John Oates Setlist

Out of Touch¹
Pushin’ a Rock
Enough is Enough
Real Thing Going On
Mending
Reunion
Showdown (Electric Light Orchestra cover)
I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye cover)
Send Me Someone To Love (Tony D Band cover)
Get Together (The Youngbloods cover)
Why Can’t We Live Together (Timmy Thomas cover)
Ooo Baby, Baby (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles cover)
Tracks of My Tears (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles cover)
Go Deep
She’s Gone ¹
You Got Me Hummin’ (Sam & Dave cover)
I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)¹
Maneater¹

¹ Daryl Hall & John Oates song

Well, I get to check another venue off of my Minneapolis Venue Bingo Card. Having lived here for nearly 20 years, I have obviously heard of the Dakota, but to be honest, I never really paid attention to it, even though I’ve walked by it dozens of times. I’m glad to have finally made it. The space is warm, elegant and feels like a jazz club. Take that with a grain of salt since I’ve only been to a handful of jazz clubs. My table (that’s right, my table) was stage-left and provided me with a nice view of the performers. Taking in the venue, I couldn’t see a bad seat in the place. While I waited for the show to begin, I enjoyed a lovely cheeseburger with fries and a dark Mexican lager from Venn Brewing.

Mr. (please call me John) Oates and the Good Road Band took to the stage at 6:30 on the dot. I truly appreciate a punctual performer. He started with some light banter, letting us know he had been at the Dakota a time or two in the past and really enjoyed playing here. He remarked that the acoustics are amazing, which means the band is happy, which means they’re having a good time. The audience could feel this throughout the show. He let us know he was going to warm us up with something familiar and then see where the evening took us and with that we were treated to “Out of Touch”. This Hall and Oates classic was followed by four songs from John’s discography: “Pushin’ a Rock”, “Enough is Enough” (his version of a protest song), “Real Thing Going On”, and “Mending”. In between each of these songs he casually chatted with the audience, telling slightly self-deprecating jokes (focused on age (he’ll be 78 next month!) and the audiences’ lack of familiarity with his solo work), introducing the band (very piecemeal over the course of numerous songs; Seth Cook on guitar, Johny Michel on drums, Kevin McKendree on keyboards, and Mark Rogers on bass), and the genesis of songs (“Mending” cowritten with Devon Gilfillian, which started with a Tarot card pulled by John’s wife Aimee (read a fuller version of the story here)).

We then moved into a series of covers, which were a mix of opportunistic (ELO’s “Showdown”, which John learned so he could participate in a Traveling Wilburys tribute festival. Jeff Lynne of ELO is also a member of the Wilburys) and personally influential. Guitarist Seth Cook took lead vocals on “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and knocked out of the park. “Please Send Me Someone to Love” is a great song for showcasing the keyboardist, and Kevin made the most of it. John told us that he had been playing with drummer Johnny Michel for 30 years and that he had promised him that if they made it to 29 years, he would let Johnny sing a song. This was met with cheers and laughter from both Johnny and the audience. So, we go to enjoy the drummer singing “Get Together” by the Youngbloods. “Why Can’t We Live Together” by Timmy Thomas was the next song. Before playing two Smokey Robinson songs (“Ooo Baby Baby” and “The Tracks of My Tears”), John told us the story of inducting into him the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and what an honor it was to be able to recognize such a legend.

At this point, a woman called out for them to play “She’s Gone”. John acknowledged the request but explained that playing a show is like sex and sometimes you have to be patient and maybe something good will happen. This led into an anecdote about his first solo album, 2002’s Phunk Shui, which one critic said was a pretty good album with a terrible name. He then played “Go Deep” off of the album. I actually recognized it. John then told us that it’s the dream of every song writer to have a song that endures, which led into the story of how he came up with “She’s Gone”. It was December of 1972, and he was at an all-night diner in the West Village, The Pink Teacup, which served soul food. It was late and he was one of only a few people in there. The door burst open letting in the wind and cold as well as a young woman without a jacket but wearing a pink tutu and boots. They started dating immediately, which was just the way it happened in the ‘70s. They agreed to get together for New Year’s Eve but she stood him up. While he was waiting for her, he realized that she’s not coming, she’s gone. The next day, he told Darryl Hall about a little idea he had and “She’s Gone” was born. Needless to say, the audience was thrilled by the song. They played one more cover, “You Got Me Hummin’” by Sam and Dave, before closing out the set with two more Hall and Oates classics, “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” and a Reggae-inspired version of “Maneater”, which he told us is because he has spent a lot of time in Jamaica and just loves it, so we were treated to Reggae “Maneater”.

All in all, a great show. John knows how to work a room and warm up a crowd. I was surprised by his sense of humor. Oh, and he can sing and play guitar pretty well, too. In all seriousness, his voice is still very strong. Whatever he’s doing at (nearly) 78, is working. The Good Road Band is made up of solid professionals who clearly love playing with John and know how to support him well. If you get the chance to see this show, it’s absolutely worth it.