Located high atop a hill at a location called La Cresta in Saratoga, CA the Mountain Winery sits in it's understated glory. It's centerpiece is a "Spanish portal" erected there circa 1907. This portal, which could easily pass for the door medieval castle, is actually the remnant of what was the St. Patrick's Cathedral in San Jose after the San Francisco earthquake.
The amphitheater was built at the winery in 1958 and thus began the annual Summer Concert Series. Daryl Hall & John Oates have of course played this venue many times. I was lucky enough to see both shows here in September of 2009. This venue is a perfect setting for a Hall & Oates concert. The amazing views, fantastic wine and remote location make this place seem as though you are in another world.
I, for one, can't wait to take that long and winding drive back up that hill in late September. It's worth it to mention that security is very tight at this venue and they are SERIOUS about keeping cameras OUT! Which begs the question, where will Jimmy hide the camera this year? You'll have to tune in to find out!!
Thought I might chat a little today about the 1976 UK Tour which included a recorded performance on BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test. In September of 1975, H&O released the "Silver Album", so dubbed by fans. The actual title of the record is "Daryl Hall & John Oates"....I am sure that you are all familiar with the over the top glam look that D & J rocked on that cover, right? Well, Daryl and John had gone overseas to promote the album in October of '75 and again in May of '76 and while they were there "Sara Smile" began getting heavy rotation on R&B stations and eventually took off!
The band that accompanied Daryl and John on that tour was a stellar troupe of musicians that helped to form that classic Hall & Oates sound. Daryl has mentioned as recently as last year that this line up was one of the best they've ever had. Their sound was tight and they flowed effortlessly from one song to the next.
H&O 1976 UK Tour Book - Inner Cover
Daryl and John were backed by Stephen Dees on Bass, Todd Sharp on Lead Guitar, Eddie Zyne on drums, David Kent on Keyboards and Charlie De Chant on Keyboards and Sax. Interestingly enough this tour would begin Charlie's reign as the band member with H&O for the longest period of time. He is truly an H&O staple and I for one always look forward to hearing and seeing him at shows. He adds such a spark to that stage!
I included some pics of a tour book from that 1976 tour. The cover boasts the "ever popular with fans" winged-star...we'd all like to think that it holds some intrinsic meaning but in actuality it was just a marketing scheme...a logo created by a staffer. Still the silver pendants the guys, band members and crew wore fetch big dollars among hardcore fans! Even Marcia Strassman of Welcome Back Kotter fame wore one during a brief relationship with Mr. Hall!
H&O 1976 UK Tour Book
Anyhow, back to the actual show...The first gig the guys played on this tour in the UK was the Old Grey Whistle Test which I mentioned above. This is an awesome show which includes live versions of Camellia, Lady Rain, Laughing Boy, I'm Just A Kid, Is It A Star, She's Gone & Gino The Manager, no lip syncing here.....and remember Sara Smile wasn't a hit yet!! In my opinion, Is It A Star takes the cake on this one...killer song with killer vocals! If you have the opportunity to watch or listen to this show I highly recommend it....actually I recommend any audio or video from this particular tour...you won't be disappointed!!
The dates of the UK tour in 1976 are as follows:
5/18 - Old Grey Whistle Test 5/19 - Bristol - Colston Hall 5/20 - Manchester - Free Trade Hall 5/21 - Newcastle City Hall 5/22 - Oxford Polytech 5/23 - Croydon - Fairfield Hall 5/24 - Birmingham Town Hall 5/25 - Brighton Dome 5/26 - London - New Victoria Theatre 5/28 - Leeds
A couple of new dates have been leaked!! This is going to be a fabulous H&O fan weekend on the East Coast. I'm going to plan some fan events around these shows. I hope a lot of folks will be able to make it!! Stay tuned!
December 3, 2010 - H&O @ The Borgata - Atlantic City, NJ
December 4, 2010 - Eliot Lewis @ The Forum Lounge, Caesar's - Atlantic City, NJ
December 5, 2010 - H&O @ Beacon Theatre - New York, NY
This particular track is from the often overlooked 1997 album "Marigold Sky". It's one of my favorite H&O albums of all time. The band should re-release and tour behind this album again. It has so much potential for additional hits. Especially now that H&O seem to be back in the limelight....which is a GREAT thing of course!!
