Daryl Hall & John Oates And Train Brought Out The Hits At Scottrade Center Performance Saturday

Sean Derrick May 15, 2018 0 Comments Daryl Hall, John Oates, Saint Louis concert review and photos, Scottrade Center, Train

Daryl Hall & John Oates and Train at Scottrade Center in Saint Louis Saturday. Photo by Ryan Ledesma.

–By Ashley Cox

–Photos By Ryan Ledesma

The crowd arrived early at Scottrade Center in Saint Louis on May 12 for Daryl Hall & John Oates and Train’s co-headlining tour. Parking was ample and the security line was smooth sailing, both set the tone for an evening of relaxing in what can be stressful situations. Shortly after 7pm, the crowd was largely made up of rowdy, white 50 something’s out for a rare night on the town and filled up most every seat, though it wasn’t claustrophobic or annoying (as we all know drunk people can be). As I texted one friend I came to a realization: “it was a vision of my future”.

Opener Kandace Springs, daughter of Scat Springs, won my heart with her enormous Afro and my ears with her smooth Sade-esque voice and impressive jazz piano skills. The minimal backing band of just a bass and drums let her voice take center stage. Mentored by Prince before his untimely death, great things await Kandace as she is certainly one to look out for in the future. Whether performing original music from her debut album, “Soul Eyes” or a heartbreaking rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s “I can’t Make You Love Me” I was glad I arrived early.

We have had the pleasure to review Train multiple times here at Midwest Rewind and it is always a treat. They started slightly before schedule and if you have been to basically any show ever, you know that this is awe-inspiring by itself. They came ready to rock. Frontman Pat Monahan had his voice warmed up and ready to go with the opening number of “50 Ways to Say Goodbye”.

I have noticed an increasing amount of singers using their opening songs as vocal warm up time, especially amongst well-known bands with established dedicated fans. As opening numbers tend to be more popular or beloved songs, and the fans spent their hard earned money on tickets, a singer should take 5 minutes before coming on stage to be appropriately prepared. I want to acknowledge that Train bucked this trend and grew in esteem in my eyes as a group of people that respect their fans and their craft.

Train chugged through their string of hits while taking selfies with fan cell phones, occasionally kicking around huge beach balls, and even throwing an autographed shirt into the crowd during “Meet Virginia” with Pat asking the crowd, “Who is old enough to remember this one?”

I found myself thinking, “Who knew I liked so many Train songs?” Well, add a new one to the list. Monahan introduced “Call Me Sir,” a new single being released in two weeks featuring Travie McCoy. It is a catchy earworm applauding his beloved, a common theme with Train.

Daryl Hall and John Oates took the stage at a relatively fast 9:15 considering Train ended their set less than 20 minutes before that. Good job, roadies, for breaking down and setting up that stage so quickly. They took to the stage with a song that will forever remind me of car rides with my dad: “Maneater.”

Even though I grew up being pretty terrible at remembering band or song names, Hall and Oates were always voices I could recognize. Their voices are more gravely than I remember, years of touring has made itself known to their vocal chords. I didn’t mind the newer, almost bluesy voices of Hall. It especially lent itself to the song written especially for this tour: “Philly Forget Me Not.” Once the band decided to tour with Train, Hall realized they were all Pennsylvania boys and wanted to do a tribute to their home state. It was one of the three songs that Pat Monahan joined them on stage for. It was fun to watch a group of talented musicians have a good time together.

Some memorable moments included someone, I believe they ended up deciding it was a man, threw their underwear on stage during “You’ve Lost That Lovin Feelin.” Oates seems tickled while Hall seemed genuinely taken aback. I guess after 40 years in the spotlight, you can still have surprises.