Free disappointment?

Friends and family will know I'm a Steely Dan fan (thanks to my dad), so when I discovered that they would be the inaugural act at the new Billboard Live Tokyo venue, planning commenced with great excitement! Steely Dan have never been to New Zealand before, and since these are aging rock stars of the best calibre, this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Satoko was indispensable in securing tickets to the gig, starting with joining their member's club 4 months ago to be eligible to purchase tickets early. Then 2 months ago she spent 4 hours on the phone hitting redial in order to reserve seats 2 tables away from the stage! I was so grateful, and we have both been really looking forward to the concert ... which we attended last Sunday night.

What could go wrong? We had great seats at a brand new venue that is compact enough to be described as intimate, and only a 15 minute train ride away from our apartment. But this is Japan ...

That one short train ride stopped shortly after we embarked, announcing a "jinshinjiko" - an all-too-common train suicide - had occurred, stopping the line. Oedo-sen is the deepest subway in Tokyo (I remember catching an elevator up from level B8 once) so we struggled up the escalators - very tiring for Satoko, who is 6 months pregnant - and eventually made it to a taxi.

The taxi driver was very helpful, and our fears were put to rest when we arrived before the 9pm start time - though still a bit later than we had planned. Spirits buoyed, we sashayed in to the small concert hall, and were ushered down to the stage level (3F in the pic) ...

Only to find that the Japanese staff had allowed a free-for-all on the reserved seats in front of the stage! We stood by awkwardly while they flapped about like headless chickens for 10 minutes before herding us to seats two tables even further away from the stage - instead of like, you know, moving the people who were in seats they hadn't booked tickets for!

Satoko was livid, but what could I do except sit back, sip red wine and do my best to enjoy the short but energetic set. I've written a mini review below if you want to read about it.

The staff's poor attempts at making it up to us by offering ... (a) free wine to my NOTICEABLY 6 months pregnant wife! (b) "No charge" - or as it felt to me - "Free disappointment!" ... were not appreciated, and after the show the club manager finally came to chat as we were etching our frustrations onto questionnaires.

He listened patiently, was very gracious, and we eventually accepted his offer of another free show, this time in seats on the mezzanine floor (with no heads in the way) at the final Tokyo gig on Friday.

So, the club's loss: over US$1000. Our loss: our only chance to see Steely Dan close enough to get hit by Donald Fagen's spit when he goes nuclear - like he did on "Josie" at the first show. I hope our second attempt goes more smoothly, but what I wouldn't give for those original seats!

A sadly coincidental note: Sayoko Yamaguchi the Japanese supermodel from the album cover of Aja died just last week. The news was announced on Monday, so I wonder if the band will mention her in the Friday night gig.

For those interested in the Steely Dan '07 tour here's a mini review, but first a warning - you might not want to read this if you are planning to see them!

** POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT **

The Billboard Live Tokyo venue is best described as intimate. Here's me whinging about being moved a couple of tables further away from the stage, but the band still filled my field of view - closer than you'd sit to a movie screen. The proximity is palpable, and it's a rare pleasure to watch and listen to world-class musicians like it's happening in your living room.

Even the 1st mezzanine floor (4F) front seats (which I'll watch from on Friday) are less than 10 meters from the stage. If you look at the floor plan in the pic, the levels align at the stairs so you can see how tightly it's all sandwiched together.

Here are a few memories from the night. (Just so _I_ don't forget!)

Set list:
Intro

Time Out Of Mind
Bad Sneakers
Hey Nineteen (with Walter's "date" speech)
Haitian Divorce (sung by Walter)
Green Earrings (great solo by Donald)
Dirty Work (sung by the girls)
Josie (smokin', with band intros by Walter)
Chain Lightening
Bodhisattva (sizzlin'!)

Encore: Peg
Outro

Walter did most of the talking. Donald said a few words at the start of the show, but during "Hey Nineteen" Walter broke into the song and spun a little reverie about taking a girl somewhere on a date. This seems to be a regular part of this tour. The band just stretched the tune while he set up for the girls to sing the great line that followed ... "You reach into your little black bag, and pull out ..." two items guaranteed to "Make the night a wonderful thing." Nicely done.

Walter also sang "Haitian Divorce". I kind of missed Donald's intonation on some of the lyrics, but it was ok. It was during this song that I really noticed lead guitarist Jon Herington, who was performing superb and flawless interpretations of our favourite solos and sometimes playfully jamming against Donald. I thought Walter might play rhythm the whole night, but he did tackle lead on some other tunes.

In fact Walter and Donald did some jamming of their own on "Green Earrings", which featured a long jazzy piano solo from Donald which got the whole band popping. Dirty Work was a bit of a breather, though the girls' vocals were as impressive as any instrument, and then the band rallied for a really high energy "Josie", which paced itself midway into Walter introducing the band members one by one.

As the individual instrumentalists bugged out it was perhaps predictably Keith Carlock (voted world's #2 all-round best drummer) who made the biggest splash - whilst still retaining the Orchestra's jazz cred. In fact Walter made a point of noting "Japanese jazz enthusiasts are some of the most discerning in the world" (paraphrasing) and how pleased he was to be able to introduce and play with some of the finest jazz musicians of their generation.

Donald introduced "Chain Lightning" as "a little blues" and started getting worked up for the finale. "Bodhisattva" seemed like the crescendo the whole band had been waiting for, and they gave it their all - and the whole audience, so close and focussed, was tapping and swinging too.

When they wrapped it up, said goodnight and left, it really did feel a bit too soon. A Japanese guy near me said "What! That's like 40 bucks a song!" He's close - it's about US$250 for some of these Tokyo tickets (like ours!) so the audience clapped in rhythm as best they could (mezzanine floors make it difficult) for a couple of minutes until the band relented with "Peg" for a single encore.

The audience wanted more, and hopes soared when the curtain behind the stage drew back to reveal a rather impressive expanse of Tokyo skyline. It's a shame they didn't do that before the encore. Instead it signaled the end of a slightly short but very intense and immensely enjoyable set.

The acoustics of the venue are great, and overall I highly recommend it, especially since the club manager (though not the regular floor staff) dealt so well with the aftermath of the disastrous seating snafu.

I'd love to hear from anyone else who sees them!