Setlist Coverage: Steely Dan Kicks off 2013 Mood Swings Tour

It’s probably a lingering side-effect from the 1970s — when the band permanently retreated from the stage — but it’s hard not to get butterflies every time Steely Dan announce a new tour. It’s been a whole decade since their last album, Everything Must Go, and maybe not having to promote new music is the secret to their increased stage presence: The Dan have been touring almost every other year since.

Here at Hidden Track, we plan to track the band’s tour progress by analyzing their setlists. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have amassed one of the richest, sturdiest catalogs in popular music, and this year’s Mood Swings tour promises to be one of their most eclectic.

The band’s first date came on Friday, July 19th, at the Ovation Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. The Dan quickly proved they’re not in “greatest hits” mode, kicking off the show with a cover of jazz composer Gerry Muligan’s “Blueport” before moving into the jazz-funk rarity “Your Gold Teeth.” Other obscure highlights include the sax-driven Pretzel Logic track “Monkey in Your Soul” (featuring a rare vocal turn from Becker) and the Fagen solo track “New Frontier.”

Check out the full setlist below (courtesy of Setlist.fm):

Blueport
(Gerry Mulligan cover) (The Bipolar Allstars only)
Your Gold Teeth
Aja
Hey Nineteen
Show Biz Kids
New Frontier
(Donald Fagen song)
Green Book
Time Out of Mind
Godwhacker
Monkey in Your Soul
(Walter Becker sings)
Bodhisattva
Razor Boy
(The Borderline Brats sing)
Babylon Sisters
I Want to (Do Everything for You)
(Joe Tex cover) (Band Intros by Walter Becker)
Don’t Take Me Alive
Josie
Peg
My Old School
Reelin’ in the Years
Encore:
Kid Charlemagne
Untouchables Theme
(Ennio Morricone cover) (The Bipolar Allstars only)

The tour continued the next evening (July 20th) at the Constellation Brands Performing Arts Center in Canandaigua, NY.

While the band has been teasing the possibility of playing various albums in their completion, they’ve kept the setlists relatively consistent so far, mostly just re-arranging the track order. In Canandaigua, they kept the line-up exactly the same, including a welcome performance of the jazz-fusion masterpiece “Aja.” For the second time, they closed with the radio-staple fan favorite “Reelin’ in the Years.”

On Sunday, July 21st, the band stopped by the Molson Ampitheatre in Toronto, Ontario. Again, the setlist was mostly in-tact from their two kick-off shows; they did, however, decide to swap one Royal Scam track for another (“Don’t Take Me Alive” replaced with the funkier and much more popular “Green Earrings”).

Blueport
(Gerry Mulligan cover) (The Bipolar Allstars only)
Your Gold Teeth
Aja
Hey Nineteen
Show Biz Kids
Green Earrings
Green Book
Time Out of Mind
Godwhacker
Monkey in Your Soul
(Walter Becker sings)
Bodhisattva
Razor Boy
(The Borderline Brats sing)
Babylon Sisters
I Want to (Do Everything for You)
(Joe Tex cover) (Band Intros by Walter Becker)
Josie
Peg
My Old School
Reelin’ in the Years
Encore:
Kid Charlemagne
Untouchables Theme
(Ennio Morricone cover) (The Bipolar Allstars only)