BIGGER THAN EVER
Hall & Oates pull out all the stops for flashy, high-energy concert
John Oates was taken aback by the enormity of his current tour.
Yes, that John Oates, the one from Hall & Oates who spent the '80s playing massive arenas. One half of the best-selling pop duo of all time can get a little overwhelmed by the production on his band's tour with Tears for Fears, which stops at the TD Garden tomorrow.
“Back on the big stage, what really struck me is that the bar has been set in a completely different stratosphere,” Oates said. “For modern pop stars and rappers and even many country artists, it's almost imperative that the production has this almost over-the-top feeling to it. The tour isn't about us getting up and doing our thing just at a bigger venue. We had to add the big production and figure out how to be ourselves.”
What does that mean for a Hall & Oates fan? Well, if you're somebody who loves deep cuts like “Camellia” and “Las Vegas Turnaround” or has “Abandoned Luncheonette” on vinyl, this isn't the tour for you. The band likely will get back to more intimate shows, but this one is high-energy, fast-paced and packed full of hits half of America knows by heart. (A recent set list had them closing with “Rich Girl,” “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes” and “You Make My Dreams.”)
Playing to 12,000 people or more a night, the duo had to ponder Katy Perry flash and U2-level bombast. Before the tour, Oates worked with a lighting designer in Nashville who let him view a virtual Hall & Oates show complete with space-age lasers and elaborate LED spectacles.
“About a week into the tour we realized we needed more firepower, so I went back to Nashville for two days with the designer and we added some elements, reprogrammed the entire show, and went back on the road and did it the next night,” he said. “This is all way, way beyond what we saw in the '80s in arenas. It was really eye-opening.”
If the idea of hearing “Maneater” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” on the same stage doesn't thrill you, Oates has something more rootsy in store for you. Working with some of the top-notch session players in Nashville, the singer recently wrapped up an earthy Americana album titled “Arkansas.” He'll start sneaking out tracks in the fall and will follow it with a solo tour.
“It's almost like a Dixieland approach to Delta blues,” he said. “After a big arena turn, it will be nice to do something smaller. I'm lucky, I get the best of both worlds.”
What isn't in the future is another album with Daryl Hall.
“We've outgrown it musically,” Oates said. “It's great to do these tours, but we've both moved on. We have other things keeping us busy.”