Alison Krauss & Union Station, Steely Dan

Prove They Are Masters Of Their Musical Genres

By John Voket

DANBURY — In the space of three days, two of the most talented touring bands on the American concert circuit this summer graced the stage and thrilled nearly sold-out audiences at Ives Concert Park.

Steely Dan, fronted by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, contributed heavily to the soundtrack of the 1970s with a unique style that was decidedly jazz-infused, but nonetheless embraced tightly by rock radio. You still hear Steely Dan songs on the radio today but the band has only embraced the practice of touring regularly more recently, having mounted a half dozen road trips since 2000.

Becker and Fagen brought their Shuttle Diplomacy Tour into the concert park on July 25 with a supporting crew billed as The Miles High Big Band 2011 featuring The Embassy Brats that included Jim Beard on keys, Keith Carlock on drums, Jon Herington on guitar, Freddie Washington on bass, along with a crack horn section comprised of Michael Leonhart on trumpet, Jim Pugh on trombone, Roger Rosenberg on baritone sax and Walt Weiskopf on sax.

After an instrumental opening number Fagen and Becker sauntered out and launched into a breathy, note-perfect “Aja.” Then, the hammering on Fagen’s Fender Rhodes hooked astute fans in the crowd immediately soliciting applause for “Black Friday.”

“Your Gold Teeth,” provided flawless delivery to an extremely complex arrangement that highlighted Beard’s piano work – and you know when a piano player brings along his Steinway grand on tour that he’s got some serious business to do.

After Pugh got to work out some of his chops on “Hey 19,” the trio of “Brats” — backing vocalists Carolyn Leonhart-Escoffery, Cindy Mizelle, and Catherine Russell — stepped into the spotlight to lend lead vocals to “Dirty Work,” while Leonhart nailed the trademark horn lick and then threw in a tasty solo for good measure.

Up to this point, Becker had been holding back both figuratively and literally, choosing to play rhythm to Herington’s almost inhumanly perfect leads and fills, standing in the shadows back near the drums. But by “Time Out of Mind” and “Show Biz Kids,” rolled out, he was teasing a few more solos while moving a bit closer to the audience.

Carlock’s cracking snare drum signaled “Bodhisattva,” which not only had Becker fully engaged on guitar, but also brought many of those 50-something concertgoers to their feet. This was another number that was spot-on to the original until the band moved into the solo section, where it departed into a provocative alternating minor key progression that, in hindsight, was more of a compliment than a detriment.

Returning to Aja, the band delivered back-to-back renditions of “Josie” and “Peg” saving “Black Cow” for dessert during the encore, leaving the band to round out its satisfying set with another pair of their biggest hits, “My Old School” and “Reelin’ In the Years.”

Krauss & Company: Equally Flawless

By the third song of their Ives set on July 27, Alison Krauss & Union Station had already showcased virtually everything that long-established folk/country/bluegrass outfit does best.

The rest of the nearly two-hour set was just a mutual love-fest between the band and the nearly sold-out audience that applauded when songs (or hot solos) ended, laughed politely at the occasional repartee among its members, and otherwise sat in rapt awe at the nearly flawless performance.

Opening with the title track of their latest project Paper Airplane, Krauss typified the sad angel as she crooned the first of many sad songs about breakup, heartache and loneliness that has become so much apart of her and the band’s stock in trade.

Dan Tyminski stepped up next, lending fantastic vocals and interplay with Ron Black on the not much happier “Dust Bowl Children,” segueing into the rousing instrumental, “Cluck Old Hen.”

Krauss solicited the first audible reaction from the crowd, returning with soaring and sweet vocals on “Daylight,” while a few numbers later, “Ghost in This House” provided an opportunity for master Dobro player Jerry Douglas to lend accompaniment to the already poignant melody.

Tyminski and Black returned to mix things up with Douglas on “Rain Please Go Away,” a quick two-step, and if things couldn’t get any more rootsy, “Wild Bill Jones” dug further into the dirt with sliding hillbilly vocals and Krauss plucking rhythmically on her violin.

After the band left the stage to Douglas, he spent about ten minutes proving why he gets special billing when the band tours. While his command of the instrument is known far and wide, you really have to see this guy all alone to comprehend how naturally gifted he is on the Dobro.

With a few subtle manipulations of an effect pedal, Douglas wove a lilting Irish instrumental into a new song of his own that he called “Lil’ Row-Row” (a nickname he borrowed from one of his son’s friends) and wrapped it all up with an Allman Brothers sample that accelerated to a point where the fingers on his picking hand were practically blurry with motion.

Douglas alternated between Dobro and a platform mounted electric lap slide guitar for “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn,” coaxing some moody accents to compliment Tyminski’s vocal work before Krauss returned to the microphone for the soulful “Dimming of the Day,” her best effort of the show.

Bassist Barry Bales got his moment in the musical spotlight as the band performed his very accessible mid-tempo ditty “Miles to Go.” But thanks to Krauss’ chiding, everyone learned that Bales is also the hunter in the group.

While she joked that he was able to bag a few trees on the grounds of the Ives Concert Park with his bow and arrow kit because “they don’t run very fast,” Bales gave it right back to her saying his hobby, while expensive, often yields the “ultimate in organically raised free range food.”

Highlighting ACUS’s contribution to the film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, “Man of Constant Sorrow” provided one of the few moments where the audience loosened up enough to sing along, just before the band moving into their encores: “When You Say Nothing At All,” and a deeply affecting a cappella “Down to the River to Pray.”