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September 24, 2026

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, John Oates came to Lorain Palace Theater last night to highlight his solo material as well as a few covers and some Hall and Oates classics.

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Kicking off the show with the classic "Out of Touch" Oates and his Good Road Band took the audience on a journey that was broken into four distinct parts.

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The first section was broken into Oates' solo material.  Although mostly unfamiliar to the crowd, the songs sounded great and went over well.

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The next section was songs that showcased the talents of his backing band.  Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," The Youngbloods "Get Together" and Timmy Thomas' "Why Can't We Live Together" were played in succession, with his guitarist singing the first tune and the drummer singing the second.

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The third section of tunes all had an influence on Oates.  He noted that he got to induct Smokey Robinson into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame so they performed two of his songs, "Ooh, Baby Baby" and "Tracks of My Tears."  He also noted that Hall and Oates opened up for ELO in the '70s so they broke into a great version of ELO's "Showdown."

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By this time, a couple of middle aged women, who may have had too much to drink, started shouting out Hall and Oates song titles. One woman yelled "Rich Girl!" to which Oates retorted, "Good luck with that!  Go see Daryl Hall and he'll sing the shit out of it!"

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Why people think they have to be a part of the show is beyond me.

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Finally, after a couple more cover tunes, Oates and his band broke out some Hall and Oates tunes at the very end.  "She's Gone" and a reggae version of "Maneater" because he said that was how he originally wrote it. 

 

The show ended with "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" which left the crowd satisfied.

 

 

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Photos and review by Greg Drugan
 

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