I attended each of the two shows John Oates played at the Dakota back in November 2023. I snapped the photo at the right from my table during the first show. I had high expectations, but in the event he exceeded them by a long shot. If you like roots music or Hall and Oates, it is highly likely you will enjoy his show. At age 76, he remains a gifted performer. Witness the self-titled Oates, his new album released this past August.
In the shows I attended Oates accompanied himself on acoustic guitar backed by John Michel on percussion and Nathaniel Smith on cello. The cello was used mostly to supply bass parts. The playing was excellent and the sound was amazingly full.
Michel, by the way, looked a little like a caricature of Daryl Hall. Smith looked a little like a friendly (not mad) Rasputin. Michel took a moment after the first show to explain his drum kit to me when I asked him where the bass drum sound was coming from. Both Michel and Smith were warm and friendly. Oates himself asked me my name and kindly signed my copy of his memoir (written with one-time and perhaps current Power Line reader Chris Epting) after tweaking the sound when the crowd cleared out following the first show.
I thought the show provided something of a short course in American popular music. The set followed a roughly chronological order, beginning with “Sittin’ on Top of the World” (the Mississippi Sheiks), “Spike Driver Blues” (Mississippi John Hurt, one of Oates’s musical heroes), “Deep River Blues” (Doc Watson, another of his musical heroes), and “Miss the Mississippi and You” (Jimmie Rodgers — “That’s pretty, right?”).
He then moved on to numbers from his own solo catalog including “Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee” (“weird thing about duos–after a while they tend not to like each other”). The comment about duos was funny and Hall and Oates have gone their separate ways for a reason, but his only direct references to Daryl Hall were friendly.
When the show moved on to his contributions to Hall and Oates, Oates played three of my favorite songs from Abandoned Luncheonette: “Las Vegas Turnaround,” “Had I Known You Better Then,” and “She’s Gone.” He came to please and, judging by the audience reaction, he pleased.
Oates recently discussed his life and career in an interview with Justin Redmond that was recently posted here on the Broken Record Podcast. I thought I would take the occasion to serve up a seclection of songs from his setlist two years ago.
Oates opened the show with “Sittin’ on Top of the World.” In the video below he is backed by the Good Road Band.
“Spike Driver Blues” is by Mississippi John Hurt. Oates’s admiration of Hurt runs through this 2023 Acoustic Guitar story.
Doc Watson is another of Oates’s musical heroes. Oates played this cover of Watson’s “Deep River Blues” live with Guthrie Trapp.
“Miss the Mississippi and You” is the Jimmie Rodgers classic. Oates covered it on his solo album Arkansas.
Oates wrote the tribute “Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee” with Joe Henry. He talks about it in the podcast with Redmond linked above.
Oates also played his own “Pushin’ a Rock” at the show I saw. He included the song on his 2014 album Good Road to Follow and re-recorded it for his new album.
Oates released “Too Late to Break Your Fall” as a single in 2023. The acoustic version below is close to what I heard in his 2023 show at the Dakota with Michel and Smith.
Abandoned Luchenonette is Oates’s favorite Hall and Oates album. It’s also mine. “Had I Known You Better Then” is one of his songs from the album.
When Atlantic first released “She’s Gone” as a single from the album in 1974, Minneapolis’s cool old KQRS put it in its rotation and made it a regional hit. The Hall and Oates recording didn’t become a national hit until Atlantic re-released it in 1976. This is how Oates plays it all by his lonesome. Warning: You may feel the urge to help him out on the chorus.
Oates caught me by surprise when he closed both shows with his irresistible cover of “Wonderul World.”
