By Martine Ehrenclou

The 20,000-seat Staples Center was jammed packed for the Daryl Hall & John Oates concert, and their opening act, Tears For Fears. I never would have guessed that at this point in their careers, that Daryl Hall & John Oates would have put on such a stellar show. Daryl Hall, age 70, was at the peak of his game as was John Oates at 69.

15-20 years prior, I’d seen Hall & Oates, a rather predictable performance back then and at a much smaller venue. Recently, I’ve watched many an episode of Live at Daryl’s House which renewed my interest in the duo. Obviously, it did the same for thousands of others at the concert. And the crowd wasn’t just over age 45 either. It was mixed with Millennials, fans in their 30’s, 40’s and up.

What struck me most about the Hall & Oates live show was Daryl Hall himself. A true showman, his soulful voice was in peak condition this night—on pitch with a stellar range and a bit of a rasp in the right places.

Daryl Hall has always been more of the focal point of the band. But many years ago, it was John Oates who ranked as the true musician and songwriter of the band. Both brought their A-game to the live show that night, Hall with excellent vocal and keyboard chops, and Oates’ with standout guitar skills.

Daryl Hall is at his best and this performance was the best I’d seen. The band, as a unit, including the equally talented John Oates on vocals and guitar, was tight and together with drummer, Brian Dunne, percussionist, Porter Carroll, Shane Theriot on guitar, Eliot Lewis on keys, Klyde Jones on bass and Charlie DeChant on saxophone.
Note: given that Hall and Oates were at opposite ends of the stage most of the night, it was difficult to get a photo of them together.

 
 
“Family Man,” a Mike Oldfield cover, kicked off the 90-minute set, a fairly subdued opener considering the rest of the show. From “Maneater” to “Say It Isn’t So,” the audience was on their feet, singing Hall & Oates hits from the 80’s.

But this was not a nostalgia show. Far from it.

Daryl Hall & John Oates, including sax player, Charlie DeChant, were full of energy and went full throttle on the tunes, reshaping them with more jazz and blues flavors than I’d heard before, as opposed to simply replaying hits. On “Sara Smile” Daryl Hall sat down at the piano and delivered some off-the-cuff bluesy, vocal soloing that matched his fine talent on keys.

I wanted more of the improvisation and jams, having been baited by Live at Daryl’s House and the featured guests’ unchained delivery of soulful renditions of their tunes with Daryl Hall. I wasn’t disappointed as the show was so well produced and Hall and Oates so on their game. The word, outstanding, comes to mind to describe their performance.

About half way through the show, Daryl Hall spoke to the audience and said something to the effect of, “We have some magic in here tonight with all of you.”

Having put on a show the night before in L.A., apparently something was different about our audience, perhaps a certain energy that hadn’t transpired the previous night. As everyone knows who lives in L.A, the traffic on a Friday night to get downtown to a show is downright brutal. Perhaps these were fans willing to brave that kind of stop and go on the freeway to see this concert and were thrilled to experience what Daryl Hall & John Oates had to offer.

“I Can’t Go For That,” one of my favorites, allowed some freedom musically for percussionist (Porter Carroll) and Daryl Hall. This was the equivalent of a jam. And quite the jam it was. Hall vamped and scatted, completely engaged with the music and the audience, in sync with Carroll and the band. Charles DeChant, on saxophone, thrilled the crowd on several tunes, including this one. A highlight of the night, for sure.

John Oates took center stage on one or two of the numbers, showcasing his excellent guitar skills.

The show closed out with “Rich Girl” and “Private Eyes,” saturated hits for sure, but reinvented in some ways from a more soul/blues/jazz base. Before they could perform “You Make My Dreams,” Hall again addressed the audience with, “You like this don’t you?” The crowd went wild with applause. Hall seemed genuinely moved, perhaps taken aback, by our reception.

What a way to end the night.