19th August 2009

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the h is o: review of hall & oates live in brooklyn

Wedged in between the end of my summer job in San Francisco and the start of class in the East Bay, I recently took in a long weekend in New York City. It was my first time back since I moved from the Fraternal Principality of Murray Hill in June 2008.

This is the first post of a few that are devoted to the events of that trip.

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Hall & Oates are a unique pop duo.  They’re one of those bands that nobody knows, but everyone knows (very similar to this song, discussed in this post). They’re a group that stormed the 70’s and 80’s with 6 #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: “Rich Girl”, “Kiss on My List”, “Private Eyes”, “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”, “Maneater”, and “Out of Touch.” Yet when I throw their name out, even to a person reasonably well-versed in music, it’s often met with blank stares. Also, people who know who the duo often offer up an entertaining array of spellings: Holland Oates, Haulin’ Oats, and……I guess when I said array I meant duet.

I went to college in Philadelphia, the same fair city where Daryl Hall and John Oates first met at Temple University in the late 60’s. Shortly thereafter, the pair set in motion their era-altering musical fusion. They drew from rock and R&B influences, and created a style they dubbed “rock and soul.”

I first gained appreciation for H&O while in college working at a bar in West Philly: The Blarney Stone.  After hours, during cleanup, the rules were generally these: (1) Miller High Life only, and (2) Hall & Oates only. I think you can see what a strong impression this would make on a young man; I’ve loved H&O ever since.

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Immediately upon arriving at the host apartment/command center in the Lower East Side, preparations were made among the several dudes to make a trip on the D train to Seaside Park near Coney Island in Brooklyn.  Our goal? The free concert Hall & Oates were putting on there later that evening. Yes, that’s right. Free.

So we made the trip. We got there right as the show was starting, and joined the already-nestled thousands of lawnchair-toting Brooklyn-ites to watch the aged duo take the stage.

Song 1

Their first song? The 1982 #1 hit single “Maneater.” Yeah, sorry children of the aughts (00’s), Nelly Furtado did not invent the term “maneater.” (As a sidenote, Stevie Wonder’s spectacular 1985 song “Part Time Lover” features a dramatically similar bassline to “Maneater.” Imitation is the finest form of flattery.) Needless to say, they rocked the song and I was going wild. Great way to open the show.

Song 2

Second up was H&O’s 1983 cover of Maggie Riley’s “Family Man.” Very underrated song from their catalogue, and they pulled it off strongly.

Song 3

Next up was the 1984 #1 single “Out of Touch.” I was absolutely loving it. Knowing an obscene amount of H&O lyrics was finally paying off.

At this point, H&O was feeling it, my buddies and I were all rocking out, and morale was generally high. There were only two problems: (1) We were WAY too far away from the stage, and (2) Apparently being at a free concert means one is entitled to not be impressed at ALL with the show; there were something like 6,000 people just SITTING ON THEIR ASSES during all of this, showing no signs of life.

Since we couldn’t do anything about #2, we decided to focus on #1. Engage hopping fences into backstage VIP areas to gain entry to the front 20 rows that have chairs set up. Somehow we all pull it off, 3 shifts 1 or 2 people making the move.

Songs 4-6

H&O had some rough years early in their career, with the albums Whole Oats, Abandoned Luncheonette and War Babies failing to garner much critical or commercial success. Three songs in the middle of the show were from this era, and I had no idea what they were. It was at this point Daryl hyped his internet show for a good five minutes. We all moved on through the rough patch.

Song 7

“She’s Gone.” A close second for my favorite H&O song. If you watch only one complete video from this entry, make it this one. I think they made this in 1976, before music videos were really a thing. Therefore, I don’t think H&O knew what a music video was supposed to be. Apart from all the great action (Daryl Hall’s shoes, the pair throwing money at the person walking by in a devil costume (as they sing, “I’d pay the devil to replace her”), their general facial expressions), pay PARTICULAR ATTENTION to the sequence from 2:43 - 3:08. Trust me and just do it.

