This was the final show for Jim and I on this tour. Bittersweet for sure. We drove down to Atlantic City the day before. No incidents as far as traffic was concerned which is always a plus. Upon arrival, first thing's first...check in. It seems that everyone else in Atlantic City had the same idea! Jim hopped in the huge line...luckily is moved quickly and we were off to our room. We had a relaxing afternoon, a nice dinner, and a lovely stroll on the boardwalk.
The band hadn't made it to the hotel yet for good reason. They were thrilling the fans in Virginia at the Wolf Trap. I knew they'd be driving up to A.C. after the show that night so we'd get to see the guys in the AM hopefully. Sure enough we did see them throughout the day on Friday before the show. I finally got the chance to meet Shane. Super nice guy! Shared a few H&O anecdotes with him that he found quite funny. Great conversation with the guys throughout the next couple days. I love those moments.
OK, time for the show! Ascending the escalator to the Event Center we spotted some friends! We chatted for a bit outside the concert space and took a few glances at merchandise...nothing new. Rats! We then headed in to find our seats. Easy enough. Jimmy then went to ask security about cameras, etc. He's found through the years that this is the best way to handle things. Talk to them, build a rapport...really, it works. He has Borgata security friends! Hilarious! So, the word was cameras were OK as long as flash and video settings were not used. And of course no pro-cameras allowed. Easy peasy. I noticed throughout the show that there was one guard that actually patrolled the aisles looking for video takers. It seemed to be his only task. Actually made sense to me as the guards in the front didn't have to leave their posts. From a fan's viewpoint it was lousy....from a security standpoint it was smart.
As usual the show started with Maneater and Out of Touch. Then all of a sudden I felt like I was in a dream! Well, maybe it wasn't that dramatic. I heard "Do It For Love" come out of Daryl's mouth and I was flabbergasted! I looked at Jimmy and we both stood and cheered! They played it perfectly...didn't miss a beat. It was awesome! To my surprise the next song was another semi-deep cut, "Did It In A Minute" followed by "Back Together Again". I was a happy girl. Whatever came next was icing on the cake!
The remainder of the set and the encores were standard...the hits. The encores came and a number of folks rushed the stage. Jim and I were stuck in the middle of a row. Jim being Jim, he decided to move chairs out of the way and stack them on top on one another. It worked. Up we went! They finished off the show with "Private Eyes" and the crowd was more than satisfied! After the cheering and clapping ended Jim snagged a setlist and off we went to the merch table to meet up with Eliot. The lousy thing about the Borgata is that they try to move the crowd out right after the show ends. So there isn't much time for chat, or pictures, buying tees or CDs, etc. Eliot did have time to take some pics and sign CDs for some fans which I was happy about. It had actually been 6 years since Eliot and I had taken a picture together...we had to have a new one for sure!
As the crowd was now descending into the casino via the escalator Jimmy spotted a celebrity! It was none other than Philly native ?uestlove (Questlove). Of course Jim had to get a pic so he ran over to him. You could tell that he was trying to keep a love profile but was quite obliging and honored our request. Very nice guy! Glad we were able to meet him. It was a great ending to a great show!
This was a bit of a steamy day with downpours to boot. I was praying that there would be air conditioning in the theater...you never know. We waited a few minutes for the doors to be opened to the public. The line wasn't overly long. We easily had our tickets scanned and proceeded into the "dome" which apparently used to be the old performance center. There was little to no A/C in there. Very warm.
There was quite a lot to choose from as far as concessions are concerned. Pretzels, hot dogs, all sorts of beverages, etc. We skipped the concessions. They get in the way of dancing. Priorities. We headed into the theater and gradually began to see many familiar faces. It was good to chat and catch up. We then learned that concert footage was being filmed that night for Daryl's new DIY channel show (Daryl's Restoration Over-Hall) which premiers on July 19th. We also found out photos were being shot throughout the performance for a special tour book meant for the upcoming European tour. Exciting stuff!! Needless to say there were TV cameras everywhere. They didn't obstruct the view of the stage at all. Cameras were allowed...no flash and no video, however. Score! Maybe these pics would come out a bit better than Boston!
