Nearly Dan

If you're going to form a tribute band, make sure it's for dudes worthy of your tribute. So, Messrs Fagen and Becker qualify...and then some. If you're going to be a good tribute band, you'd better make sure you can play. Nearly Dan have that covered in every department. And as bonus, if you show you're having a great time while you're playing, gassing with the audience, showing very genuine surprise when a band member adds a new riff of real class and definite artistry, laughing when a run doesn't come off as it should or the odd bum note happens (a very rare happening in Dan's case), then the audience are in for a memorable gig. And so it was at Oran Mor!

Steve Hayes (lead vocals & guitar), Gary Davies (keyboards) and Rob Rolph (lead guitar) front Nearly Dan, expertly and keenly delivering the quirky, jazzy, funky feel of Steely Dan with power and soul and yet never taking themselves too seriously. And Glasgow audiences love that! More so than the paying punters at the Edinburgh and Cumbria gigs, who were a tad reserved if not genuinely challenging, according to Mr Hayes craic with the Dan fans here.

Hayes vocals are particularly well received and so they should be! Ever tried singing along with Donald Fagen? You know how hard that is? And at the back of the stage are Kate Robertson and
Sarah Miller (backing vocals/percussion) adding the high harmonies mostly but also delivering the lead from time to time ("And now, a song from the girls", says Hayes introducing "Dirty Work" and the voices soar, strong, true and so assured.)

And the fans get what they came to hear as we roar and cheer, sing along and clap our approval of "Babylon Sisters", "Reeling in the Years", "My Old School", "Ricky, don't lose that number" from the Steely back catalogue and are treated to a couple of Fagen solo pieces from "The NightFly" album, where "IGY" is so confidently delivered.

The cross talk highlights the fact that Hayes wishes he'd penned these masterpieces...."Where could we be if we'd written this stuff?" he asks. "Not here!", comes the well timed answer from the front row.
And Glasgow on this Saturday would have been all the poorer for missing out on a performance like tonight's.
An absolute delight!