Yes!! That is totally where we are going on our next H&O adventure! We'll be flying out of Boston on September 26th. We are heading to LAX....fares were WAY cheaper into LAX for some reason...even when the cost of gas and a rental car was factored in. From there we'll drive up to Pacifica, CA where we'll be staying in a fabulous ocean side hotel. That will be our base for 4 nights! Can't wait to wake up in the morning to see the waves crashing on the beach.
On the way up to Pacifica we plan to stop at the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. The pictures online are gorgeous. I am personally looking forward to seeing the gardens. I am a sucker for architecture so this was my little "add-in". Thankfully we have nothing planned for that evening after we check into our hotel. Looking forward to a relaxing dinner and a good night's sleep.
The first show of this trip will be on Monday, September 27th at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA. This is a gorgeous venue which we visited last year. It offers amazing views of the towns surrounding it as it sits high atop a magnificent hill.
Tuesday September 28th is an open day. No shows. We've decided that we'd like to take a trip into San Francisco to do some sightseeing. I love the architecture in San Francisco....can't get enough of it!
Table Mountain Casino in Friant is the 29th's show. This is going to be a 3.5 hour drive from our little seaside paradise. We'll leave early so that we have plenty of time for stops on the way and dinner when we arrive. From the information I've found online it appears that it is a rather small casino so I'm wondering if we'll run out of things to do if we arrive too early. Hmmm.
On Thursday the 30th we'll be leaving Pacifica at around 6AM to begin our drive down the coast to the Los Angeles area. We decided to stay in Anaheim at the Embassy Suites for the remainder of the trip. It's right near the Disneyland Resort. In case you don't know me THAT well, in addition to H&O, Jimmy and I are Disney NUTS!!! We visit Walt Disney World all the time and are annual passholders. So we are taking this opportunity to visit WDW's sister resort....DISNEYLAND! We have dinner reservations that evening at the Blue Bayou restaurant which is located right inside the park.
Who doesn't love a fair??? October 1st is fair day! H&O will perform that evening at the LA County fair. We're planning to visit Darren @ his shop in Venice and also get to the fair at around noon to explore the booths and all the delicious food that's available! We were lucky in that our tickets to the show include free admission to the fair. Ooh...I should also mention that the fair is located in Pomona, CA.
Our 4th and final show is on October 2nd. We'll be hitting up Disneyland again this morning. The show today is not too far away at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage. I would imagine that we will snag dinner at the casino.
On Sunday October 3rd we'll be going to Disney's California Adventure. We haven't been to this park yet so we're pretty excited to check it out as it has some really cool rides and restaurants!!! We'll stay for the fireworks show...a perfect way to end our trip to California!!! The next morning we fly home to Boston.
I'll keep everyone updated on our trip and plans if they happen to change! Can't wait to see our CA friends!!
Obviously I've decided to call my blog "ooh yeah!" which is a reference to the 1988 Daryl Halland John Oates album by the same name. If you read my profile already you'll know that I am an UBER H&O fan. At the suggestion of a very close friend I decided to begin blogging about my travels, general H&O information and personal feelings about the band and their work.
Rather than kill this first post with a lot of blabber from me. I think the following prose from Daryl really sums up what I am trying to get across here. This is my "ooh yeah!".
Ooh Yeah is what you say when your spot gets hit Ooh Yeah is what you say when you crack your neck Ooh Yeah is what you say when you hit the long ball Ooh Yeah is what you say when you roll a strike Ooh Yeah is what you say when its ReaLove Ooh Yeah is what you say when you remember Ooh Yeah is what you say when the sun is shining Ooh Yeah is what you say when the water's perfect Ooh Yeah is what you say when your dream is walkin' down the street Ooh Yeah is what you say when you understand Ooh Yeah is what you say when you step on the gas and it really moves Ooh Yeah is what you say when the love comes down Ooh Yeah is what you say when your horse comes in Ooh Yeah is what you say when the groove feels right Ooh Yeah is what you say when the music moves you