11 April 2022 (gig)
13 April 2022
Taking a short break from his longtime partner (John Oates), Daryl Hall is striking out on his own doing a solo tour and is bringing along Todd Rundgren as a special guest. The show, which is more of a traveling version of Hall's very successful web program, "Live from Daryl's House", performed at the Orpheum Theater in Boston, Massachusetts on April 11, 2022.
The relationship between Hall and Rundgren goes way back, as Rundgren was the producer for the Hall & Oates album "War Babies" in 1974. Rundgren began the night with a 13-song set and opened with deeper 70's cuts, "Real Man", "Love of the Common Man", and "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference," before delving into the charming ditty, "We Gotta Get You a Woman."
When Rundgren toured last fall he played his entire record, "A Wizard, a True Star" (over two nights) But on this night he seemed to be more focused on his 1972 album, "Something/Anything?", as he played three of the record's tracks during the night including, "I Saw the Light", "Black Maria", and the aforementioned, "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference".
"Hello It's Me", which was originally done by Rundgren's former band, Nazz, before he rerecorded it as a solo act and made it a classic rock staple, was universally well-received by the audience and led into a wonderous, "Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel" (the only tune during the night from "A Wizard, a True Star").
Showing his (and Hall's) love for R&B music, Rundgren fired off three cover songs featuring; The Impressions' "I'm So Proud", The Miracles' "Ooo Baby Baby", and a killer version of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You".
Hall opened his set with his 1986 hit "Dreamtime", and followed up with "It's Uncanny", a deep cut from the Hall & Oates catalog. An emotional moment came when Hall was introducing the next number, "Problem With You". The song, which is listed in some sources as "Problem With You (T-Bones Last Ride)", was the last song in which the late T-Bone Wolk (who was the bassist for Hall & Oates and Hall referred to him as his "best friend") performed on, as Hall said he tragically passed away about an hour after playing on the cut. It was a great moment and a loving tribute to Wolk.
"I'm in a Philly Mood", a track from Hall's 1993 solo disc, "Soul Alone", worked wonderfully as did "Everytime You Go Away", a once little-known song from Hall & Oates' 1980 "Voices" disc, which was given a second life in 1985 due to Paul Young's mega-hit version. While Young's version is great, Hall did a tremendous and more soulful version of the song.
After playing the title cut, which is also the name of his first solo album, "Sacred Songs", Hall covered the Eurythmics' "Here Comes the Rain Again" (Hall stated that he was currently working on new aterial with Dave Stewart). Hall then ended his set with two Hall & Oates smashes, "Sara Smile" and "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)".
The encore featured the night's long-awaited duet between Hall and Rundgren, and it did not disappoint. Swapping lead vocals, the duo's voices blended beautifully on the 1979 Hall & Oates hit, "Wait for Me", and Rundgren's "Can We Still Be Friends".
A cover of The Soul Survivors' "Expressway to your Heart" was funky and well-received by the Boston crowd. After Rundgren exited the stage, Hall ended the night (as Hall & Oates have been doing for some time) with "You Make My Dreams". As Hall will surely be working again with Oates, and Rundgren's solo career is far from over, it was a rare treat to see such icons collaborating and at the top of their game.