We were quite lucky in Wallingford as we were treated to the Philly-Soul stylings of Mutlu Onaral! He is a born and bred Philadelphian who has been featured on Live From Daryl's House twice in it's 7 year run. Mutlu's songs are full of sweet rhythms and the occasional amusing lyric. He was enjoyed by all. Mutlu was kind enough to meet fans after his set at the merch table to sign autographs and take pictures.
The Hall & Oates show was amazing (as always). It was a bit of a bummer that there really weren't any people dancing until the encores for the most part. It seemed to be an older crowd (which I have no problem with)...maybe that was the reason. I was completely blown away by Shane Theriot's solo during Sara Smile. Man, he can play! Such a great bluesy sound coming from that instrument. I'm not kidding when I say that it really moved me. He is the perfect addition to the band. Shaking it up just enough. Speaking of shaking...check out Daryl moving & grooving!
The setlist was more or less the same as Boston the night before. I thought I had been able to
secure a setlist from this show...but apparently not as I can't locate it anywhere! Oh, well! Does anyone remember what they played? Anyhow, at the final encore we were lucky enough to snap my most favorite Hall & Oates picture ever. What a great feeling to witness this. I seriously has goosebumps!
After the show we met with some fans near the merch table. Eliot Lewis came out to sign a few CDs and take pictures with fans. He was met with a great response! It was cool to see that people were so excited to meet him.
Overall, a great experience was had for our first visit to the Oakdale Theater. We began our 2 1/2 hour journey home and began to get even more excited for our next road trip which was a week away. Atlantic City here we come!!
Here are some more pictures from the show!
Wow! It's been forever since I've touched this blog with actual commentary. Someone suggested that I get on here and write something up. "Push publish", they said. So here I am and I've done just that. A few weeks ago Jim and I were able to attend 3 Hall & Oates shows. We enjoyed ourselves so much! The shows we were able to get to were Boston's BlueHills Bank Pavillion on June 12th, Wallingford, CT's Oakdale Theater on June 13th, and Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel & Casino on June 20th. We enjoyed each show very much and got to spend time with some fellow fans! Always a good time!
Boston was first up. We arrived in town at about 6PM and secured a parking spot directly across from the venue. So close we could hear soundcheck. We heard the fellas playing "Crazy Eyes" and "Every Time You Go Away". Kind of a neat little perk. A quick dinner was had at Jerry Remy's bar about a block from the Pavillion. Nothing too outstanding or memorable. After that it was off to wait in line to enter the huge white tent.
First stop, as always, MERCH! And surprise there were 2 new items! So exciting. The first
item was an 11x18 poster featuring the "Live at The Apollo" show from 1985. An unsigned version was offered for $10 and the signed (by both Daryl & John) version was available for
$20. A great price in my opinion. This poster would look great matted and framed! Definitely running out of room on the walls here! There was also a poster advertising John Oates new EP
"Good Road to Follow" (which is quite enjoyable I might add!). This poster was of the same size as the Apollo poster and was also signed by John. From what I understand John's posters have been available at his solo shows but they were new for the Hall & Oates shows.
The show itself was great. The Boston crowd ate it all up...singing along and dancing. I also saw at least 2 undergarments throw on stage in Daryl's direction. Hadn't seen that in a while! I enjoyed the setlist. Although one I've heard many times I was glad to hear the relatively new addition of Alone Too Long. What a great song! It's a perfect change up. This was also my first time seeing (and hearing) the band's brand spankin' new Lead Guitarist and Music Director, Shane Theriot. Well, call me very impressed! A well done and solid outing in my estimation. Check out Shane's music here...I think you'll like it!!!
After our 105 minutes of bliss the show ended and we were off. As we walked to the car we noticed the tour bus coming from the rear of the Pavillion. I had heard from a little birdie that the "bosses" were on the bus tonight! Sure enough I could see Daryl through the windsheild. John was in the middle
of the bus and could barely be seen through the tinted glass. Oh, and did I mention the guys had a police escort for the bus?! Too funny! It was nice to see so many fans along the sidewalk cheering for the fellas as they drove off. The night ended but, fear not!! We need some sleep because we've got a show in less than 24 hours!
Oh wait....what's that you say? You want to see pictures of the show?! Please forgive me, it just completely slipped my mind. Just kidding! I know you want them! Here you go!
