“You see me.” – Darryl Hall & John Oates

I see you Darryl Hall and John Oates!

Two facts I learned recently:  Darryl Hall is 70, and Darryl Hall has great hair.

I found myself mesmorized by the swooshiness of his hair (that’s a word, right?) last week as a buddy of mine and I took in the first show of the Hall & Oates / Tears for Fears 2017 tour held at the BOK Center in Tulsa.

Seventy!  Does he look 70 in this picture below?  His musical partner of 45+ years is not looking too shabby either.  That’s John Oates on the right, and he’s the youngster of the two at age 69.

At some point as you grow older you realize that the musical heroes from your youth are not going to live forever, and that you better give in and go see some of these acts before they die (Case in point:  Michael Jackson, Prince, George Michael, Glenn Frey/Eagles, Whitney Houston).  While this blog is subject to my random whims and thoughts, I suppose that part of it is a dedication to those musicians and all the joy and entertainment they’ve provided me and countless others through the years.

So when the opportunity came along to see two pretty big acts from the 80’s on the same ticket I decided that would be a great birthday present for myself and told my wife as much.  My wife bought the tickets but couldn’t go so that’s how a buddy of mine and I ended up in downtown Tulsa after work on a Thursday night.

I’ve featured a post featuring Tears for Fears on this blog before.  The post dealt about leaving a legacy while highlighting one of my top 10 all-time favorite 80’s songs – “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”  Though they only had four or five top 10 hits in the U.S., Tears for Fears album “Songs From the Big Chair” was one of the biggest albums of 1985, and the group was a staple on MTV for a few years.  These two youngsters at just 55 years of age put on a solid set to open up for Hall & Oates.  Here is a clip from that very song that opened their set…

If any group or duo deserves a little love and appreciation it has to be Hall & Oates with their 16 top 10 hits and numerous other top 40 hits.  These dudes were huge in the 80’s.  They’re not going to blow you away with their music, or make your ears ring from guitar solos, but they will entertain you for 90 minutes with still solid vocals and a stellar band.  I did feel like I needed a glass of wine though while I listened to these elder statesmen roll through their enormous catalog of hits dating back to the late 70’s.  If you prefer to sit at concerts (I did tell a few people that I actually sat down through this whole concert, and that was a first), then you can at this concert (unless you’re on the floor where they stood most of the night).  Man, I’m getting old too.

I still have this cassette that I “purchased” for a penny from the Columbia House mail-order Music Club back in the early 80’s

Besides the 1981 “Private Eyes” cassette (pictured above), I also own the 1982 “H2O” cassette featuring the classic #1 hit “Maneater.”

Can’t believe my wife wouldn’t let me get her this shirt

My biggest recollection of having that cassette though was the fact that I used the song “One on One” (a top 10 hit) as a musical score for my own nerf basketball highlight reel.  Granted I didn’t have a video camera at my disposal (like I did a few years later), but I did have a good imagination.  I would cue up the slow tempo song and while it played I would conduct my own highlight montage in my bedroom using my nerf hoop mounted on my door.  While the song played imagine 11 year old Kyle moving around in slow motion with endless imaginary dunks, blocked shots, and great plays as Hall & Oates provided the background music for this all-world display of nerf hoop talent.  I conducted this “highlight video” numerous times using Hall & Oates for the music.

“Private Eyes.  They’re watching you.  They see your every move.”

There will be thousands of eyes on the duo of Hall & Oates as they continue on with their tour.  Whether you like any of their music or not, just know this:  Even though Mr. Oates is sans the famous thick, dark, bushy mustache he sported throughout the 80’s (he did rock a Cain’s Ballroom t-shirt for the Tulsa crowd though), and Mr. Hall can’t quite reach some of those falsetto notes anymore, these two still look really good, and can still perform at a high quality.  And come one, where do I get that hair when I’m 70?  Seriously.

Hall & Oates with an early foray into music videos and their classic “Private Eyes”…

And as a bonus, the 2017 live version from the BOK Center in Tulsa…

As always, thanks for reading.

sincerely,

the 80’s