By Jack Houston
The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, 8 p.m. June 24, $35.50-$91 plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
What seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime tour when it hit the road two years ago is back for an encore this summer. The Dukes of September Rhythm Revue, a supergroup composed of Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs, returns to The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on June 24.
The pairing of ’70s rock titans makes perfect sense—Fagen and McDonald once toured together in Steely Dan, and Scaggs and McDonald have mirrored each other with their recent recorded output, releasing whole albums dedicated to standards (Scaggs) and soul and Motown covers (McDonald). All three artists also participated in Fagen’s New York Rock & Soul Revue concerts in the early ’90s, generally cited as a forerunner to the Dukes tours.
While Scaggs and McDonald were coy about what songs fans can expect to hear during a conference call reported by Rolling Stone, the first Dukes tour featured Fagen’s take on the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street,” Scaggs’ reworking of Teddy Pendergrass’ “Love TKO” and a version of The Band’s “The Shape I’m In” sung by McDonald. Interspersed among the covers were three careers’ worth of hits, including “Lowdown,” “Takin’ It to the Streets” and “Reelin’ in the Years.”
“I’m sure by the end of these 40 cities we’re gonna know each other better, and who knows what could come out,” Scaggs said.
