Last show: April 17, 1974: Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Next show: April 19, 1974: St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
April 18, 1974
Orpheum Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts, US
Recording is complete besides a fade during "Reelin' In The Years". It is presumed there was an encore afterwards, as with following shows.
"Dirty Work" moved to slot 7 before "Pretzel Logic"
Steely Dan's first ever show at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston. The band would return to the venue 45 years later in 2019 for a 5 show residency and then again in 2021 for 3 shows.
While not too hard to find, this recording circulates much less than the other recordings associated with this era. According to some uploads, this show was first traded around the late 90s. These uploads also mention a second, worse-sounding version of this show which cuts off earlier than the more commonly circulated version. This show has also been circulated on two CD bootlegs, the first being on the Sinsemilla label and the second on the Midnight Dreamer label. Interestingly, a third bootleg of this show allegedly exists on vinyl and circulated around 1974. The only evidence of this bootleg's existence is from a fanmade discography website circa 1998, viewable here. However, this website is chock-full of mistakes (notice incorrect placement of "Dirty Work" in setlist), which means the chance this bootleg actually exists is very slim.
Notes: Dirty Work bootleg contains this show on the first disc but also contains a second disc filled with mostly non-Steely Dan content touted as the real deal. Tracks 1 through 8 are said to be unreleased tour rehearsals but are actually performances by Steely Dan cover band Beau Bolero. Tracks 9 and 10 are "Dallas" and "Sail The Waterway", songs from Steely Dan's ill-fated first single. After that comes an instrumental by the Hoops McCann Band, another track by a cover band mislabeled as a Steely Dan rarity. Finally, the second disc ends with "The Second Arrangement" and "Talkin' 'Bout My Home", two legitimate rarities considered for the Gaucho album but axed during production.
