Eighties singing duo Daryl Hall and John Oates never had a problem finding fans. Back in the day, there were young girls screaming during concerts dying to be one of the hand-select who would be noticed and invited back stage to spend some time with the singers.
These girls haven't gone away, they've just became older women screaming at concerts trying to convince themselves that Daryl or John see them and will invite them back stage. The last thing Hall or Oates really needs is a middle-aged woman acting like she's 13.
A few nights ago, the duo played in Allen, Texas to an older, sold-out crowd that hung on to every word Hall uttered. The audience screamed in approval and delight that the aging rock star actually acknowledged the crowd's presence.
D Magazine described the audience as, "an arena full of heavily khaki'd and well-fed suburbanites, in one of the reddest counties in the nation this time of year and decade, during the playoffs of the American political process. Thankfully, this was simply a concert featuring the best-selling duo in the history of pop music and not a convention."
But Hall and Oates is an older act with John in his mid-sixties and Hall turning sixty-six next month. It just makes sense that most of their audience would be people on the wrong side of 50. "The upper middle class patrons on the floor are using loafers and sandals to clear as much floor as they can. Men who look like Walter Matthau shuffle in ways that wouldn't be inappropriate in a rap club."
The singers hold their own during their concerts. Both fully aware that their voices can't quite reach those high notes any longer but do a nice job in compensating. "The effect is similar to an older prize fighter who knows to punch less and duck more."
But what about these older fans? They're a feisty lot demanding that anyone who doesn't think that the duo is the best thing since slice bread should be "hated" and "unfriended" by everyone on Facebook and all social media.
All in all it would be nice if some of the fans maintain their dignity and realize that Daryl Hall and John Oates just might not be paying as much attention to them as they think.
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Comments: 16
Of course the middle aged ladies, who 'do lunch' will not be impressed, afterall they pay out good money to be noticed by Mr Hall, and sacrifice a lot no doubt
And by all means, contact Mr. Hall's management. I'm not the one who's obsessed with him. Take a look at yourself and some of your friends who stalk him. And, this is not my blog. I write over 30 articles a month. You're the obsessed person since you only seem to find me when I write about Daryl Hall.
Take a look in the mirror, the obsessed person will be looking back at you. You and your ilk are the ones Hall's management should be watching.
Bullying should be made an offence, and all I can say is, if you have to sink so low to use such dispicable tactics to articulate your point of view, then you must have learning difficulties. If this is what it is to be an H&O fan count me out. They sound like a nasty, narcisstic bunch :(
I find Sharons articles amusing and informative. As a working person I do not have the time to check the internet daily to find out this infomation. Sharon is able to give us all I need delivered in a understandable, lighthearted manner.
Keep up the excellent work, and please don't allow these bullies win. They are in the minority, I'm sure a lot of H&O fans find your writing as I do amusing and informative.
Let me say (write?) up front that, yes, I’m an H&O fan. I’m not a fanatic, but I have enjoyed their music since I was a teenager. And, yes, I’m over 40, although I don’t consider it the “wrong” side. (Just curious: How old are you?)
I wasn’t in the front row of the Texas concert; I was about 12 rows back with two friends. Like a lot of people there, especially the women, we yelled and screamed and clapped and waved for the whole show. But we weren’t trying to get plucked out of the audience to spend the night with the band. It was all part of the fun. (You know what fun is, right?) I seriously doubt any woman there expected to wake up in Daryl Hall’s hotel room the next morning. The crowd was there to let loose and enjoy the music. That’s the whole point of a concert.
As for D Magazine’s assessment of the crowd, I’m not surprised. If you’d done even a bit of research, you’d have discovered that D targets a young, urban audience that hangs out in trendy nightclubs. As far as most of its staff is concerned, anyone over 35 is a waste of space. I’m stunned the publication even acknowledged H&O’s existence.
I understand if you don’t like going to concerts and cheering and clapping and dancing to favorite songs. But don’t disparage those of us who do enjoy it. It’s just our way of having fun. I don’t enjoy watching reality TV or searching the skies for UFOs. You apparently like both, but I’d never put you down or label you as a sad old woman who spends most of her time alone in front of the television or the computer. Live and let live.