Daryl Hall/Elvis Costello and the Imposters Budweiser Stage Thursday night RATING (**1/2 out of four) Hall and Costello? It doesn’t quite have the same ring as Hall and Oates — the commercially successful Philly pop-rock-soul duo who formed in 1970 until their ugly split last year — does it? But there they were, two Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, Daryl Hall, 77, and Elvis Costello, 69 — not quite a generation apart — co-headlining a show at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage on Thursday night in front of a crowd who didn’t completely fill the 8,000 seats, with the lawns not sold at all. All I could think was maybe the musical combination didn’t quite work for their respective audiences? Whatever the case, it was a bit of a mismatch of styles despite their collective impressive credentials. Hall, last seen in 2018 at Scotiabank Arena with Oates, is coming off a heavy last year, having filed a lawsuit and restraining order against Oates in 2023 claiming he committed “the ultimate partnership betrayal” by planning to sell his share of the hit-making duo’s publishing.
(Oates responded that Hall’s statements were “inflammatory, outlandish and inaccurate.”) No break from kiss on my list and straight into private eyes by #darrylhall #toronto pic.twitter.
com/IT0Yeu6JOO Meanwhile, British New Wave and beyond act Costello and The Imposters — including longtime keyboardist Steve Nieve and drummer Pete Thomas, and more recent recruits Davey Faragher on bass and Charli.
