Hall & Oates Bring Back That Lovin’ Feelin’ To Allentown Fairgrounds

Earlier this year, my wife saw Hall & Oates were going to tour the U.S. and suggested we get tickets. While I always liked the pop duo, especially for their smooth ’70s soul-oriented music, they weren’t exactly on my radar screen. Well, I’m glad my wife paid attention and convinced me to see them. In general, our music tastes are very different, and I end up going to most shows by myself. It’s nice when every now and then we find an act we both like. Last night was showtime at The Fairgrounds in Allentown, Pa. And, boy, I have to say Daryl Hall and John Oates, who are now in their early seventies, were in excellent shape, and we had a great time!

The music muser with his sweet wife

Before getting to Hall & Oates, I’d like to say a few words about opening act G. Love & Special Sauce. I had never heard of this trio from Philadelphia, featuring frontman Garrett Dutton, a.k.a G. Love (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica), Jeffrey Clemens (drums) and Jim Prescott (double bass). Wikipedia describes them as “an alternative hip hop band…known for their unique “sloppy” and “laid back” blues sound that encompasses classic R&B. Well, last night, I particularly heard and liked blues-oriented music with the occasional touch of hip hop. Playing as a trio is challenging, but these guys were really bringing it. There was even a bit of on-stage drama when Prescott broke a bass string – yikes! While he was calmly replacing the string and tuning, the two other guys carried on as a duo, as if nothing had happened. After a few songs into their set, I randomly decided to capture this tune called Shooting Hoops. It’s from their eponymous debut album released in May 1994.

On to Hall & Oates. Their gig last night was a homecoming. Daryl Hall was born in Pottstown, Pa., about 30 miles south of Allentown, while John Oates grew up in Philly suburb North Wales, which is approximately 40 miles southeast of Allentown. He was born in New York City. The duo opened their set with one of their biggest hits from the ’80s: Maneater. If I recall it correctly, that song was the first time I heard of Hall & Oates back in Germany. Co-written by John Oates, Daryl Hall and his then-girlfriend Sara Allen, it appeared on Hall & Oates’ 11th studio album H₂O from October 1982. The track was also released separately as the record’s lead single and became their fifth no. 1 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100. 

As noted above, I particularly dig Hall & Oates’ more soul-oriented tunes. Apart from loving the genre in general, I feel this type of music perfectly fits Daryl Hall’s vocals. Here’s their great rendition of You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.  Co-written by songwriting duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, together with producer Phil Spector, this classic was first recorded by The Righteous Brothers in 1964 and became their first major and biggest hit topping the charts in U.S., U.K. and Canada. Hall & Oates recorded their beautiful version for the Voices album from July 1980, their ninth studio release. It also became one of four singles from that record and a top 10 hit in the U.S.

Here’s another Hall & Oates classic and perhaps my favorite: She’s Gone, from their sophomore album Abandoned Luncheonette that came out in November 1973. Co-written by John Oates and Daryl Hall, the tune was also released as a single and became their first song to chart in the U.S., peaking at no. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. While making the charts for a then-young pop duo in and of itself was a significant accomplishment, I find it somewhat mind-boggling the tune didn’t climb higher. The album fared better, hitting no. 33 on the Billboard 200, which was then called Top LPs and Tapes chart. After their debut Whole Oates had failed to make an impact, this was actually a quite important early milestone for Hall & Oates – certainly a nice consolation!

After 11 songs and I would say just over an hour, it was already time for the encore – perhaps the only thing I found a bit measly about the show. But Hall & Oates made it count with four additional nice tracks. Here’s the first: Rich Girl, another ’70s tune and one of my favorites. Written by Daryl Hall for their fifth studio album Bigger Than Both Of Us from August 1976, it became the duo’s first no. 1 hit in the U.S. Apparently, the song was written about an ex-boyfriend from Sara Allen who then was together in a relationship with Hall. But Hall didn’t feel rich boy sounded right, so he changed the lyrics.

The last track I’d to highlight is You Make My Dreams, the final song of the encore. Another track from the Voices album, it was co-written by Sara Allen, John Oates and Daryl Hall. It also became the album’s lead single in May 1981 and another hit, climbing to no. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Hall & Oates were a hit machine during the first half of the ’80s, especially in the U.S. Between 1981 and 1984, they scored 10 top ten singles there, including five that reached no. 1.

This post wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging Hall & Oates’ great backing band – except it’s tricky to find info on the musicians on the Internet. On the duo’s official website, there is a section about band members, which when you click on it cheerfully reveals the comment “Coming soon…” Are you kidding me? According to setlist.fm, the U.S. leg of their tour titled Real Deal 2019 kicked off August 15. When exactly are you planning to list your touring musicians, the guys that help you sound as great as you do?! Luckily, this recent story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune has some of the details.

One of the standouts to me was multi-instrumentalist Charles DeChant, who plays saxophone, flute, keyboards and guitar. In addition to Hall & Oates, DeChant’s impressive credits include Mick Jagger, The Temptations, Tina Turner and Bonnie Raitt, among others. Shane Theriot handled lead guitar. He used to be musical director for the TV show Live from Daryl’s House. He has also recorded or performed with many other artists like The Neville Brothers, Dr. John, Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave) and Little Feat. The backing band also included a drummer, bassist, second keyboarder (in addition to guitar, Hall played keys as well) and a percussionist. Perhaps once the touring musicians are added to Hall & Oates’ official website, I’d be happy to name them. Yes, Daryl and John you can go for that, yes can do. Just tell your website guy to fix what was probably an oversight!

Setlist
1. Maneater
2. Out Of Touch
3. Adult Education
4. Method of Modern Love
5. Say It Isn’t So
6. One On One
7. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’
8. (The Righteous Brothers cover)
9. She’s Gone
10. Sara Smile
11. Is It a Star
12. I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)

Encore
13. Rich Girl
14. Kiss on My List
15. Private Eyes
16. You Make My Dreams

On a more cheerful note about the Hall & Oates website, it does list upcoming U.S. gigs, which include Reno, Nev. (Sep 12), Puyallyp, Wash. (Sep 14) and Charleston, S.C. (Sep. 19). The full schedule is here.

Sources: Wikipedia, setlist.fm, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, YouTube