So I went to see Hall & Oates on Friday. They were freaking awesome. It was a short show, a little over an hour and a half, but I got everything I could've wanted from them.
I knew that Oates shaved his iconic mustache a few years ago, but it wasn't until I was at the show (and in really amazing seats) that I realized how much a mustache-less Oates looks like Juan Epstein (everyone's favorite Jewish Latino Sweathog). AND, Darryl Hall, if he dyed his blonde hair brown would be a shoe-in for Vinnie Barbarino with his flowing locks, cool guy sunglasses, and leather jacket.
The Welcome Back, Kotter comparisons went on for hours (long after the not even two hour show) in my head, but it didn't take away from how incredible they sounded. Rich Girl was a religious experience from me. The whole show was bookended by Maneater first and a second (or third) encore of Kiss On My List.
Here's the thing with encores, we all know they're going to happen, so when someone behind me (like a 50+ year old someone) freaks out when H&O leave the stage the first time and begins to panic that they haven't yet done You Make My Dreams or Private Eyes I wanted to turn around (and almost did) and hit him. Dude, encores are part of a show. It's like watching an episode of "Rock of Love" and being surprised to find out that your favorite competitor is a stripper (or has fake boobs). Besides the fact, we're at Chastain, an outside venue. And even though it wasn't very late when the show ended they are not going to send thousands of fans out of the venue without turning on the house lights. It's a good thing to know (and I just assumed that everyone did) that the show ain't over until the house lights come on (or until the fat lady sings, but as long as the house lights are on when she does).
It is because of this that I think encores have lost their luster. An encore should happen when the band leaves the stage with every intention of going back to their dressing room and changing clothes and partying with groupies, but then they hear the unmistakable roar of the crowd, their crowd, cheering and screaming and calling for more. And holding their lighters up in the air so the whole crowd looks like an illuminated, glowing, UFO (?). Except that people don't hold lighters up anymore, save for maybe being at a Metallica show. That's when the guitar player and the drummer convince the front man to go back out. "Dude, they're yelling for us. This is awesome. Let's go out and give them one more." Then it really is an encore. Instead nowadays, probably for safety reasons, the encore is a standard part of any show and even if the band walked off the stage and nobody stood up and demanded more they would still come back out and perform. In my mind this also defeats the purpose of multiple encores. You don't keep leaving the stage only to come back because the crowd is going wild. You do it because that's the way you wanted to (self indulgence maybe?). I'll be beyond impressed when I see a band leave the stage, the house lights come on, the fans stay in a frenzy and refuse to leave and then the band come back on stage (house lights still up) and do an acoustic version (because at this point they're probably unplugged because the sound guy is union and when he's done, he's done) of Free Bird or something.
Meanwhile, I'll be scouring shows all spring and summer long to find the "new" versions of Mr. Kotter, Horshack and Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington (and Emily, if I check out any chick shows) to go with my updated, older (yet more refined) versions of Barbarino and Juan Epstein.
As John Sebastian would say "Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out. Welcome back to that same old place that you laughed about." I don't know how that applies here but there was no way I was going to blog about Welcome Back, Kotter and the Sweathogs and not include lines to one of the best TV show theme songs ever.
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