John Oates at Whelans – February 21st 2012
Review: Aidan Cuffe
Photos: Sean Smyth
Destiny is 50% complete. A huge Hall & Oates fan, I saw this gig listed and knew instantly I had to be here. One half of the greatest pop writing duo possibly of all time is appearing on Dublin’s doorstep, in a venue as small as Whelan’s, and it seems to have passed by without much of a fanfare. The crowd varied from very old to very young but that just speaks volumes of the generation bridging music produced by Daryl Hall and John Oates.
Of course Oates has had his own solo career but much like some counterparts like Lyndsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Richard Ashcroft, Billy Corgan and many more whom had fame as part of a group and couldn’t realise the same heights under their own name. That isn’t to say that each of those act’s didn’t have a great collection of songs, it just never broke for them twice. Similarly John has had three albums but for anyone who wasn’t checking that fact, you might not have known. These days it’s less 80s synth and more blues, country, blue grass style of music explored by the 80s pin-up.
What we got tonight is a mix of both his own material with reworked Hall & Oates back catalogue, he wasn’t here to just play the 80s, nor was he here to just play the big hits. Tracks like Ghosttown and Spinning Down were classic examples that he cannot only write a great song, but still has the voice to pull it all off on the night. Covers of Leaving On A Jet Plane and Dance Hall Girls and a complete reworking of All Shook Up by Elvis were superb showings of how effortlessly he can rejig a song and still make it sound amazing. At one point he started Missisippi Mile only to sing the words of a different song but it still worked, providing a lighthearted moment with the crowd amused as he ask’s what the first line of the song is before starting it properly again, as John himself points out “This is a live show, You won’t get this at a Minaj or GaGa show”.
Closing the set with She’s Gone on the basis that he’s never played a show and not played it and he wasn’t going to start tonight, he left the stage to a thunderous applause from the appreciative crowd. Not one to mess about, it was merely a minute or so before he returned and after some banter with the crowd agreed to play up to the second verse of Italian Girls as he doesn’t like the rest of the song, heart warmingly honest. A Texas swing version of You Make My Dreams Come True goes down a treat before finishing with a Chuck Berry cover.
Tonight was an exhibition in class. It would be easy for John Oates to come to Dublin and play the Hall and Oates back catalogue and make an easy buck. Instead he reworked all the Hall and Oates tracks into his current bluesy style. Showed the expectant crowd some classic rock and blues tracks by some of his favourite artists, again done his own way, and laid out his stunning solo work as a testament to how good of a songwriter he truly still is. Perhaps one day John and Daryl will grace Ireland with an 80s synth supershow to please the undoubted fanbase but tonight was about John and what he is, and has become now. He promised to return and if he does don’t miss out next time, it’s a show well worth seeing for fans of the blues and soul.
Setlist
When The Morning Comes (H&O)
Las Vegas Turnaround (H&O)
Maneater (H&O)
Out of touch (H&O, bluegrass version)
Leaving on a Jet Plane (John Denver)
Different kind of groove (John Oates) (first ever play live)
How does it feel to be back (H&O)
Day in the Life of an American Man (John Oates)
Spinning down (John Oates)
He was a friend of mine (Shorty George, ragtime style)
Dance hall girls (Fraser & DeBolt)
Ghost Town (John Oates)
Come Back Baby (Lightning Hopkins)
Please Send Me Someone To Love (Percy Mayfield)
I’m all shook up (Elvis, reworked bluegrass)
Mississippi mile (John Oates)
Its Alright (Curtis Mayfield)
She’s gone (H&O)
ENCORE
Italian girls (Part of)
Dreams come true (H&O, Texas swing style)
Let it rock (Chuck berry)
John Oates Photo Gallery
Photos: Sean Smyth
