After more than fifty years of performing, Steve Miller certainly knows what his audience wants. Fortunately, he is still able to perform at a high level of expertise and provide what the crowds expect, as he did at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, CA on September 21, 2023.
Miller is about to turn 80 (on October 5), but his voice is still strong, his guitar licks have never been better and he is full of energy. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer clearly still enjoys playing in front of a devoted audience. He smiled and joked between songs, often telling compelling stories about their inspiration and construction. He told the YouTube crowd about growing up in a house in Milwaukee where his parents were good friends with Les Paul, who taught him how to play chords. Later, after they moved to Dallas, T-Bone Walker, who would record songs at their house, taught young Steve how to play the guitar behind his neck and with his teeth.
Before launching into one of his biggest hits, Paul Pena’s “Jet Airliner,” Miller said that Bernita Walker, T-Bone’s daughter was in the house and he “wants to dedicate the song to T-Bone, Les Paul and all the other blues greats that have departed.” As a tribute, Miller played a beautiful, blonde Gibson Les Paul guitar for a fine version of the song. He switched to his trusty Fender Stratocaster for an extended version of “Fly Like an Eagle.” Keyboard player Joseph Wooten did an extensive organ solo that inspired a crowd clap-along segment. Then Miller launched into a very trippy solo, followed by a nifty bass solo by Kenny Lee Lewis.
For “Wild Mountain Honey,” Miller broke out his 19-string Danelectro Coral Sitar, a weird and wild instrument with unique sound characteristics. He switched to a blonde Martin acoustic guitar for a reworked, mellower version of “Jet Airliner” that he performed solo as his band members and the audience watched intently. Ron Wikso’s heavy drumbeat launched “Living in the USA,” which was also Miller’s only time playing harmonica during the show. Back on his Fender, Miller executed a masterful, distorted guitar solo to close the upbeat song.
There were more oldies, but definitely, goodies as Miller stuck with his strat for “Space Cowboy,” “Serenade,” “Jungle Love” and “Take The Money and Run.” All featured impressive harmonies by Kenny Lee Lewis, Joseph Wooten, and second guitarist Jacob Petersen. At the end of the set, Miller told the crowd that it was the 50th anniversary of The Joker album and song. For the song, he used a custom-made, blue sparkling Fender Stratocaster that was built for his 2016 Hall of Fame induction performance. The number-one hit turned into a glorious sing-along with the crowd.
Miller and the band members left the stage for a brief break but came back out to loud, standing applause. Miller talked about the special box set celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Joker that was just released a few days ago before the band jumped into one of the songs from that album, “Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma.” They finally finished the show with another extended audience singing along to the repeating chorus of “Rock’n Me.”
Live photos courtesy of Andy J. Gordon ©2023
