Daryl Hall Turns Riverside Theater Into His House For a Night

by

Daryl Hall was half of one of the most successful acts to predate—and then command—the MTV-era. That duo played Milwaukee as recently as August of 2021. Friday night at the Riverside Theater Hall dipped into a small handful of songs from that part of his long career, yet he never acknowledged the duo by name.

To be fair, Hall’s most recent album, the compilation Before After, draws from his five solo albums as well as his creative and successful musical collaboration series Live From Daryl’s House. So, if all that comes to mind when Hall’s name is mentioned are the string of bopping music videos featuring photogenic singers, you’ve been missing out.

With roots that go deep, Hall’s connection to Philadelphia Soul music is never far away, as evidenced by “I’m in a Philly Mood” early in the show, offering him a chance to name-check legendary vocal group The Delfonics. The slow-burn Latinesque groove of “Problem with You” gave the stellar six-piece band a showcase. The eleven-song set would feature deep cuts; this was never billed as a greatest hits show.

Moving from electric guitar to grand piano Hall deftly displayed his musicianship. “Everytime You Go Away,” the album cut that became a huge hit for Paul found Hall on Telecaster, he moved over the grand for a rendition of “Here Comes the Rain,” the Eurythmics tune he recorded with Dave Stewart. On this night the song featured a winding mesmerizing acoustic guitar solo from de facto band leader Shane Theriot and saxophone by longtime collaborator Charles DeChant.

In 1980, Hall released his first solo album Sacred Songs, a collaboration with King Crimson’s Robert Fripp. At the Riverside, Hall tantalized the audience with a pair for tunes from that record: the stomping title track and the moody “Babs and Babs.” Diehards hoping for a rendition of the raveup “You Burn Me Up I’m a Cigarette” (with Hall on vocals from Fripp’s solo debut) were left hanging, but Hall created a buzz by mentioning that an episode of Daryl’s House with Fripp, has been recorded.

Friends of the Shepherd

Help support Milwaukee's locally owned free weekly magazine.

LEARN MORE

In the end, Hall gave the fans what they wanted, closing with “Sara Smile,” I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)” and ending his encore with “You Make My Dreams”—all of which had fans of a certain age dancing, if only in their seats.

Rundgren Sets the Scene

Todd Rundgren has headlined the Riverside Theater in the past, so it was a real treat to see him listed as opening act. The legitimate question with Rundgren often is: Which Todd do we get tonight?

For longtime fans, his 13-song set won the lottery. He reached back to his earliest hit “We Gotta Get You a Woman,” changing up the problematic lyric from “stupid’ to “silly”—to Rundgren’s credit he’s never been less than an evolutionary creature. The power pop template of “I Saw the Light” was balanced with the iconic balladry of “Hello, It’s Me,” which found him accepting a bouquet of flowers and offering a lucky fan the mic for vocals on the chorus.

Fans looking for a hard rock fix caught Rundgren’s shredding lead guitar on “Black Maria,” with assistance from Theriot. And, while we are at it, credit goes to the band who backed both acts.

Rundgren, the showman, paced the front of the stage, easing into his 13-song set with “Real Man,” “Love of the Common Man” and “It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference.” Like Hall, he displayed his soul influence covering Curtis Mayfield, Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye with “I'm So Proud,” “Ooh Baby Baby” and “I Want You.”

Incredibly, both Hall and Rundgren are in their mid-‘70s and they performed for about an hour each, plus an encore set. Their shared history goes back to Rundgren’s production of 1974’s War Babies album. Hall generously brought Rundgren back onstage for an encore cover Rundgren’s “Can We Still Be Friends” and a fun take on The Soul Survivor’s hit “Expressway to Your Heart.”