last summer. For the past several years, I have been wanting to see Steely Dan in concert. They are a band i’ve grown to love during my adult life and I felt like they would great to see live. They were one of those bands i loved, but just didn’t quite get around to seeing. Or I would hear that they were in town too late for me to make arrangements to go. However, last summer was my time to finally see this great band and I was not disappointed. Ok, they didn’t play one or two songs i wanted to hear, but that happens at almost every concert you go to.

Although I am still in my 30’s, I know i’m not getting any younger. Thankfully, I grew up through two really great decades of music that not only produced a lot of great acts within my generation, but also exposed me to artists  who were great in decades past and experience success during my childhood and teenage years. Unfortunately, I didn’t go to my first concert until I was 20. Seeing somebody like Shania Twain during the peak of her massive 90’s success was just what I needed in order to start what has been 18 years of making up for lost time during the early stages of my youth. I started seizing the moment and saw bands I loved like Green Day, Def Leppard, No Doubt, just to name a few. Some artists I was lucky enough to see multiple times, others I only saw once due to time or the band broke up. As i’ve gone through my adult life, i’ve learned that you never know when that opportunity to see an artist you love might be the only one.

Over the past few years, I feel like i’ve gotten back to seizing the moment. It’s no longer 1999. Some bands like No Doubt or Blink 182 that I thought i’d still be seeing perform every now and then don’t come around anymore. Seeing Weezer for the second time 14 years later wasn’t the same experience as the first time. Finally having the opportunity to see Heart was strange. They certainly didn’t strike me as being the passionate band I thought they were. Perhaps that ship has sailed as we came to learn that the Wilson sisters are having a lot of issues these days. Huey Lewis and the News might be older and have a different lineup, but they were fantastic. I can only imagine how amazing they would have been 30 years ago. Seeing Richard Marx at an acoustic gig at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA was probably better than seeing him at the peak of his career. There have been some misses, but thankfully there have been some great shows that have made up for lost time.

Dug Out a picture from one of the Veruca Salt shows I went to a few years ago. It was amazing to finally see them live!

Two artists who couldn’t be more different, but I thought i’d never see live are Lara Fabian and Veruca Salt. Obviously, America is not the best market for a francophone multilingual diva. Probably the most underrated voice in the world, Lara Fabian is somebody I found out about by accident thanks to a live PBS special from 2001. I don’t even think she did any live shows in America until around 2012-2013. Not that I am aware of. I had pretty much ruled out ever seeing her live, but thankfully I got the chance in 2014 thanks to a valentine’s day surprise from my wife. I actually know that Lara Fabian will be coming to my area early next year. I may not go. Not because I don’t want to, but because I just don’t have the time. Veruca Salt on the other hand, taps into a whole different type of hopelessness that was reversed. The band had a lot of issues in the late 90’s which resulted in the original lineup breaking up. The situation sounded hopeless and I had pretty much ruled out ever seeing them live. As the years passed, Nina Gordon and Louise Post seemed to distance themselves from the music scene in general. Up until they announced they were getting back together, I was only filled with regret as I knew I would most likely never get to see arguably my favorite band of the 90’s. Thankfully, they gave me two opportunities to see them live and sing along to all of their songs in the process. Suddenly, I was 15 years old again. There has been no news of another album or tour in quite some time. If that was the only comeback they had in them, I am truly grateful for the amazing experience!

If you like live music, it’s important to get out there and catch the artists you love in the moment if you can. Those of us who are passionate about our music understand what this means. For me, no story hits closer to home in this regard than my Steely Dan experience. I can’t say I go into a concert with the thoughts of “i am glad we are seeing these guys before they pass away” but I do realize that time is running out to see many of the artists (especially bands) i was so passionate about while growing up. Sometimes artists you love are constantly out on the road. Other times, you only get one tour. Other times, as in Walter Becker’s case, an artist passes away suddenly and that is it. My guess is that Steely Dan may continue on with him, but for me, there is no replacement for the fact that I got to see Donald Fagen and Walter Becker together before his untimely passing.