Steely Dane w/Sam Lyons: The Ultimate Steely Dan Tribute
Pabst Theater 144 E. Wells St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Steely Dan technically still exists, but for most fans the band came to an end last year when one of its two founders, Walter Becker, passed away. For now, Donald Fagen continues to tour under the old band name for commercial reasons, even though he told Rolling Stone he’d prefer to retire the group. “That’s an ongoing debate,” Fagen said. “To me, Steely Dan was just me and Walter, really—it was like a concept we had together.” It remains to be seen, then, whether Milwaukee will ever host another Steely Dan show, but in the meantime, local Dan fans have the chance to see a surprisingly good facsimile in the form of Steely Dane—a detail-oriented tribute group that models their live show after Steel Dan’s recent tours, complete with a four-piece horn section and three backup singers.