Song 8

“One on One.” Not one of their best, but a decent song for the middle of the set.

Song 9

“Sara Smile.” Just a super-smooth jam from 1976. A fan favorite. Also to be noted is that at this point one of our crew, Jason Chiang (aka Chiang-Chiang-Chiang of Fools aka Fools), chose to take a delightful power nap to the sultry groove.

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This is when things start to get crazy. So at this point the 5 of us are 3rd row, but WAY left. The sound is great, the view is not. Gradually we start sneaking forward as we see openings in chairs, and by the time the next song comes on, we are in the forward pit, literally 14-18 feet from H&O themselves.

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Song 10

One of their best: “I Can’t Go For That.” Funky, aggressive tune. Killer saxophone solo. They must know how good it is, cause they played it for about 7 minutes. INTENSE tenor saxophone solo from an old dude strongly resembling Father Time, and a pretty solid axe solo from a Tom Petty doppelganger. Also the 5 of us spent this entire song wagging a finger at each other and everyone around us each time “I can’t go for that,” was belted out by the supporting vocalists.

At this point, they leave the stage. Oh yeah, dude. As if you guys are actually done. To raucous applause, they return to play….

Song 11 - ENCORE

“Rich Girl”, the group’s first #1 single, from 1977, and absolutely my favorite song of theirs. The track features impeccable lead vocals, an unmistakeable throwback Motown feel with a beautiful string part, and the great lyrical line, “High and dry / out of the rain / It’s so easy / to hurt others when you can’t feel pain.” Goes without saying that the smattering of 50-year old women around us in the pit (and me) were singing every word of the song.

Song 12 - ENCORE

H&O blew the figurative roof off the literal outdoor venue with “You Make My Dreams”, the 1980 song that reached #5 in the charts but #1 in our hearts. Perhaps their most widely recognized track, the song was prominently featured in the movie The Wedding Singer and most recently used in an extremely unorthodox song-and-dance routine from this summer’s 500 Days of Summer.

H&O left the stage after their encore. I felt satisfied, but knew that there was a killer song or two that they had missed. The one-encore-then-leave-the-stage rule has been handed down for thousands of years, perhaps millions, so understandably people turned to leave and spill into the streets of Brooklyn. But then…

Song 13 - ENCORE PART TWO

THEY CAME OUT ON STAGE AGAIN. This broke all conventions of encore decorum; but of course I loved it. And what did they play? The 1980 #1 single “Kiss On My List.” The song has a ridiculous premise (“your kiss is on my list of the best things in life”) and even ridiculous-er rhymes in the pre-chorus (“they insist / on knowing my bliss”). I don’t care. It’s an 80’s classic.

Song 14 - ENCORE PART TWO

H&O chose to sign off with the 1981 #1 single “Private Eyes”. Decent choice I guess.

This is where the show takes a turn from awesome to…super-awesome. Keep in mind that during this ferocious 5-song ending sequence, the 5 of us are all up in the pit, mere meters from John and Daryl. During the chorus of “Private Eyes” (at 0:41), there’s a sequence that goes, “Private eyes *clap*/ are watching you *clap* *clap*.” At about the time that I start vigorously clapping above my head as per said sequence, suddenly John Oates takes a break from whaling on his geet strings, and “LOCKS EYES” with me for a solid 3-second period. Yeah, I know. <— (It looked remarkably like that.)

Enough of a story there? Probably. But wait.

So then, the song ends. “Thanks everyone for coming! We’ll see you next year!” Thunderous applause. THEN: John Oates points directly at me. Or within a 4.5 foot radius of me. He flicks his fingers. His shiny white guitar pick floats serendipitously through the air in my direction…I spot it in the lights…I reach my hand out for it……I miss.

…But it lands at my feet.

And so, I am now the proud owner of a white guitar pick, with thickness about 0.030, with the sapphire blue embossed signature of one John Oates.

I can’t think of a better way to end a concert review than that. Up next: Steely Dan live at the Beacon Theatre.