As our writer noted in a preview of Steely Dan’s four-night stand at the Chicago Theatre, it’s somewhat ludicrous for this band to refer to its current jaunt as a “rent party.” But perhaps it was frontman Donald Fagen’s notoriously wry sense of irony at work. Indeed, you could spend an entire month’s rent on the $432 pass to all four shows. Although, judging by the mass of middle-aged white folk gathered outside on State Street, many had done just that. I heard several concertgoers raving about the previous night’s highlights.

Like clockwork, opener Sam Yahel took the stage at 7:30pm, making the most of a half-hour set, plucking percussive rhythms on his Hammond B-3. The New York organist has worked the supporting slot on several Steely Dan tours, and though Monday’s set featured two members of the Dan’s horn section, Tuesday saw Yahel leading a nimble trio set featuring Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker, who gamely strummed through funky organ swing, easing off his signature atonal approach in favor of more traditional blues voicings that were appropriately smooth, if modest for him.

As my colleague John Dugan reported yesterday, Steely Dan is the latest to jump on the “Don’t Look Back” bandwagon, reproducing seminal albums from front to back. Monday spotlighted the revered Aja, and last night brought back 1980 gem Gaucho, the last disc Fagen and guitarist Walter Becker recorded before taking a ten-year hiatus. Gaucho cuts like “Babylon Sisters” and “Hey Nineteen” are essentially synonymous with what’s come to be known (and celebrated) as “yacht rock.” And if there were any question that the smooth ’70s have come full circle, it was confirmed earlier this week when Brooklyn indie darlings Grizzly Bear released their single “While You Wait for the Others” with a B-side sung by erstwhile Dan associate Michael McDonald.

Before long the 11-piece band had faithfully completed the song cycle; “That’s Gaucho, more or less,” Fagen announced to the capacity crowd. He’s an amiable host, sitting front and center behind his Fender Rhodes when not occasionally pacing the stage blowing a melodica. My girlfriend noted that his unique stance behind the keyboard, his head angled at 45 degrees, resembles a hybrid of Stephen Hawking and Rowlf from the Muppets, with a dash of Bill Evans. I’d add Ray Charles to that equation, as the shades-sporting Fagen has similarly eased into middle age while keeping his inimitable voice in tact. The second half of the evening found the band tackling its sizable stable of hits, including “Black Friday,” “Kid Charlemagne” and, of course, “Peg.” They even played “Dirty Work,” off my favorite Dan disc, Can’t Buy a Thrill (the band’s 1972 debut), but ceded vocals to three female vocalists. Sure, he didn’t sing the original (that honor went to David Palmer), but I’d prefer to hear Fagen’s over-enunciated vowels and signature drawl any day over anonymous background singers.

As Dugan, our fearless Web Editor, noted in his review of Monday’s set, it’s really guitarist Jon Herington and drummer Keith Carlock carrying this show. Freddie Washington was slapping and popping through “Peg” with aplomb, but his bass simply wasn’t loud enough to cut through. While Dugan had the honor of sitting next to the Trib’s Greg Kot, my girlfriend and I sat next to a couple from Milwaukee, the female half of which kept sneaking hits off her peace pipe.

An extravagant grand piano solo introduced Aja’s “Josie” before the epic set closed with an encore of perhaps the band’s most ubiquitous tune, “Reelin’ in the Years,” a staple of classic rock radio stations across the nation. Overall it was a brilliant set, transcending any expected generic studio pro polish to provide a truly memorable evening. I could’ve done without a few of the filler tunes on Gaucho, which brings up the inherent flaw in the “Don’t Look Back” model. But it’s hard to complain when the album itself took up less than half the entire night’s set. Still, I’d have preferred to hear songs like “Aja” and “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” which are sure to be included in Friday’s show, “Takin’ It to the Seats,” where the band takes fan requests in advance, similar to the Pitchfork Music Festival’s “Write the Night” gimmick. Tribute acts like Reely Dan take on these tunes regularly, but there’s no substitute for the real deal.