Daryl’s House Brings Hometown Boy Back Home

Concert Review
Live from Daryl’s House
Featuring Daryl Hall
& Johnny Rzeznik
Saturday March 26, 2016
Seneca Allegany Events Center
Salamanca, NY
Review/Photos: Joseph Suto

What started out as a show on the internet back in 2007 has taken off and grown. Live From Daryl’s House featuring Daryl Hall from duo Hall & Oates, has come a long way and now Hall has taken the show on the road. He brought Goo Goo Dolls singer-songwriter John Rzeznik back home this weekend for two shows. The duo played Friday night at the Seneca Niagara Casino and Resort and followed up with a show in the southern tier at Seneca Allegany Casino and Resort on Saturday evening. Both shows are a hop, skip and a jump from Buffalo, NY the hometown of Johnny and his band The Goo Goo Dolls.

The show began with Hall and some of his band playing a pair of songs before bringing Rzeznik out. Once Rzeznik was out the show built some steam as he quickly went into the crowd pleaser “Slide”, a song that always seems to get a rise out of any crowd.

Rzeznik is no stranger playing with Hall’s band as he appeared on an episode of LFDH (Live From Daryl’s House) in 2011. They played a few songs from that show again including “Home” and the Hall & Oates track that Hall called underrated “Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid” which appeared on the Big Bang Boom album.

The show featured a good mix of songs from both the Goo Goo Dolls and Hall & Oates catalog. The show seemed loose as the performers were having a good time telling stories and singing each others songs. Both singers took turns singing verses of each others songs making it a more unique show.

Each episode of LFDH usually has a food segment but since it was a live show they couldn’t do one. Instead they opted to show Rzeznik’s 2011 segment he did on the show on the big screens as the band took a quick break.

The band was made up of mostly Daryl Hall and John Oates touring band. Notable performers along for the ride were keyboardist Eliot Lewis, bassist Klyde Jones, guitarist and musical director Shane Theriot and the man who plays anything he can get his hands on multi-instrumentalist Charles DeChant.

Returning the band played a rare “Guessing Games” a phenomenally underrated song of the Hall & Oates album H2O.

Hall called “Iris” his favorite Goo Goo Dolls song as he and Rzeznik talked a bit back and forth about writing songs and how certain songs changed their life. Rzeznik then told the Salamanca crowd that “Iris” was their song and it always will be as they broke into it. The crowd agreed as they responded with a resounding standing ovation.

It was interesting to see two newer Goo Goo Dolls songs such as “Rebel Beat” and “Come To Me” both from the band’s most recent release 2013s Magnetic.

The only thing I found was the show seemed to be a little out of synch. Perhaps it was played in too big of a venue or not enough rehearsal time. The idea of LFDH was to play music with friends and have some intimacy. Perhaps a show or two in the Seneca’s best venue the Bear’s Den, would have been the proper place to hold the gigs. Despite this fans of Daryl Hall and Johnny Rzeznik both left in good spirits as they were able to see two artists who have penned some of the greatest songs over the years still enjoying what they do as evidenced by the smiles on their faces and the sound of their voices.

Set List
Bring It On Home
Bank On Your Love
Slide
Did It In A Minute
Broadway
Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid
Come To Me
(Food Segment)
Guessing Games
Rebel Beat
Iris
You Make My Dreams