They’ll be watching you from onstage

Young Chang

Sparks literally flew during Daryl Hall and John Oates’ first meeting

in 1967 during a Battle of the Bands at Philadelphia’s Adelphi Ballroom.

Hall and Oates, strangers then, were competing against each other with

their respective bands when gunfire broke out in the gang-rampant town.

The ballroom cleared, and Hall and Oates ended up in the same freight

elevator to escape.

They said hi, introduced themselves and, of all things to do having

just fled from the scene of a gun-fest, talked about Temple University --

that they were both students there, that they each needed roommates, and

that one day, they should get an apartment together.

In 1969, they did. It was a communal bachelor pad where friends

dropped in and out and where Oates would usually sit in a corner playing

the guitar while Hall would mess around on his instruments.

“We really became friends before we worked together,” Hall said.

Hall & Oates, the ‘80s sensation credited with six platinum albums and

hits including “Private Eyes,” “Everytime You Go Away” and “Kiss on My

List,” will perform at the Orange County Fair on Wednesday.

“Whether it’s remembering something happy from when their hits first

came out, to people wanting to see them now, they’re such a romantic

group,” said Becky Bailey-Findley, general manager of the fair. “It’d be

a good date night.”

With a new album scheduled to be released in a few months -- no title

yet -- and 17 albums since 1972, Hall calls the recent project a

“distillation of everything we’ve done over the years.”

“We’re taking whatever we did traditionally and bringing it and

putting it in modern context,” he said.

The group’s discography is extensive. Claimed by critics to have laid

the musical framework for what boy bands and R&B; stars do today, Hall &

Oates’ heyday was in the ‘80s, when the performers could barely walk in

public without being mobbed.

The frenzy has subsided now, but Hall says his greatest memory of that

time is a feeling he still has today.

“Having the whole world feel like your neighborhood,” said the London,

New York and Bahamas resident. “Which hasn’t really changed for me. The

fans are very friendly, not overly intrusive.”

Hall shares a similar intimacy with Oates and his bandmates. The

precise word would be “telepathy,” which the performer says is

artistically exciting.

“We have a very telepathic relationship when we’re onstage,” he said.

“It’s not jazz, but it’s the concept of jazz -- improvisation around the

main theme. If you see us 10 times, you’ll see 10 very different shows.”

Like many musicians, Hall can’t peg a favorite song. He offers what he

admits may be a cliched analogy by saying all the Hall & Oates songs are

like his babies.

But he does really love “Wait for Me” and “Everytime You Go Away.”

“The emotions in the song, they still touch me,” Hall said. “I just

like the songs . . . but I could give you 20 different ones I feel that

way about.”

FYI

WHAT: Hall & Oates performs

WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday

WHERE: Arlington Theater, Orange County Fair, 88 Fair Drive, Costa

Mesa

COST: Free with general admission, which is $7. $10 for reserved

seats.

CALL: (714) 708-3247